How schools will look when they reopen with parents dropping kids off in 'pens'

Classrooms will look completely different when schools reopen from Monday - and teachers have shown off the steps they're making.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson says sending children back to school is a key step in getting the country back to normal as the lockdown is eased.

Year 1 and Year 6 pupils will be able to attend, alongside the children of key workers - but class sizes will be much smaller than usual in order to maintain social distancing.

Now Gloucestershire Live has taken a look at what will happens when children go back.

Pupils and teachers will not be permitted to wear face masks as government guidance claims this could encourage children to scratch and touch their faces, causing further spread of Covid-19.

To ensure there is enough space, schools will generally allocate Monday/Tuesday or Thursday/Friday slots for half the pupils to attend - with a deep clean carried out on the Wednesday.

One school, Greatfield Park, has ensured siblings attending will be given the same slot to aid parents, and pupils will have a ‘special friend’ who they will be grouped with.

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Children of key workers will continue to attend school each day and home learning will continue to be provided for pupils who will not be attending.

Parents have been given a choice as to whether their child attends school so fines against parents' non-attendance have been waived by the government.

Drop off and collection times will be staggered with queues and marked walkways for parents and pupils to follow.

Greatfield Park has announced five minute increments for various year groups to arrive.

Another local school, Kingsholm, is using timeslots based on surnames, with parents being asked to drop children off alone, without siblings or other children.

At Kingsholm, pupils will be dropped off by parents in to pens that will be sectioned with barriers as they arrive.

Later, a member of staff will take each group to their classroom. There is also a set route parents must follow through the school site, arriving and leaving by different entrances.

According to headteacher Jan Buckland, the pens will be “roughly a quarter of the size of a netball court” and the barriers will consist of “bollards with a bit of ceiling tape around to designate the area, some cones and things”.

Another school, Lydbrook, have banned pupils bringing bags as the cloakroom areas will not be used.

Break times

Again, schools will be staggering times to ensure less cross-contamination.

At Lydbrook, pupils will be allotted in to select ‘bubbles’ during school time to avoid cross-contamination between the pupils.

These “groups will not be able to mingle” during break times. The school kitchen will also be closed, with pupils expected to bring their own meals.

Pupils who are provided free school meals will be provided with supermarket vouchers on a weekly basis.

At Kingsholm, markings have been placed on the ground on the way towards the toilets so that pupils know how far away to stand from one another as they queue.

They’ve added that toilets will regularly be cleaned throughout the day.

Supply to their water fountains have been cut off with pupils expected to bring their own water to school, plus select sinks and toilet will not be functioning.

At Greatfield Park, breakfast and after school clubs have been cancelled, as is the case at Kingsholm. It has also not been decided yet whether hot or cold food will be provided during lunch time.

In the classroom

Across the board, classrooms will be more spaced apart with one pupil per table.

Kingsholm say pupils will be expected to use their own equipment.

The amount of books shared will be reduced. Plus certain toys will be removed from the school to avoid cross-contamination.

Greatfield Park and Lydrook have explicitly banned toys from being brought to school. Greatfield Park will also provide stationery.

The Cheltenham school will be making moves to re-build social development that may have been reduced during lockdown.

They will be doing this by introducing outdoor team building activities (with social distancing deployed), in-class sessions where pupils discuss their experiences during quarantine and activities specifically designed to rebuild relationships.

Otherwise, core subjects Maths and English will be focused on to ensure smooth transition as pupils progress to the next year of education.

How will social distancing be enforced between the children?

Schools have cautioned they cannot guarantee social distancing, however informative posters outlining the importance of social distancing will be plastered across the school walls.

All schools across have said they will stress the importance of social distancing measures, although this may be more challenging to instill in younger children.

Mrs Buckland, head of Kingsholm, said: “Talking about nursery children, we cannot guarantee at all social distancing but we will encourage.

"We will have adults who sit in places to steer children away from each other.”

She went on to say that pupils who do not follow socially distancing instructions on purpose will be sent home after a three strike rule has been deployed.

“We will talk to the parents, if a child is being [non-compliant] then what we will do is phone the parents and the parents will then have to come and collect them,” she said.

What have parents been asked to do?

Greatfield Park have requested parents strip children of all their clothes as soon as they get home and to make sure they wash.

The action plan states: “I would strongly suggest that once your child arrives back home, they change their clothes immediately and the clothes they’ve worn at school are washed. Their shoes are removed at the door.”

Simon Lusted, Head of Lybrook, has written to parents: “There is a requirement that clothes are washed and not worn the following day.”

Lydbrook have also discouraged the use of the school bus service, however this will still be in place, encouraging parents to take their children in to school themselves.

Kingsholm previously had an ‘open school’ policy where parents and guardians were allowed in to the classroom, this will no longer be permitted. The school is urging parents to check their child's temperature each day before school.