Keep up to date with all the latest news happening in school at the moment.
Dear Parents/Carers
Due to Covid 19, we will not be able to hold our usual Halloween discos this year. The children love dressing up and it is such a shame that these cannot go ahead.
It is for this reason that we have decided to let the children come to school in Halloween costumes on the last day of term. (Friday October 23rd)
It is important to stress that their costume needs to be one that they can move about freely in and is not going to be too cold for them when it is play time. Please ensure that they have sensible footwear and also leave any props (Grim reaper’s sythe, big spiders, skulls etc) at home so they do not get lost, broken or fiddled with!
They do not have to wear a full costume, a hat, Halloween t-shirt or face paint will be just fine. If your child does not want to wear Halloween clothes then they need to be in their full school uniform please.
There will be no cost for dressing up.
Please be aware that there will be no PE lessons on this day – they will be re-arranged for earlier in the week.
During the day we will put a distinct Halloween slant on the learning so the children will not be missing out on the curriculum but will feel that we have marked Halloween in some way.
If you have any questions, please ring or email school.
Mrs C. Smith
News and reminders
Tuesday 22nd September 2020
Dear Parents/Carers,
Despite the clear differences in school life, we have had a very positive start to the term. The pupils are keen to learn and they are really adapting well to the new processes. Staff are busy assessing them to ensure any gaps are identified quickly. Thank you again for your support. If we continue working together, we can ensure everything runs as smoothly as possible.
Weather
So far we have been lucky with the weather but we know this will change. Rain is currently forecasted for most of the day tomorrow. Please ensure your child has a waterproof coat and please bring an umbrella so you and your child don’t get soaking wet whilst waiting in the queues.
Barriers
I was expecting the barriers to create much more of a queuing system than they have (they were not cheap!) but I still believe they have helped the parents using the middle and kitchen gates.
Pathways
You will notice there is now a sign where the path splits from New Houghton to school to direct Y1 and 2 parents one way and other parents the other way. This is to ensure Y1 and Y2 parents have enough space to queue without people needing to walk through them. Please help us to keep bubbles separate by following these signs.
If you walk down the path from school towards Pleasley, please be aware that on the grass just before the bus stop on the dual carriageway there is a drain which is uncovered. It looks like it had cones around it but these are now inside. It is a large hole and quite deep so please be careful if you are near there. It has been reported to the council.
Residential visits
The venues which we use for our residential visits are still all hoping to be open and fully running for visits next year which means we have to book our places now and pay our deposits. Normally, we would have Parent meetings to share a presentation about these but this is not possible at this time. However, the presentations for each visit are on the school website. Parents tab- Residential visits and select the relevant visit.
If you need to ask any questions before making your decision or you have any concerns you wish to discuss, please e-mail me (headteacher@anthonybek.derbyshire.sch.uk)
All payments need to be paid via School Money. If you have not yet set up your account or need any help using School Money, please contact our school office during school hours (01623 810355). Monies paid at each instalment date are non-refundable. However, the venues have all confirmed that if they have to cancel our booking due to COVID, all monies (like this year) would be refunded.
Y1 and Y2 to Lea Green
This one night/two day visit takes place on Weds 31st March to Thursday 1st April 2021. It costs £50 in total (food, activities, board, transport all included) which can be spread in payment instalments as per the presentation on the website. To secure your child’s place, a deposit of £10 is needed by Monday 5th October 2020.
Y3 and Y4 to Walesby
This two night/three day visit takes place on Weds 9th June to Friday 11th June 2021. It costs £85 in total (food, activities, board, transport all included) which can be spread in payment instalments as per the presentation on the website. To secure your child’s place, a deposit of £10 is needed by Monday 5th October 2020. Some parents carried over their funds from the cancelled trip this year so these should be visible when you log into School Money so you know when/if you need to make any further payments.
