Very limited meal service

The school site will re-open to pupils and staff tomorrow, Wednesday 31st October, onwards with a very limited school meal service.  All aspects of the school re-open including Nursery, Breakfast Club, main school, After School Club, specialist clubs and morning orchestra.  Meal arrangements are:

• Nursery pupils will receive a hot meal in the morning and afternoon, as usual, provided by Harrison, the school’s caterer;
• Reception, Year 1 – 6 pupils who are entitled to a free school meal (based on income) will be offered a sandwich meal provided by Harrison, the school’s caterer. Where pupils are entitled to a free school meal, parents may, if they wish provide their own packed lunch;
• All other pupils, including Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 pupils who receive a universal infant free meal, will need to bring a packed lunch to school;
• Breakfast Club and After School Club will receive their meal as usual.

Packed lunches should be healthy with no fizzy or high sugar drinks; no nuts or products containing nuts to keep other pupils with life-threatening allergies safe.

 

The school continues to experience insufficient water pressure to enable us to operate fully. The kitchen uses a high volume of water. Whilst a permanent solution is found, the school can operate hygienically with a good supply of water to taps and toilets when the kitchen is closed. Water pressure is too low in the building to serve all toilets, taps and the kitchen simultaneously. I have prioritised opening the school to pupils and staff with a reduced meal service rather than remaining closed.

 

This reduced meal service will remain in place until further notice.

 

Thames Water engineers visited the school site this morning. Their tests showed that the school had sufficient water pressure from the mains supply. They advised that the school had a water leak inside the site. Our plumbing engineers have undertaken extensive tests during the day. There is no evidence of a leak within the school site. The current working theory is that water supply pipe replacement works, undertaken by Thames Water over the half-term period without our knowledge, has resulted in a smaller supply pipe from the mains which is not providing the school with a sufficient volume of water leading to unusable water pressure across the school. Our plumbing engineers have considered a range of options to increase water pressure across the school site. However, it is believed that all of the options will fail because the volume of water from the mains supply is simply too small. I am currently waiting on a response from Thames Water.