Control Measures and Procedures which will be in place at the Convent Primary:
- School Opening and Closing
- Class Groups
- Pupils’ Uniforms and Belongings
- Contact Details
- Yard times
- Dealing with a suspected case of Covid-19
- Parental/Guardian Access to the School
- PPE and Cleaning
School Opening and Closing
- Our school calendar remains unchanged unless required by the Department of Education.
- We are emphasising a Drop and Go policy. There should be no waiting by any parents.
- We request that parents do not engage with members of staff at drop-off and collection times.
- The Convent Primary School will open as normal at 8:45am.
- Children will go straight to their classrooms where they will be supervised by their teacher.
- School will start as normal at 9:00am.
Class Groups
- Children will be kept to their own class ‘Bubble’ during the day.
- Within their Bubble the children will be assigned a Pod. A pod is a small group of pupils and will be made up of 4 to 6 children.
- Please note that pods will be assigned by the class teacher.
- Each Pod will be kept 1 metre apart from each other as much as classroom space allows.
- While within the classroom setting, the children must remain in their pod. However, this is not a pre-requisite for the first 4 years in school: Junior Infants, Senior Infants, First and Second Class. The teachers of these classes have the flexibility to allow movement of children around the room. Nevertheless, this movement will be reduced compared to Pre-Covid-19.
Pupils’ Uniforms and Belongings
- Pupils will wear uniforms three days and tracksuits two days your child has PE which will be assigned by the class teacher. This will also facilitate washing of both.
- Please label all of your children’s items. Items not labelled unfortunately will be disposed of.
- We will be providing baskets for each child in which they can store their belongings in school.
- Please ensure that children have all their own stationary as per book list.
- Children will not be able to share their items.
- Each child will be given their own individual class paintbrush, scissor as required etc
- Where possible please ensure all folders/lunch boxes/bottles/pencil cases are wipeable.
- Reminder, please note that previous year’s maths textbooks will be used up until the end of September.
Contact Details
- It is extremely important that the school have up to date contact numbers for parents/guardians and emergency contacts for your child/children.
- If any of these have changed the school needs to be aware of these changes.
- To change contact details, please ring the school office or email: info@conventps.ie
Morning and Lunch Break Times
- Break times will remain unchanged, however children will remain indoors at these times and will eat their lunches in their classroom. This is to facilitate the integrity of the Class Bubbles.
- Each class will be assigned their own yard time in order for the pupils to get some time outdoors. Each class Bubble will have a designated area in the yard.
- Class Bubbles will not be permitted to play with children from another class Bubble.
Dealing with a suspected case of Covid-19
- If your child shows any of the HSE symptoms you will contacted and asked to collect them.
- An isolation room has been assigned in the school for children presenting with Covid symptoms. The child will be accompanied to the designated isolation area by a member of staff.
- If a child goes home with suspected symptoms a Return to School Form will have completed by the parents/guardians prior to readmission to school.
- Symptoms as per HSE guidelines include:
- a high temperature ie 38°C or above
- a cough - this can be any kind of cough, not just dry
- shortness of breath or breathing difficulties
- loss or change to your sense of smell or taste
The HSE has a number of videos explaining the symptoms of Covid 19 in different languages
IRISH
ENGLISH
LITHUANIAN
POLISH
ROMANIAN
Please notify us if your child or any member of the household contracts Covid 19, or is a suspected case. This information will be dealt with in strictest confidence. Equally, we would ask you to please respect the privacy and confidentiality of any member of our school community in relation to Covid- 19 matters.
Parental/Guardian/Visitor Access to the School
- Only authorised people wearing a face covering can enter the school grounds or building.
- Guidelines regarding social distancing, hand sanitising and wearing of face coverings/masks should also be adhered to at all times
- Parents/Guardians/Visitors are not permitted into the school building to meet the principal or staff unless they have arranged an appointment in advance as per DES guidelines.
- All visitors to the Convent Primary will be required to fill the Contact Tracing Log.
- Communicate with your child’s teacher via email and Chat boards on our App. Email addresses will be made available to you on return to school.
PPE and Cleaning
- School staff will use their own discretion–especially if working in small groups etc.
- Staff will use face covering at drop off and collection times.
- Hand sanitiser continues to be available in all classrooms and at main entry and exit points.
- Jennifer O’Farrell and Eimear Buckley are the Lead Worker Representatives (LWR) and Assistant LWRs respectively. They will work in collaboration with school management to assist in the implementation of measures and monitoring adherence to public health advice.
- The school has been deep cleaned professionally.
- The school will continue to be cleaned daily, following all government guidelines.
- Additional cleaning of high frequency touch areas e.g. door handles, desks will also take place each the day.
- While sanitising stations are available in each classroom and at various points around the school, children are requested to bring their own individual hand sanitiser which is to be kept in a zip lock bag in their school bag.
Please be mindful that the arrangements currently in place are subject to change as the control measures shall continue to be reviewed and updated as required on an ongoing basis. Our Covid Response Plan is available on our school app and contains further information.
The Staff and BOM, Convent Primary School. Tel: 022-42211
Covid Response Plan
This Covid-19 Response Plan is designed to support the staff and Board of Management (BOM) in putting measures in place that will prevent the spread of Covid-19 in the Convent Primary School
The Covid-19 Response Plan details the policies and practices necessary for a school to meet the Government’s ‘Return to Work Safely Protocol’, the Department of Education and Skills plan for school reopening and to prevent the spread of Covid-19 in the school environment. The plan incorporates current advice about measures to reduce the spread of Covid-19 in the community issued by the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET).
It is important that the resumption of school-based teaching and learning and the reopening of school facilities comply with the protocol to minimise the risk to students, staff and others. As the advice issued by NPHET continues to evolve, this protocol and the measures management and staff need to address may also change.
The response plan will support the sustainable reopening of our school where the overriding objective is to protect the health of staff and pupils while promoting the educational and development needs of the children in the school.
In line with the Return to Work Safely Protocol, the key to a safe and continued return to work, and re-opening of our schools requires strong communication and a shared collaborative approach between the Board of management, staff, pupils and parents.