Y5 and Y6 to CMC Adventure Wales (Pensarn nr Harlech)
Brand new! See there website for full details (https://www.cmcadventure.org.uk/)
This four night/five day visit takes place on Monday 3rd May (please be aware this is a bank holiday) to Friday 7th May 2021. It costs £150 in total (food, activities, board, transport all included) which can be spread in payment instalments as per the presentation on the website. To secure your child’s place, a deposit of £25 is needed by Monday 12th October 2020. Some parents carried over their funds from the cancelled Whitehall trip this year so these should be visible when you log into School Money so you know when/if you need to make any further payments.
COVID - Back to School & Learning Grant
Families that are in financial crisis following COVID, e.g. through redundancy may be able to apply for a grant of up to £100 per child, to fund clothing or equipment for children 4 – 18 years old to return to school : e.g.
If you feel you are in financial crisis and feel you may benefit from this grant, please contact me via e-mail (headteacher@anthonybek.derbyshire.sch.uk). We would have to complete the form together so you would need to share with me an overview of your financial hardship. The authority would make their checks and confirm the decision. This is completely new so I am not aware of any criteria other than being in financial crisis and therefore not able to afford to provide the required equipment/clothing for school. It is only for school clothing and equipment though- not for anything else.
As always, please contact the school by telephone or e-mail if you need anything.
Kind regards,
Mrs Donna-Marie Johnson
Dear Parents,
Overall, I think the dropping off and collecting routines are going quite well. We've had a few teething problems, but these are being ironed out each day so hopefully next week, we;ll have it all running perfectly.
Our barriers have now all arrived so on Monday, we should have some better queuing systems for the gates used by Nursery, Reception, Year 1, Year 2 and Year 3. (Gates near Nursery and kitchen).
Timings are crucial (on our part and on yours) so please ensure you join the queue at your time slot and listen for the staff calling for the last children before they leave. We've had several children miss their gate slots this week which means they then have to wait until other groups have gone in so they are kept separate.
Staff will remain on the gate for 5 minutes only (see times below) so they can be out of the way ready for the next group as it is important that these groups don't mix. If your child misses this slot, you will need to go to the Reception gate at 8:55am or 9:05am onwards.
See below for a reminder of the gates and the windows for you to drop off. On the first week, we made the Nursery and Reception times slightly earlier- this is working well so we are going to keep to these times.
Kitchen gate:
Y1 8:50-8:55am drop off and 3:15pm collect
Y2 8:40-8:45an drop off and 3:05pm collect
Middle/Nursery gate:
FS2 (Reception) 8:35-8:40 drop off and 3:00pm collect
FS1 ( Nursery) am 8:25-8:30 drop off and 11:30 collect
FS 1 (Nursery) pm 12:30-12:35 drop off and 3:30pm collect
Y3: 8:45-8:50 drop off and 3:10pm
Main reception gate:
Breakfast club (arrivals between 8am and 8:30am only)
FS1 (Nursery) 30hrs 9:00-3:00pm
Y4/5 8:50-8:55 drop off and 3:15pm collection
Y5 8:40-8:45 drop off and 3:05pm collection
Late arrivals 8:55am (social distancing key)
Car park gate: (no access to and from car park during these times- please do not turn your car around at the bottom of the road when Y5/6 are leaving for the safety of our pupils, staff and collecting parents)
Y5/6 8:45-8:50am drop off and 3:10pm collection
Have a lovely weekend,
Mrs. Johnson
Symptoms and testing protocol
Monday 14th September 2020
Dear Parents,
You will be aware that the number of positive cases of COVID 19 are increasing, nationally and locally and you may have heard that one of our local schools has had to send one of the classes home for 14 days to self-isolate. This caused many parents of that school to raise lots of questions so I thought it would be helpful to clearly explain the processes regarding symptoms, testing and self-isolating. I have written them as scenarios which I hope you find helpful.
Symptoms
The following symptoms are those recognised by the NHS as the symptoms to look out for.
