As we come to the end of week five of the enforced school closure, here is a news update for families.
I hope you are all well and taking care of each other. This is a historic time of unparalleled challenge for all of us, many within our community are finding this difficult and there have been family tragedies to endure for some. My thoughts are with you all. Some of our staff, including teachers and their families, have contracted the virus, but I am happy to confirm that they are now on the road to recovery. The school team is making great efforts to get in touch with everyone to ensure you and the children are all OK. I have asked the class teachers to call each home over the coming weeks to offer support and reassurance. We have spoken to the majority of you in the past week, and anyone we have not spoken so far to can expect a call in the next week.
You will be aware that although the school is officially closed for lessons, we have remained open throughout the lockdown, offering childcare for the children of key workers and managing school business, governance and repairs and maintenance. My thanks to the colleagues who have come in to support the community, they have all been happy to manage our daycare, which has been handled through a rota.
Each class teacher has set up, managed and refreshed home learning, you can find examples of some of the work done at home in earlier posts on this blog. Thank you to the parents who have been helping their children keep their skills sharp, especially those who are trying to juggle home learning whilst also working from home. If you are experiencing any difficulties accessing online learning, please contact the school office for assistance.
There have been no decisions made by the government on a date or arrangements for a re-opening of schools in England, we will pass on any news as soon as it is confirmed. It would be safe to predict we are unlikely to open up again, partially or fully, before June at the earliest. It may even be much later than that. Opening dates will be decided by the DfE, not the school. Please watch the news releases for a confirmation, beware fake news and gossip. I know this is going to be quite difficult to manage, and am concerned about the loss of learning opportunities for the children, however our children are in exactly the same predicament as every other child in the country.
The DfE recently announced a scheme for offering laptops and wifi connection for vulnerable children's home use. I can confirm we have had no news on the detail of this yet. As soon as anything is confirmed we will make a news announcement and contact those eligible by SchoolPing.
Class teachers are busy at the moment writing school reports for each child, except those who have only recently joined us. We aim to send these via SchoolPing in the coming weeks. The reports are shorter than our usual versions, but give you an indication of the children's attainment and progress at our February assessment point, and include new targets for the coming months. We hope you will find them of help in supporting your child's learning.
The school office is also making preparations for the new admissions to our Nursery and Reception classes at the beginning of the new school year. I am aware parents have had confirmation from the local authority on their applications, and we will be in touch with everyone in the coming weeks to confirm the steps we are taking to process admissions. We do not have an official start of new year yet, again this will be confirmed by the local authority and DfE.
I have not had any communication from secondary schools about transition arrangements for the children in the year six classes. Their class teachers are in the process of sharing information with the allocated schools, however we wait for details of how and when the children will be inducted.
I wish you and your families well and hope you can continue to support each other in the coming weeks. If you need any support, please contact the school office and we will see what can be arranged.
Mr Drew
Head Teacher
I hope you are all well and taking care of each other. This is a historic time of unparalleled challenge for all of us, many within our community are finding this difficult and there have been family tragedies to endure for some. My thoughts are with you all. Some of our staff, including teachers and their families, have contracted the virus, but I am happy to confirm that they are now on the road to recovery. The school team is making great efforts to get in touch with everyone to ensure you and the children are all OK. I have asked the class teachers to call each home over the coming weeks to offer support and reassurance. We have spoken to the majority of you in the past week, and anyone we have not spoken so far to can expect a call in the next week.
You will be aware that although the school is officially closed for lessons, we have remained open throughout the lockdown, offering childcare for the children of key workers and managing school business, governance and repairs and maintenance. My thanks to the colleagues who have come in to support the community, they have all been happy to manage our daycare, which has been handled through a rota.
Each class teacher has set up, managed and refreshed home learning, you can find examples of some of the work done at home in earlier posts on this blog. Thank you to the parents who have been helping their children keep their skills sharp, especially those who are trying to juggle home learning whilst also working from home. If you are experiencing any difficulties accessing online learning, please contact the school office for assistance.
There have been no decisions made by the government on a date or arrangements for a re-opening of schools in England, we will pass on any news as soon as it is confirmed. It would be safe to predict we are unlikely to open up again, partially or fully, before June at the earliest. It may even be much later than that. Opening dates will be decided by the DfE, not the school. Please watch the news releases for a confirmation, beware fake news and gossip. I know this is going to be quite difficult to manage, and am concerned about the loss of learning opportunities for the children, however our children are in exactly the same predicament as every other child in the country.
The DfE recently announced a scheme for offering laptops and wifi connection for vulnerable children's home use. I can confirm we have had no news on the detail of this yet. As soon as anything is confirmed we will make a news announcement and contact those eligible by SchoolPing.
Class teachers are busy at the moment writing school reports for each child, except those who have only recently joined us. We aim to send these via SchoolPing in the coming weeks. The reports are shorter than our usual versions, but give you an indication of the children's attainment and progress at our February assessment point, and include new targets for the coming months. We hope you will find them of help in supporting your child's learning.
The school office is also making preparations for the new admissions to our Nursery and Reception classes at the beginning of the new school year. I am aware parents have had confirmation from the local authority on their applications, and we will be in touch with everyone in the coming weeks to confirm the steps we are taking to process admissions. We do not have an official start of new year yet, again this will be confirmed by the local authority and DfE.
I have not had any communication from secondary schools about transition arrangements for the children in the year six classes. Their class teachers are in the process of sharing information with the allocated schools, however we wait for details of how and when the children will be inducted.
I wish you and your families well and hope you can continue to support each other in the coming weeks. If you need any support, please contact the school office and we will see what can be arranged.
Mr Drew
Head Teacher
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