WELCOME TO HERTFORD INFANT AND NURSERY SCHOOL

I would like to warmly welcome you and your child to Hertford Infant and Nursery School. I am very proud to lead our school. Here we have the families at the heart of all that we do; every child has the right to feel special and we, as educators, are the guardians of your child’s self-esteem, in partnership with you, it really is an honour and a privilege.Read more...

Watch a film about our school below, it takes a little while to load. 

3^rd January 2021

Dear Parents and Carers,

 HERTFORD SCHOOLS UPDATE:

I wrote yesterday to advise that school will be closed to all pupils on Monday 4^th January and thereafter the curriculum will be moved to remote learning with the exception of ‘in-school’ provision for children of keyworkers and vulnerable children. Here is further information about the in-school provision.

As we return to key worker education provision this is the criteria we have used previously for information. However, please read it carefully as there have been a few changes.

We will initially be booking for the first two weeks (Tuesday 5^th - Friday 15^th January) and will book for further dates once we know what is going on.

We continue to use the criteria of Critical Worker- PLEASE FOLLOW THIS LINK TO SEE IF YOU QUALIFY AS A CRITICAL WORKER / VULNERABLE:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-maintaining-educational-provision/guidance-for-schools-colleges-and-local-authorities-on-maintaining-educational-provision

All places must have been booked (please see the 'Letters Home' section for Booking Form). This is not first come first served. Our Admissions criteria are prioritised as:

1. Critical Worker Children- where both parents are Critical Workers and both working during the school day full time OR where your household is a single parent family and that parent is a Critical Worker.
2. Critical Worker Children- where one parent is a Critical Worker and no other adult is at home or able to provide childcare.
3. Vulnerable Children- by invite: If your child comes under the category of vulnerable under the criteria we will be in touch with you to assess your situation. We will aim to do this by the end of Monday 4^th  January to let you know if we can offer your child some time in school.

We ask that you complete the form attached and please send this back in to the infant OR junior office by 11.30am on Monday 4^th January (email addresses above). Thank you. Please complete separate forms for infant and junior children.

To clarify the educational provision is only open to children:

• whose parents are Critical Workers and working on the dates/ times that the children are in educational provision,
• who have a social worker- by invite,
• who have an EHCP- by invite,
• who the school have offered a place to.

Whilst we appreciate some parents have been using this provision to give them a break, or to allow them to get things done, we can only offer this service now to provide education for when you are working. This is also the same if there is another member of the household who is at home and can support their child to access the education provided.

Childcare will be restricted to 16 children maximum, per year group, per day.

Important Changes to the educational provision are:

• Breakfast Club will open for children attending the in-school provision with access from 8.00am. Please book in using the current system in place at the infant or junior school.
• After School Club will be open for children attending the in-school provision with access 3-5pm. Please book in using the current system in place at the infant or junior school.
• No toys or equipment can be brought from home. Just water-bottles, lunchboxes and phones-if required.
• School Uniform is required.
• Children attending school will be completing learning provided by class teachers each day in school.
• Free School Lunches will be given (if this changes, we will update you).

Any parent who sends their child/ren to the educational provision must agree that in the event that they show symptoms of Covid-19 that they will ensure that their child is isolated at home and that they get an urgent test to confirm if they have it or not. Anyone who has come into direct contact with them will be required to isolate and not attend for either 10 days, or until a negative test result has been given- hence the need to be tested, otherwise everyone in their Bubble and Family will be required to isolate for 14 days also.

Children will not be able to attend school if:

• they have not received a confirmation of an offer of a place,
• are unwell (including significantly raised temperature)
• A family member is self-isolating

THE IMPORTANCE OF VENTILATION IN SCHOOL

Please make sure your child wears warm clothing under their uniform to keep them warm in school. To gain an understanding of why we continue to keep the doors and windows open in school you may want to read this article from the Spanish Media about how Covid-19 is spread in different environments:-

https://english.elpais.com/society/2020-10-28/a-room-a-bar-and-a-class-how-the-coronavirus-is-spread-through-the-air.html 

As you can see it is important that we maintain good ventilation- even in winter months. 

COVID-19 INFORMATION

All school and organisations have had to complete and undertake a range of measures to ensure they are safe and able to reopen following lockdown.

At Hertford we have safely been open to date. This has been down to the amazing efforts of all of the staff and the fantastic support we have received from parents.

This has also been possible due to ensuring that we are 100% up to date with the relevant guidance and advices that have been sent from the Local Authority, Health Authority, Public Health and Department of Education.

Of course the reality has been how we have interpreted this information and how we have practically put it into place. 

Additional cleaning during the school day, Staggered entry systems, Parents/carers waiting outside of the school, Increased sanitation points etc....The list is endless.

To capture the overarching information, the school have completed a Wider Re-Opening Risk Assessment that was reviewed by Brighton and Hove Council Health and Safety team as well as the major teaching unions. 

This is being constantly reviewed and amended. It is also being monitored by the Governing Body in their role.

If you have any comments, then please contact the school office.

RISK ASSESSMENT CURRENTLY UNDER REVIEW

Your sincerely,

Zoe McGuigan

Executive Headteacher 

Prospective Parent and Carer Tours -Please be aware that unfortunately all tours have had to be CANCELLED - you will be contacted directly to inform you of this. 

Please take look at our lovely Hertford Schools VIDEO above, and also click on the on the images below to read our prospectus and Open Day Information.  School Admissions Leaflet  and Admissions Poster.

Y2-Y3 JUNIOR Application Information

 Please note that a child attending Hertford Infants will NOT automatically be offered a place at Hertford Juniors, you will still need to apply. Due to lockdown restrictions, we have had to limit the numbers of visitors in our schools. We are aware that you will be considering your choice before the application deadline of 15 January 2021, but if you are already certain that you will choose Hertford Juniors, we can arrange tours for you at a later date, during the Spring term.

However, if you are still undecided of your choice of Junior school, we will plan to offer a bespoke tour of the Junior school for the New Year. Please contact the INFANT school office before Monday 14^th December 2020, so that we can plan for this effectively before the closing date; please email admin@hertfordinf.brighton-hove.sch.uk Thank you 

In the meantime look at the celebratorty video (above) and please visit the Junior website for more information:  www.hertfordjun.brighton-hove.sch.uk

Nursery Information: Due to the current Covid situation and budget constraints, we would like to consult parents on the possibility of closing the Nursery provision at Hertford. With the limited time slots, we are able to offer we do not have enough children to make the nursery financially viable in the long term. We welcome your thoughts and feedback on whether you would like this provision to continue or whether our early years resources are better focused on reception children onwards. Hertford Schools Federated Governing Body

Please find the NURSERY Consultation paper here.

A notice will be published in the Brighton & Hove Independent on Friday 6^th November 2020 which gives people four weeks to comment on the proposals. Please see the documents below with further information about the consultation including a questionnaire that you can fill out.