Most people with coronavirus have at least 1 of these symptoms.
If anyone has any of these symptoms, they must stay at home and organise a COVID test for them as soon as possible. The following link will take you to the test ordering site.
If, at any time, your child needs to self-isolate, work will be provided by school (electronically/paper format as appropriate). Please ensure your child tries to keep to a normal school working pattern if possible so they keep in the routine and don’t fall behind. Clearly, if it is the child that is positive themselves, they may not feel well enough to complete work in the same way.
Whilst I really hope we can avoid having to send whole class groups home to self-isolate, it is a realistic possibility so I hope this letter makes each situation clear to you so in the event of any scenario happening, you know what to do and therefore feel prepared.
PLEASE REMEMBER:
The Government’s latest guidance is no more than 6 people meeting indoor or outdoor and always keeping 2m apart from anyone not in your household. This includes children. Please help them to understand the guidance. This is crucial to stop the spread of this virus.
Further Safety Reminders
Wednesday 9th September 2020
I realise I am sending daily reminders and updates at this time but it is crucial we make our processes as safe as they can be to minimise the risks to our pupils, staff, parents and wider families.
You will no doubt have heard over the last few days that many, many schools in the country (and in our local counties) have already had to close in part or fully due to positive tests of both staff and children- this includes Primary Schools. We want to do everything we can to avoid this at our school. Many people seem to have stopped social distancing but this is crucial if we want to stop the spread of this virus.
There is an obvious concern about the severity of the illness that COVID 19 can cause and we know that many people have died from this, even those without medical conditions, so it is crucial we try to keep the risks as small as possible wherever we can.
There is also the inconvenience side that will have an impact to those affected. If anyone (staff or pupil tests positive) we have to send everyone in that ‘bubble/class group’ home to self-isolate for 2 weeks. Clearly, this will impact on the education of the pupils (we will send work home but it is not the same as being in the class) and it will also impact all the parents in that class in terms of finding childcare, maybe not being able to go to work so I’m sure you’ll all agree it is really important that we reduce risks as much as we can.
I have received much feedback from staff and parents regarding aspects that could be improved. I don’t want to have to spread the start and end times of the school day out any further but I may have no choice if we can’t maintain safe social distancing at the gate.
I know we are limited with space outside and we are in discussions with the highways to see if we can use the top end of the slip road for a better queueing system but we need to wait for permission to set this up so in the meantime, please ensure you help to keep everyone safe.
Staff visors
Staff will be wearing visors at the gate as protection for when talking to different parents. This keeps both you and them safe. They do remove them for teaching unless working very closely with a child such as dealing with any health needs.
Please do your part every day by:
We know the next few months are going to be a challenge but I would love for our school to be one that manages to escape any positive COVID cases amongst staff and pupils so we can remain open throughout. PLEASE help us to achieve this by remembering social distance measures both at school and in your daily lives.
With much appreciation for your ongoing support,
Mrs. Johnson
To ensure the caretaker has enough time to deep clean the school for the safety and well-being of all, after school club pupils need to be collected at one of the following times:
4:30pm
5:00pm
5:15pm
Please choose the time most convenient for you and wait outside the main Reception at this time. Staff will come to the door at these times only.
Thank you for your understanding.
Mrs. Johnson
Please remember the following:
Hand sanitiser
For safety reasons, please do not send your child with their own sanitiser to school. As part of the Derbyshire Risk Assessment, we have to use a certain type of sanitiser containing a particular level of alcohol which has been identified as providing the most effective protection. We do ensure it is suitable for children and all skin types. The children are all using this in school many times a day and we haven't had any reactions either during the lock down period or on our first day. We know there are pupils who can be allergic to certain ingredients in products so we always look out for any reaction when using products with pupils. Children should not be carrying products containing alcohol on their person and non-alcoholic sanitisers are not effective enough for use in schools.
