This document has been put together by the two directors of the Out of School Club in consultation with the Senior Managers in response to the roadmap announced by the government towards recovery from the COVID-19 outbreak and plans for welcoming children back to early years settings and a phased return of some children to school. It has been compiled on the basis of government guidance in conjunction with information and advice from the local authority and public health guidance.
Whilst we acknowledge that to minimise contact between groups of children and staff, children should attend just one setting wherever possible and parents and carers should be encouraged to minimise as far as possible the number of education and childcare settings their child attends we are aware that many parents have no alternative childcare particularly given that people over the age of 70 are classed as vulnerable and should not therefore be caring for grandchildren. We have judged that by implementing the measures in this document it is safe for us to welcome back any of our regular children whom the schools we serve will be welcoming back, that is Gosforth Park First School (GPFS), Broadway East First School (BEFS), St Oswalds Primary School (SOPS), Gosforth East Middle School (GEMS).
Risk
Children mixing in large group.
Mitigation
To keep the children in school groups and to not mix these groups. These groups will be kept to a maximum of 15 children but it is likely they will be much smaller than this and we expect them to be in groups of less than 8 (depending on number of children returning to school). In the very unlikely event that the demand for places exceeds the group size of 16, priority will be given to children of key workers. Staff will remain with the same group all week wherever possible – part time work and rotas allowing. There is no need for staff breaks before and after school. Children will be kept apart in separate “sub bubbles” to match the school bubbles, these sub bubbles will share a member of staff with other sub bubbles from the same school.
We will operate three separate groups in three separate areas – main hall for GPFS, partitioned off dining hall for SOPS, Broadway hall for BEFS. GEMS will join the school group that they have a sibling in. They will be bubbled separately with their sibling.
Each GPFS sub-bubble will have its own toilet cubicle to use, SOPS will use a separate cubicle that will not be used by GPFS children during the day and BEFS children will use toilets in BEFS. The SOPS toilet will be cleaned by staff between use of each sub bubble. Children will all be asked to use the toilets in their own school before they come to the club and we will aim for children to use the toilets only at certain times throughout the session in groups supervised by a member of staff rather than a constant flow back and forth. No child will however be prevented from using the toilet if they are desperate.
Breakfast and after school snack will be served separately to each group in their own area so there will be no sharing of space. Cereal and milk will be served as always in the mornings with bread rather than toast to minimise mess in the different areas. Sandwiches will be made up by staff before the children arrive in the afternoon.
After school the children will be kept outside as much as possible. When weather allows children do not need to come in to the hall at all, they can be collected from school and taken directly outside along with their belongings. Snack will be served outside as a picnic. Children will be kept in the three separate groups outside – no mixing eg for games of football. Our available outside area is extremely big so there is no difficulty in doing this. If the hall is used then each group accesses its area within the hall by a separate entrance – GPFS front door, SOPS fire door, BEFS directly from their school. This will ensure there is no cross over between groups however it is noted that brief transitory contact between groups, such as passing in the corridor or moving outside is low risk.
There will be one extra member of staff who will direct children to the correct groups, communicate between the groups and between the other staff and parents and be available for any emergencies or to help out as needed. All staff will keep at least two metres away from each other. The extra member of staff will avoid close contact with any children where at all possible. All staff meetings and training will be carried out virtually.
Risk
Parents congregating at drop off and pick up times.
Mitigation
BREAKFAST
One member of staff will stand halfway between the car park and the building from where they can see the entrance to the grounds and the entrance to both school halls. Parents will be asked to not enter the school grounds but to send their child from the entrance to that member of staff who will re direct them to the appropriate entrance for their group. The staff will use walkie talkies to let the staff member in each group know which child is on their way in.
BEFS children will be sent to the door that leads directly in to their school hall where that group will be based, GPFS children will be sent up the ramp to the door that enters GPFS and from there directly leads in to the school hall where they will be based. SOPS children will also be sent up the ramp but then directed to the opposite doors that lead outside to then access the partitioned off dining hall end of the GPFS school hall where they will be based via the fire door, meaning they do not have to walk through the GPFS group.
All parents will be asked to drop off between 745am and 815am so that the member of staff welcoming children can then be released at 815 to support the groups. Parents to be advised to be aware of other parents dropping off at the same time as them and to ensure social distancing is observed in the car park.
AFTER SCHOOL
In the evenings a staff member will be outside between 4.45pm and 5pm for children to be collected. The staff member outside will use the walkie talkie to communicate with the staff in the groups to send out the children as their parents arrive.
Parents can arrive at any time to collect their children. Those who arrive before 4.45pm or after 5pm will be asked to text the club from the car park to say they have arrived. A member of staff will then take the child out to them.
Staff will mark the register with arrival and collection times and who collected the child. Any messages that need to be passed between staff and parents will be done by text.
The only people to enter the premises are staff involved in direct child care and children.
