Frequently Asked Questions
What do I do before school?
Does my child have to attend school?
Attendance will be mandatory from September and unless your child is isolating or unwell they should be attending school. All absence will be followed up by the school and persistent absences will be reported to the local authority. If your child is unwell, please notify the school on the first morning of absence.
Does my child need to wear a school uniform?
Children do need to wear the full school uniform each day.
Should my child wear a mask to school?
There is no requirement for children to wear masks in school. If they are wearing one travelling to school then this will need to be removed on arrival and placed into a plastic bag.
To remove a mask - clean your hands with soap and water or hand sanitizer before touching the mask. Avoid touching the front of the mask. The front of the mask is contaminated. Only touch the ear loops/ties/band.
What if my child attends the SSC?
If your child attends the SSC please follow the guidance given by Mrs Jane Haynes.
Can my child walk to school on their own?
If your child is in Year 5 or 6 then they can walk to school by themselves. If you would like your child to walk to school on their own, then you will need to give permission, if this hasn’t previously been given, to the school office before they can go home independently.
What do I do if I have more than one child and they all start and finish at different times?
I know this may be inconvenient and hopefully the staggered approach is not going to be a long-term arrangement, but in the short term it will be. I do apologise for any inconvenience this may cause, but please work with us to make sure we keep everyone safe.
If you have children in different year groups, then you will have to queue at the different entrances at the start of the day. You will not be able to drop any older siblings off with younger siblings.
If you do have ANY concerns about your child returning to school, then please contact Mrs Stringer sstringer@northgate.w-sussex.sch.uk. We will work with you to help ensure you and your child feel safe and happy to return.
How will pick up time work?
At your child’s collection time - please enter the playground through the Green Lane gate. Parents should come individually to school (it is ok to bring younger siblings but they will need to be kept close to you). Parents can wait on the playground, remembering to socially distance. The children will be lined up and passed on to you by the class teacher.
If you have a sibling finishing at a later time you may wait in the sibling area, by the Y3 cloakroom, to collect your children. Wherever you are waiting please remember to social distance.
You must leave the school promptly after collecting your children via the Barnfield Road gate.
What does my child need to bring to school?
Please provide your child with these things:
What about school lunches?
What will my child be taught in school?
We aim to continue teaching a broad and balanced curriculum to inspire our children and we will teach through topics using a core text as a stimulus. We will be introducing an outdoor learning session for all children each week; more information will be provided in the coming weeks. PE in the first instance will be taught outside and music will not involve singing indoors, however everything else should look very similar.
Children will spend most of the day in their class bubble but will move for some activities. We will be moving into year groups for phonics in Year 1 and 2 bubbles.
We cannot have gatherings in school, so assemblies will not happen face to face, but we will have class based mental health and wellbeing sessions, Team Meet assemblies and other ways to share as a school.
Will children be having PE?
Keeping physically active is an essential part of the curriculum and the children will be having PE lessons as normal. They will change in their classes/cloakrooms for PE and will require their kit in school every day.
What will home / school communication look like in September?
After the success of Google Classroom we will continue to use this but to a much lesser extent whilst we are back in school. We will however be looking at our remote learning offer if children or bubbles are asked to self-isolate.
Reading logs will be used in KS1, but we ask that parents wash their hands before writing in their children’s reading log and we will do the same. KS2 children will not have a reading log, however we will be introducing reading logs via Google Classroom in the future.
What will happen if a child or adult shows signs of COVID-19?
Will Home Learning continue should I choose to keep my child at home?
No. All children are expected to return to school. Home learning will only be provided for children when a bubble is self-isolating, the school is closed, or an individual child is self-isolating for a week or more. We will be putting together contingency plans for use in the case of a local lockdown if the school must close, or if bubbles are isolating.
Will there be any clubs running?
We hope to start running clubs again once the children and staff have settled back into school.
Will breakfast and after school club be open?
Yes, we will be opening breakfast and after school clubs from Tuesday 8th September. These will be run at the usual times in the Nursery hut. If your child has an early finish time then they will go straight to the club at the end of their day. Children will remain in their bubbles during the club and additional cleaning will be put into place.
What additional cleaning is being carried out?
The classrooms are cleaned daily by our cleaners. We have additional cleaning arrangements in place during the daytime for high use areas and for toilet facilities.
All rooms have a set of cleaning materials to use throughout the day as required.
The lunch tables and chairs will be cleaned between bubbles.
Classroom equipment that is shared will be cleaned between uses. Any resources used by more than one bubble will be cleaned before and after use, this includes PE equipment, laptops, musical instruments and any other resources.
How can I best support my child returning to school?
Everybody will have different feelings about returning to school. Many children will be excited to see their friends again but also be anxious about a new teacher along with wondering how the school will be different.
The most important thing is to reassure your child. Listen to their concerns and answer questions as best you can. Focus on all the things that will be the same and all the things to feel excited about - seeing friends, learning, seeing staff etc..
The staff recorded some videos for their new classes, and these were shared before the summer break, you may wish to share them again with your child.
We will be spending the first few weeks of term working on a recovery curriculum. Through this we will give children opportunities to talk through their concerns and share their experiences.
We will be asking children to wash their hands throughout the day. You can support at home by teaching them how to do this properly.
We will also be asking the children to maintain distance from others as much as possible. It may help some children to be reminded to not be physical with their friends.
Can I pop into the school office when I want to?
No. Please phone or email the school office. Visits to the school are by appointment only. This is to protect staff and to keep contact with people to a minimum. Any conversation with a teacher will very likely be by phone or email.
If I have any questions what should I do?
If you have general questions about the school organisation then please contact the school office by phone or email. If you would like to speak to the class teacher then please arrange a meeting, through the school office, to discuss any questions or concerns you have.
If you continue to have a worry or concern then you can arrange a meeting with your child’s phase leader. They are as follows:
Nursery: Mrs R Risby-Tester
YR – Miss K Edmonds
Y1/2 - Mr P Tree
Y3/4 - Mrs S Nower
Y5/6 - Mrs C Roughton
SLT will also be on the school playground at the start and end of the day to answer any questions.
What should I do if we have been abroad and are isolating?
If you have returned from a restricted country and you have been asked to isolate for 14 days, please DO NOT COME INTO SCHOOL. Contact the school office on Monday morning so we can record the absence and confirm the date we will expect your child to return.