Another reason for children not having their own sanitiser (apart from the key safety reasons) is the distraction. These were being played with by many children, distracting from learning and making unsafe spills in school.
If you feel your child is allergic to a particular ingredient, please telephone to discuss with me.
Many thanks,
Mrs. Johnson
Welcome back and updates
Monday 7th September 2020
Dear Parents,
Welcome back! Thank you for your support and understanding when dropping off your children this morning. We are all working in such unfamiliar ways to ensure we can keep everyone safe and ensure that schools can remain open.
Overall, it appeared that the drop off procedures worked well. Like I said in the letter last week, we would need to evaluate and make changes as necessary. From my evaluation, there were three areas that we could make better:
1. Lots of cars were present on the school slip road but with people trying to distance, this meant many people were on the road. Can I request that only those who live a significant distance from school or who have a mobility concern use cars? For those that do have to use cars, is it possible to park them safely along the main road rather than our service road to ensure we keep everyone safe?
2. Reception pupils- due to these pupils being very young and just starting full-time school, they took slightly longer at the gate which made the Y3 children delayed coming in so from tomorrow, can Reception parents please drop off at 8:35am instead for the time being. Once they are settled, we'll be able to return to 8:40am.
Nursery morning pupils- staff will be on the gate from 8:25am instead of 8:30am ready for children to come in so they are all in before Reception pupils start coming in at 8:35am. This will also give staff time for a longer hand-over with our youngest pupils.
3. A few pupils missed their gate slot either because they late or because they had not been noticed and the gate had moved onto the next year group. I will ask staff to call out for any more of the relevant year group before we move onto the next year group so please listen out for this. I will also have a sign showing which year group is currently being invited in so please look out for this too.
As you know, school is very different now with children remaining at all times with their own classes. Overall, children have managed this very well today. They have really tried hard to remember all the changes and maintain 2m distance wherever possible.
We have identified a few areas today which you can help with:
1. Bags- please remember we are not able to use cloakroom areas so children should not be bringing bags, e.g. rucksacks, to school with them as they have to store what they bring under their chair (like on an aeroplane!). Children only need their reading book and personal organiser anyway. Reception and Nursery children can still bring bags to carry their change of clothes, wipes etc.
2. Naming clothing- it is even more important at this time that children's belongings don't get mixed up so can you please ensure that all clothing, lunchboxes, shoes etc are named and these are checked regularly to ensure they are still readable?
3. PE kits- please remember we changed our PE kit information last week so children do not need to bring kits to school. You will be informed this week which day your child needs to come to school wearing their PE kit. PE lessons will start next week.
4. Coats- Many children have come to school without coats today. Unfortunately, our weather is unpredictable and can change significantly throughout the day (as in today). Please ensure you send your child with their coat everyday.
5. Breaktime snacks- pupils in Nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 will be provided with a piece of fruit each day so you don't need to send them with a snack for breaktime. Children in Y3-6 can bring a piece of fruit from home to eat at morning breaktime. Please be aware no other snacks should be bought for breaktime,.
Your child has been given a reading diary/personal organsier today (Not nursery). Please read all the information inside and sign the home school agreement.
Your child will be given a reading book as soon as their reading level has been assessed this week. Please read with them at least 5 times per week as per the information in your child's organiser/diary (not Nursery).
Your child will also bring home a contact recording sheet this week. Please complete and return this by Monday 14th September so we can ensure all the important information we need is up to date.
Thank you again for your support at these very challenging times. Together, we can continue to make school a safe and happy place where children thrive.
Take care,
Mrs Johnson
Reminder of New School Year arrangements
Friday 4th September 2020
Dear Parents and Carers,
It is with relief that we have reached the end of the Summer holidays with schools still able to open to all pupils. For our school, the first day will be Monday 7th September for all pupils except those pupils due to start the first year of Nursery this term (they start on Monday 14th September instead).
