Full return to school from September 8th 2020
Updated 1st October with respect to mornings and St Oswalds children.
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 announcement that all children will be returning to school and childcare from September 2020. It has been compiled on the basis of government guidance in conjunction with information and advice from the local authority and public health guidance. This risk assessment is in addition to the annual general risk assessment and daily risk assessments carried out by all staff.
Parents are being asked to consider sending their child to the same settings consistently, and consider carefully the number of settings they attend overall. We acknowledge that just school attendance is impossible for the children of most working parents and so we will be opening to our full pre-Covid numbers of children in order to help as many parents as possible to return to work.
Although as the CMO, Professor Chris Whitty has said in his announcement that they are confident in the extensive evidence that there is an exceptionally small risk of children of primary or secondary school age dying from COVID-19, it is still important that we put in place measures to decrease the spread of COVID-19 as far as is possible.
Risk
Children mixing in one large group and mixing with different children to those they have mixed with during the school day.
Mitigation
The government have acknowledged that children will need to be in different groups during wrap around care to those that they are in during school time. We will do our best to keep mixing with new children to a minimum. We will keep the children in separate groups of no more than 15, with as consistent staffing as possible for these groups, given the part time nature of most of our employees contracts. Given that the evidence that older children and teenagers are at lower risk of catching COVID-19 is mixed and that they are either less likely to catch COVID-19 than adults or have the same risk as adults we will keep all
Key Stage 3 children 2m apart from other children and staff.
These groups will be as follows:
GROUP 1 Broadway East First School – Key Stage 1
GROUP 2 Broadway East First School – Key Stage 2
GROUP 3 Gosforth Park First School – Key Stage 1
GROUP 4 Gosforth Park First School – Key Stage 2
GROUP 5 St Oswalds Primary School – Key Stage 1 and Reception for mornings. Key Stage 1 only for afternoons
GROUP 6 St Oswalds Primary School Key Stage 2 – on four afternoon sessions and one morning session this group will be broken down further in to two separate groups:
GROUP 6a: Y3/4 and GROUP 6b: Y5/6
GROUP 7 Gosforth East Middle School
GROUP 8 Early Years from all schools – the advice for Early Years is that they do not need to be kept in small consistent groups so after school we will have a separate early years area that is for early years children from all schools. In the mornings due to limitations on space and dropping off at school logistics, the Early Years children from St Oswalds will be in a group with the Y1/2 children from St Oswalds.
These groups will operate in different areas in the morning to the afternoons due to the spaces available to us. They will be placed as follows:
Before school
GROUPS 1 and 2 Broadway East School Hall
GROUPS 3, 4, 7 and 8 Gosforth Park school hall and dining hall with partition open
GROUPS 5 and 6 in the main hall of St Oswalds.
After school
GROUPS 1 and 2 Broadway East School Hall
GROUPS 3 and 4 Classroom 1 Gosforth Park First School
GROUP 5 and GROUP 6a Main Hall Gosforth Park First School
GROUP 6b and GROUP 7 Classroom 2 Gosforth Park First School Hall
GROUP 8 Partitioned off dining hall end of Gosforth Park First School Hall.
After 530pm those remaining in the groups in the classrooms will be moved to the hall but still kept in separate groups. Any tables used by different groups will be cleaned thoroughly in between groups.
On a Friday after school GROUP 6a and 6b will join to form one group in the main hall of Gosforth Park First School hall and Group 7 will also be situated in the main hall. This is due to the much lower numbers of children attending on a Friday.
Children will all be asked to use the toilets in their own school before they come to the club. Gosforth Park children, Broadway East children and St Oswalds children (in the mornings) will use the same toilets that they use during the day. GEMS children and SOPS after school will have a separate cubicle allocated to each school. The SOPS children will be taken to the toilets in their groups so a member of staff can ensure that the toilet is properly cleaned between each group’s use. BEFS children will be escorted to the toilets in BEFS. GPFS children will go to the toilet one at a time and not at the same time as a child from another group. Early Years children will be accompanied in groups to the toilet so that they can be supervised by one of the Early Years staff members. We will aim for the younger children to use the toilets only at certain times throughout the session rather than a constant flow of children back and forth but no child will be prevented from using the toilet if they are desperate. An extra member of staff will be used to monitor the toilets. The toilets for GEMS and SOPS children will be cleaned between school use and out of school club use.
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 sandwiches will be served to the children at their tables by staff. After school the snacks will be simpler and will not include toast, eg crackers and cheese, plain biscuits. Breakfast will only be served between 745am and 815am, St Oswalds children will need to arrive by 8.05am to have time for breakfast . After this all children will be taken outside to play within their groups. If the weather is particularly bad they will stay inside.