Food is delivered on a Monday by Asda who leave the delivery outside the door for staff to bring in. All other supplies are delivered directly to the club at the school address with contactless delivery. No school staff, including cleaners and caretaker, to walk through the areas that the groups are occupying. Club staff will not enter the rest of GPFS except to escort children to the toilet.
Risk
Points of crowding – when children collect belongings to go to school, transition to school, arrival from school, fire alarms and fire drills.
Mitigation
Organise the children to go one at a time to pick up or drop off their belongings from the coat racks (or in sibling groups). Children will have to be spoken to very clearly about how this is to work as they are used to all coming in together and hanging their belongings up as a group.
These will be done outside the school building if possible.
GPFS children will be taken out of the fire door around the outside of the school building to the nursery steps where they will enter the school.
BEFS children will be taken out of the fire exit, after the GPFS have left, across the BEFS playground to the outside entrance to blue class in the BEFS Early Years yard.
SOPS will be taken across to the school as usual for the week commencing June 1st. We are waiting to hear which extra children will be attending from SOPS from June 8th and to arrange a drop off and pick up procedure then.
GEMS children come to the club unaccompanied. These children will come to the front door to ring the bell or go to the fire exit door of BEFS hall, depending which group they are allocated to. We will speak to the parents of these children individually regarding this.
Collections from school in the evening will be done in the same way but in reverse.
Fire alarms and drills – the three separate groups will leave the building by the entrances they entered if possible, so that they do not cross paths. If an entrance is blocked the group will leave by the next nearest exit. There will be three separate assembly areas:
GPFS group on the playground outside the nursery entrance, SOPS group on the playground next to the staff car park, BEFS group on the Broadway East playground. Each group will have a separate register to be able to check children.
Risk
Passing on of virus by contact with contaminated surfaces and via air.
Mitigation
All staff and children to wash hands, using sanitiser as soon as they arrive, before food preparation and eating, after eating, every hour throughout the session, when coming in from outside and when leaving the club.
Separate hand sanitisers will be available to each group and hand washing using sanitiser will be closely supervised by staff to ensure that it is done thoroughly.
All dining and food preparation tables to be cleaned down thoroughly with antibacterial cleaning product before and after use. The usual method of a dry wipe first to clear debris followed by a spray wipe with antibacterial product will be used. Disposable cloths/kitchen roll will be used, which will then be disposed of in tied bags in the bins which are emptied at the end of each day.
Frequently touched surfaces to be cleaned down with antibacterial cleaning product every 30 mins – door handles, light switches, door bell, boxes for book bags etc, toys, toilets. All staff to always have a pack of antibacterial wipes on them to do this.
Coat racks and equipment to be wiped down using antibacterial cleaning product before each session.
No soft furnishings to be used – eg rug, blankets, cushions.
No toys that are difficult to clean, eg with intricate parts
Children will not be able to bring items or toys from home.
We will keep as many windows open as possible.
We will keep doors down to toilets propped open but hall door and main door closed for security.
All outdoor equipment will be cleaned between sessions and no sharing, unless cleaned in between each child.
Children will not be allowed on fixed outdoor play equipment.
“Catch it, bin it, kill it” technique will continue to be used throughout the setting. When children and staff cough or sneeze they must use tissues, double bagged in two tied nappy sacks, then placed in the bin. These bins will be emptied at the end of every before and after school session.
Tea towels are used for washing dishes after snack time and are taken home by staff to be laundered. They will be laundered in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. The warmest water setting will be used and items dried completely. Tea towels can be washed together with other items. Dirty tea towels will not be shaken out. Tea towels will be transported between the club and the staff member’s home in sealed bin bags or plastic bags which will be thrown away when used.
Public health and government guidance states there is no need for PPE, however if a child becomes ill with a persistent cough or high temperature or loss of sense of smell they will need to be isolated from the rest of the group with one member of staff. The staff member looking after them until parents arrive will wear need mask, gloves, apron and safety goggles or glasses if there is a risk of exposure to eyes via coughing or spitting.
We will discourage children from touching each other and avoid activities that would bring children into close proximity for extended periods (eg playing inside dens, working together on the same Lego model, reading a book together, etc). However as a play setting it would be unrealistic to insist that children maintain a rigid 2m distance apart at all times
Adults to keep more than 2m apart and avoid face to face interactions with children for any length of time (over 15 minutes) and with adults all together. Side to side interactions are safer.
Any staff member or child who is displaying symptoms or has displayed symptoms (cough, fever, loss of smell/taste), in the previous 7 days or lives with someone who has displayed symptoms in the last 14 days, should not attend the club unless they have tested negative for coronavirus.
IF A CHILD OR STAFF MEMBER DEVELOPS SYMPTOMS
If a staff member develops symptoms they will be sent home immediately and will remain at home for 7 days, or until their symptoms pass, whichever is longer. They will be asked to get a covid test and if this is negative they will be able to return to work straight away assuming they are well enough.