In July, I sent all the information about the arrangements for school reopening, including gates, times, what your child does/doesn’t need, changes to breakfast club/ after school club etc. Please take the time to re-read this as it should answer most of your questions (school website-latest news section). The only area that has changed is regarding PE (please see below). I am aware that some parents have been asking some questions via the Facebook page and have been directed to our website. Hopefully, this has now answered your questions.
Please remember to share this video with your child to help prepare and reassure them.
Click the link below to view:
Worries
I realise that many children (and parents) may be anxious about the return to school for several reasons. Most children have not been in school for a significant length of time, some will be worried about COVID 19 and the changes in school to keep everyone safe; some may be worried about being in new classes with new staff and some may be worried about parents having to drop pupils off at the gate rather than take them to classrooms.
Please be assured that your child’s safety and well-being is our FIRST priority. All staff will be focusing on this first and foremost. We want children to feel safe, secure and happy before we begin assessing where the pupils are, identifying any gaps in their understanding and helping them to catch up, where this is needed. I can also assure you that we are taking every precaution to reduce the risks in the transmission of COVID 19. Please see the risk assessment on our school website (Key information- COVID 19 section) for full details.
Events
Normally, at the beginning of the term, we would immediately plan all the dates for events throughout the year such as plays, fundraising activities, trips, residential visits, parents evenings, sports days, rewards days etc. At this time we are not able to set dates and plan these. We hope that once schools have been back a few weeks and it is clear how the situation is evolving, that we will be able to start making plans but for now, these plans need to be put on hold. It is our intention to offer all that would normally be offered if the situation allows.
Lessons learned
Whilst we have had staff training this week, many schools have already welcomed back children and feedback from such schools has helped us to fine tune our plans.
PE
Pupils take part in PE, once per week (usually an afternoon slot). In line with many schools, instead of pupils bringing PE kits to school, we will be asking them come to school on their PE day, wearing their outdoor PE kit. (Black/grey jogging bottoms, white PE shirt, Black, grey or red hoody/jacket and trainers). This will prevent the need for pupils changing in school and reduce the number of items coming into school.
There will be no PE sessions during the first week. Your child’s teacher will let you know next week which day is your child’s PE day so you can send them in their PE kit on that day each week. Staff will send text reminders the day before until you get into the habit of this.
Uniform
Children should wear their normal school uniform on all other days unless it is their birthday when they can wear their own chosen clothes as normal. Please be aware that if your child’s birthday falls on their PE day, they can wear their own clothes on the day before or the day after so they still get to feel special. Younger pupils should wear clothing that they can manage themselves, e.g. elasticated waistbands and velcro shoe fastenings to reduce staff needing to support in close contact.
Social distancing/ masks
Several schools have commented that they have experienced problems with social distancing at the gates, despite having staggered start and finish times and different drop off zones. It is CRUCIAL that you all follow the guidelines. The last thing any school wants is an outbreak which causes a local lockdown, partial or full school closure and potentially serious illnesses/loss of life.
I have tried to keep the drop off and collection times quite close together so any parents with multiple children in different year groups aren’t waiting around too long but this means it is extremely important that you do your part:
If social distancing cannot be achieved as described above, we may need to significantly change the start times for classes. This could make it very difficult for parents in terms of work and make long waits between collecting different aged children so please, please do your part and ensure we keep everyone safe.
A reminder of the staggered start and end times- as described above- please be aware these may need to change if it is felt they are not working. The gates have been labelled to help remind parents.
Please be aware that staff will not have time for individual conversations at the gates as they only have 5 minute window to get all pupils in. If you need to speak to a staff member, please ring school or if you need to pass an urgent message to staff, please hand them a note when you drop off your child. Nursery parents will have a little more flexibility at the end of the sessions to speak as there are no groups to follow at these times.
