Fairfields Primary School

Dear parents and carers,

In memory of those who have fought for our freedom or who continue to be involved in war, we attended the Remembrance Day Service on Sunday.  Well done to Panayotis, Theodora and Mabel who were the ambassadors of Fairfields and laid a wreath on behalf of the school.

We also held an assembly on Friday where the children learnt about the reason why we have Remembrance Day each year.  Mr Mardell, our Site Manager, showed his medals from when he was serving in the army. 

Playground pick up and drop off

I have received some feedback about the stagger in times for drop off and pick up, especially since the weather has become wetter.  Parents have also requested that the system revert back to the way it used to be.  I have given the reasons to the parents who have spoken to me, but I feel that these need to be shared with all parents so that there is an understanding of why the system has changed. 

In the past and prior to the Pandemic, the school opened the doors and let the children arrive anytime between 8:40 – 9am.  Children were dropped off under the canopy and entered the building through the two doors which had two members of staff holding the doors open.  This meant that parents were able to drop off their children together and leave to attend their place of work.  Children were not required to wait for a time slot and when the weather became wetter the doors were opened earlier.  Parking was still an issue and lateness was also similar as parents felt that there was more flexibility. 

The information which has not been shared with parents is what this looked like inside the school.  This involved teachers being in the classroom as they needed to make sure the children were supervised.  They were unable to teach part of the curriculum as children arrived at different points and could not begin lessons until the majority of the class arrived.  Parents would not be able to pass on messages to the class teachers in the morning as the teachers were not on the playground.  Parents who were struggling with their child on the playground received very little support as there were no adults to help them as they were inside the building.  Children were left to find their way to their classrooms once entering the building and frequent accidents occurred in the corridors and on the staircases due to their being no one to supervise them in all parts of the school.  At times, children would be found in the toilets upset about something that had happened to them either before school or when entering, unsupervised in the corridors.  Younger children often became overwhelmed with the amount of children entering the building at the same time; 360 children enter the school through the two doors under the canopy. 

I hope that by sharing this information, you understand the risks posed by returning to the system in the past.  I am proposing that we trial reducing the time between drop offs by 5 minutes. 

So for the week beginning Monday 5^th December the following times will be trialled:

Foundation Stage, Year 1 and 2: 8:40am drop off and 3:10pm pick up.

Years 3,4,5 and 6: 8:45am and 3:15pm pick up.

This would mean that parents dropping off or collecting in the first slot would need to leave the playground immediately to make room for other parents and children, unless they are collecting older siblings.  This would be especially important for parents who have driven and have parked near the school.  They would need to be prompt so that other parents can park without causing problems in the neighbourhood.  We will be asking for feedback during this week and will be monitoring the traffic around the school.  This will be for one week only.  Once we have reviewed the impact of it, we will then make a decision about whether this is a permanent arrangement. 

Parenting Tip

This week I wanted to share the National Sleep helpline with you.  If you need support or want advice you are able to contact them by calling 03303530541.  Please see attached poster for more information. 

Have a great week!

Miss Kelly Dillon

Headteacher