If a child develops symptoms they will be separated from everyone else and isolated with one member of staff wearing PPE (see above). Parents will be asked to collect the child straight away.
Once the child or member of staff has left the setting we will ensure all areas they have been in are disinfected and any PPE and other waste is safely disposed of. This will be done according to the government guidelines for decontamination in a non health care setting, see Appendix A.
The child or staff member will be encouraged to get a test. Where the child or staff member tests negative they can return to the setting and fellow household members can end their isolation. the child or staff member tests positive, the rest of their immediate group within their setting should be sent home and advised to self-isolate for 14 days. The other household members of those advised to self-isolate do not need to self-isolate unless the child or staff member they live with subsequently develops symptoms. If a member of staff needs to be off for this or any other reason we will bring another member of staff off furlough to replace them. We have 8 out of 14 staff who have an up to date Paediatric First Aid qualification so we will always be able to ensure that one of them is present at any session. One of the senior managers is our safeguarding lead, if she has to be off work then one of our directors, who does not work as a child carer is the other safeguarding lead and can be contacted by all members of staff for any safeguarding issues.
As part of the national test and trace programme, if other cases are detected within the setting, Public Health England’s local health protection teams will conduct a rapid investigation and will advise us on the most appropriate action to take. In some cases a larger group may be asked to self-isolate at home as a precautionary measure. Where settings are observing guidance on infection prevention and control, which will reduce risk of transmission, closure of the whole setting will not generally be necessary.
COMMUNICATING WITH STAFF
All staff will be sent this document and offered a phone call or video call with the senior managers and/or directors to discuss this further before they return to work.
We have one staff member who lives with someone who is extremely clinically vulnerable. This staff member will not be expected to come to work before September. We are not aware of any staff who are clinically vulnerable but we will be carrying out an audit to establish if anyone is and if they are they will continue to stay on furlough for as long as possible.
The guide to donning and doffing standard PHE equipment will be sent to all staff. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/877658/Quick_guide_to_donning_doffing_standard_PPE_health_and_social_care_poster__.pdf
COMMUNICATING WITH PARENTS
All parents of children returning to school will be contacted to ask if they intend to use the out of school club. They will be sent a letter (Appendix B) and a copy of this document. The coronavirus outbreak may have caused significant mental health or wellbeing difficulties for some children. They may have had to deal with bereavement and we will need to consider the mental health, pastoral and wider health and well being support children may need. Also support in helping them return to school and the club after a long period of absence and with everything being very different when they return. Parents will be asked to let us know of any concerns in this area they may have before the children return.
All parents of children returning to the club will be asked to update their emergency contact details, replacing any current emergency contacts who may be in a vulnerable group.
Appendix A
Government guidelines for decontamination in a non health care setting
Public areas where a symptomatic individual has passed through and spent minimal time, such as corridors, but which are not visibly contaminated with body fluids can be cleaned thoroughly as normal.
All surfaces that the symptomatic person has come into contact with must be cleaned and disinfected, including:
- objects which are visibly contaminated with body fluids
- all potentially contaminated high-contact areas such as bathrooms, door handles, telephones, grab-rails in corridors and stairwells
Use disposable cloths or paper roll and disposable mop heads, to clean all hard surfaces, floors, chairs, door handles and sanitary fittings, following one of the options below:
- use either a combined detergent disinfectant solution at a dilution of 1,000 parts per million available chlorine
or
- a household detergent followed by disinfection (1000 ppm av.cl.). Follow manufacturer’s instructions for dilution, application and contact times for all detergents and disinfectants
or
- if an alternative disinfectant is used within the organisation, this should be checked and ensure that it is effective against enveloped viruses
Avoid creating splashes and spray when cleaning.
Any cloths and mop heads used must be disposed of and should be put into waste bags as outlined below.
When items cannot be cleaned using detergents or laundered, for example, upholstered furniture and mattresses, steam cleaning should be used.
Any items that are heavily contaminated with body fluids and cannot be cleaned by washing should be disposed of.
Waste
Waste from possible cases and cleaning of areas where possible cases have been (including disposable cloths and tissues):
- Should be put in a plastic rubbish bag and tied when full.
- The plastic bag should then be placed in a second bin bag and tied.
- It should be put in a suitable and secure place and marked for storage until the individual’s test results are known.
Waste should be stored safely and kept away from children. You should not put your waste in communal waste areas until negative test results are known or the waste has been stored for at least 72 hours.
- if the individual tests negative, this can be put in with the normal waste
- if the individual tests positive, then store it for at least 72 hours and put in with the normal waste
If storage for at least 72 hours is not appropriate, arrange for collection as a Category B infectious waste either by your local waste collection authority if they currently collect your waste or otherwise by a specialist clinical waste contractor. They will supply you with orange clinical waste bags for you to place your bags into so the waste can be sent for appropriate treatment.