Kitchen gate:
Y1 8:50am-3:15pm
Y2 8:40-3:05pm
Middle/Nursery gate:
FS2 8:40-3:00pm
FS1am 8:30-11:30
FS1pm 12:30-3:30pm
Y3: 8:45-3:10pm
Main reception gate:
Breakfast club 8:00-8:30 arrival time (no arrivals for breakfast club after this time)
FS1 30hrs 9:00-3:00pm
Y4/5 8:50-3:15pm (Y5 children in this group have been contacted)
Y5 8:40-3:05pm (All children in Y5 who have not been contacted are in this group)
Car park gate: (no access to and from car park during these times)
Y5/6 8:45-3:10pm (Y5 children in this group have been contacted)
Please ensure your child goes to the toilet before leaving home so we don’t have all children needing to go as soon as they arrive as this will cause significant problems in social distancing.
Arriving late
Please do your best to arrive at your allotted time. However, if, in exceptional circumstances your child arrives late, please be aware that you will have to wait until 9am and they will enter the school via the main Reception door, completing the late book.
Visiting school
Please remember, Parents are not currently permitted in the school building unless in exceptional circumstances. Please telephone or e-mail with any queries. If there is something exceptional, that cannot be dealt with by e-mail or over the telephone, we will make an appointment for you to visit. You will be asked to sanitise your hands on entering the building and sign in. You will also be asked to wear a mask/face covering. Please bring a pen as we are not permitted to share pens with visitors.
School Money (Dinners, breakfast club and after school club)
This is now open to book school dinners, breakfast club and after school club. If you are having problems logging in, please contact the office for help (01623 810355). Please remember these all have to be booked in advance (at least the day before) using this service and we have limits on the numbers for breakfast club and after school club. Pupils cannot pay in school or book on the day. Please also remember the increased charges for school dinners and breakfast club and changes to the timings and prices of the after school club.
Many schools are not offering after school club at this time so although I know the changes to the latest collection time will prove difficult for some parents, I hope you appreciate the effort we have gone to in order to keep this service open as much as we can. Our current times are:
3:15pm-5:00pm (including a drink and biscuits) £3.50 per session.
3:15pm-5:15pm (including a drink and biscuits) £4:00 per session.
3:15pm-5:15pm (including a drink, biscuits and sandwich or toast) £4.50 per session.
Please be aware the pupil organisers/ diaries show the full range of times and costings which we are currently not able to offer. We hope to be able to revert back to as soon as possible.
Uncollected items
Despite numerous reminders about left over PE kits, trainers, clothing and wellies, there is still a significant amount of unclaimed items. Your LAST chance to collect these is this morning. At 1pm, anything left over will be disposed of or donated. The items will be outside the main Reception area. Please come to look this morning and take whatever belongs to your child.
Displaying symptoms
Staff, pupils and any exceptional visitors will not be allowed in school if they are unwell with any of the following symptoms:
Please do not send your child to school if they are showing any of these symptoms. Arrange for them to be tested straight away and keep them at home until the result is received. Share the result with school once confirmed.
If we notice any of these symptoms while your child is in school, we will keep them in a safe place away from other pupils and you will be asked to collect them and organise a test for them. Even if the symptoms appear to disappear, they will still need to be tested. They can return to school if the test is negative and they are feeling well. If the test is positive or if a test is not taken, they will need to self-isolate for 10 days at home. Please be aware this is longer than the previous 7 day period. All other household members will need to self-isolate for 14 days.
Please be aware that in line with track and trace, your child may be asked to self-isolate for 14 days if they have been in close proxitimity to another child or adult that has tested positive. It is also very important that you engage with the track and trace process should anyone in your household test positive.
In all cases, these absences will be marked as authorised. However, evidence may be requested if there are current concerns or have been concerns about attendance in the past.
Thank you in advance for your continued support and your understanding that plans will be continunally evolving as this situation changes. We will keep you up to date via text, e-mail and our school website. Please ensure the details we hold for you are up to date.
Stay safe,
Yours sincerely
Mrs Donna-Marie Johnson