After school the children will be kept outside as much as possible. Snack will be served outside as a picnic. Children will be kept in their 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 – Groups 5 and 6a GPFS front door, Group 8 fire door at dining hall end, BEFS directly from their school and fire exit for outside. Groups 3, 4, 6b and 7 will use the side doors of the building. This will ensure there is no cross over between groups within the halls however it is noted that brief transitory contact between groups, such as passing in the corridor or moving outside is low risk.
All staff will keep at least two metres away from each other. All staff meetings and training will continue to be carried out virtually.
Collection from Schools
SOPS
Children from St Oswalds will be collected at the relevant finish times and taken straight outside to play in their groups. If the weather is bad the Years 5/6s will be taken to the gazebo until the classroom in GPFS become available and Yrs 1 to 4 will be taken directly to the school hall.
Early Years children will be collected from their classroom by an EY staff member and taken to the Early Years area in the GPFS hall or outside depending on the weather.
BEFS
KS1 and KS2 children from BEFS will be sent along to the school hall at their relevant finish times and taken outside with their belongings unless the weather is bad in which case they will be taken in to the BEFS hall.
Early Years children will be collected from their classrooms by an EY member of staff and taken to join the other EY children with the other EY member of staff either outside or in the EY area.
GPFS
KS1 and 2 children from GPFS will be met outside the side doors by a member of staff who will take them outside to play if the weather is good. If the weather is bad they will shelter in the gazebo until 4pm when they can go in to the allocated classroom. If there is not enough room in the gazebo or if the weather is particularly bad then the groups in the hall will be kept closer together to allow space to fit one or two extra groups in the hall until the classrooms are available.
Early Years children will be collected from their classrooms by an EY member of staff and taken to join the other EY children with the other EY member of staff either outside or in the EY area.
GEMS
GEMS children will be told to come to the bottom of the ramp to the main door where their member of staff will be waiting for them to either take them outside or to a classroom if the weather is bad, once they have all arrived. If the weather is particularly bad this member of staff will wait just inside the main door and the children will stand and wait just inside the hall doors, or in the entrance lobby until all of them have arrived.
Risk
Parents congregating at drop off and pick up times.
Mitigation
BEFORE SCHOOL
GROUPS 1 and 2 to come to the fire exit door of the BEFS hall
GROUPS 3, 4, 7 and 8 to come to the main entrance of GPFS
GROUPS 5, 6a and 6b and EY children from SOPS to go to the gazebo in the GPFS play area. On bad weather days after 8am this group will be in the main hall of St Oswalds. In this instance a member of staff will meet parents at the car park to direct them.
On the first occasion that any child attends, and on subsequent days until the child is happily settled, one parent or carer may accompany the child to the door of Gosforth Park First School/Broadway East First School fire door/the gazebo. Parents are not allowed to enter the building. A staff member will answer the door and the child will be handed over at the door. Parents are asked to ensure that they stay 2m away from staff.
For children who have previously attended and all new children once they are settled, parents are asked to accompany their children to the bottom of the ramp to the front door only (GPFS), or to no closer than 2m from the gazebo (SOPS) or Broadway East fire door, then to stand back and wait until their children have been welcomed by a member of staff. Only one family group must be on the GPFS ramp at any one time. Parents are asked to queue up at 2m apart, in GPFS there are rainbow markers on the ground to mark this. Parents will need to be aware that there will be a queue at busy times and to allow time for this.
If children arrive after the groups have gone out to play at 8.15am parents will be asked to follow the same routine but at the gates to the GPFS playground.
All BEFS, GPFS and GEMS children must arrive by 8.35am and all SOPS children must arrive by 8.25am to avoid crossover with parents arriving to drop their children at school. If parents arrive after this time they will be turned away to deliver their child to school at the school’s allocated time. We have agreed with the school that no OSC parents will be on the premises at the same time as school parents.
AFTER SCHOOL
Between 445pm and 515pm on a Monday to Thursday a member of staff will stand near the gate to the play area (dry weather) or on the fire exit steps facing the car park (wet weather). When parents arrive this member of staff will radio the relevant group to send the child down. Care will be taken by staff not to send children down from different groups together, unless they are siblings. In the case of EY children one of the EY staff will bring them out. This floater will hold all the permission to collect lists and all the registers which he/she will have collected from each group once all the children have arrived. The floater will sign the children out, not the parents. Parents must observe 2m distance rules and only one parent/carer to collect.
Outside of these times and on Fridays parents will be asked to text the club from the car park when they arrive (07941413728). They will then come to the play area gates or the relevant entrance for their group on wet weather days, as below:
Groups 1 and 2 – Fire Exit door to Broadway East
Groups 3, 4, 6b (Mon to Thu) and 7 (Mon to Thu) – Side doors to Gosforth Park First School until 530pm. After that the bottom of the ramp.
Groups 5, 6a and 8 (and 6b and 7 on a Friday) – Bottom of ramp to main door to GPFS
If the activities are being run outside then staff will ensure that children have taken all of their belongings outside with them to reduce the need to re-enter the building to collect them while parents are waiting.
Necessary and urgent conversations only between staff and parents can be carried out at a distance of more than 2m at collection or drop off. All other conversations must be had by text or mobile phone call.
The only people to enter the premises are staff involved in direct childcare 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 will walk through the areas that the groups are occupying. Club staff will not enter the rest of Gosforth Park First School except to escort children to the toilet and classrooms and to use the staff room to collect water.
Risk
Points of crowding – when children collect belongings to go to school, transition to school, arrival from school, fire alarms and fire drills.
Mitigation
Children will store their coats on the back of their chairs and their belongings beneath their chairs/table when inside. The portable coat racks will be used for children using the upstairs classrooms and the EY children. EY children will use coat racks as normal as they will not all be seated at tables.
Different groups will use different exits to access outside play areas – the main door for those in the hall, the fire exit doors for those in the dining hall and BEFS hall and the side doors for those in the classrooms.
Fire alarms and drills – the 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 groups on the GPFS playground, GEMS on the playground outside the nursery entrance, SOPS and EY groups 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.
Cleaning protocol
All tables, chairs. Coat racks and equipment to be cleaned thoroughly with antibacterial cleaning product (V2 spray) before and after each session. 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. If non disposable cloths need to be used these will be hot washed daily.
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 at 30 minute intervals and clean with V2 spray before and after each session.
Toilets in between use by different groups as necessary:
Sink (basin and taps)
Toilet roll holder
Toilet flush
Toilet door front and back
Toilet
Toilet seat (top and bottom)
Classrooms before and after use:
Desks
Chairs
Touch points
Sink and taps if used
Sanitisers/roll dispenser if used
Door handles either side
Light switches
Mobile coat racks
Hall before and after use:
Tables
Chairs
Touch points
Door handles either side
Light switches
Coat racks
No chanting, shouting, singing by children or staff.
No soft furnishings to be used – eg rug, blankets, cushions.
No toys that are difficult to clean, eg with intricate parts
Three sets of pens/pencils/glue sticks etc will be kept for each group. These will be rotated on a daily basis so that there is a 72 hour interval in between each time that they are used. No sharing of pens/pencils/gluesticks within a group unless a staff member cleans them.
Children will not be able to bring 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 be allowed on fixed outdoor play equipment but must use hand sanitiser before and after use. One group at a time to have access to this fixed equipment and the staff will allow only a certain number of children on each piece of equipment to ensure 2m distances are kept. Parts of the equipment that are held on to by hand – eg the hand rails on trim trail, the climbing wall, the pirate ship wheel and rails will be cleaned by staff before the children use them. The picnic tables and benches may be used by children spaced at 2m apart. These also will be cleaned before use.
“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 (cough, high temperature, loss of smell/taste), lives with someone who has displayed symptoms or tested positive in the last 14 days or is in a support bubble with someone who has had a positive test or displayed symptoms in the last 14 days, or has been told by NHS Test and Trace in the last 14 days that they’ve been in contact with a person with coronavirus should not attend the club. If displaying symptoms they are encouraged to get a test.
A staff member or child can return if they have a negative test, as long as:
- everyone they live with who has symptoms tests negative
- everyone in their support bubble who has symptoms test negative
- they were not told to self isolate by NHS Test and Trace
- they feel well, if they have diarrhoea or have been sick they must stay at home until 48 hours after this has stopped.
If a staff member or child has a positive test they must not return to the club until at least 10 days from when the symptoms started, or until the symptoms disappear if that is longer than 10 days. If a staff member or child has had a positive test but has no symptoms they must not return to the club until 10 days after the test.
If a member of staff needs to be off for this or any other reason we will ask other staff who work part time to cover them. We are also recruiting new staff to act as cover. 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
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 10 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.
If a child or staff member tests positive, the rest of their immediate group within the setting will 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 will attend a video meeting with the senior managers and directors to discuss this further before they return to work.
We have no staff who are clinically vulnerable but we have one member of staff who lives with someone who is clinically extremely vulnerable. Should shielding be reintroduced for this group then this member of staff will not be expected to work.
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 will be sent a letter 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.
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.