Keep up to date with all the latest news happening in school at the moment.
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
End of the school year and Arrangements for September 2020
Friday 17th July 2020
Dear Parents and Carers,
I apologise in advance for the length of this letter. However, it does contain very important information, so please take the time to read it in its entirety.
Today is the last day of the 2019-2020 academic year and I hope whatever plans you have for the holiday period are safe and relaxing for you all to charge those batteries and prepare for the year ahead. Who could have predicted it would turn out the way it has? I’m sure you will agree that the last four months have been extremely challenging for everyone and it was welcome news indeed when it was announced that we will be able to welcome all pupils back to school in September. Whilst it is clear, school will be very different for quite some time, it is great news that the COVID situation has reduced enough at this time to reopen schools for everyone. We have completed a full risk assessment, which you can read on the school website before your child returns to school in September so you can see in full detail how we will ensure we minimise risks as much as possible. I will put the document on the website in the first week of September to ensure it includes the most up to date information and reflects any changes required.
Home schooling
I’d like to thank you for your support in helping home-school your child/ren- you have done a brilliant job! Staff have been overwhelmed by the quality and quantity of work sent in from many families and the new skills that children have developed over this period are nothing short of fantastic. Mr Cutt has been very impressed with the number of Rock Stars and Rock legends we now have on TT Rockstars! I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the amzing entries into my challenges too!
We look forward to hearing more about these in September where staff will create displays to share the achievements, both academic and non-academic to help to unite the pupils when they return.
September 2020
The first day for all pupils (except pupils who are due to start our Nursery in September- they start the following week) is Monday 7th September.
Transition
We realise that some pupils who have not been in school since March, may be quite anxious about returning to school. Mrs Braithwaite has made a short video which shows what school will be like, including the procedures for breaks, dinners and what it is like in the classrooms. Please share this video with your child to help prepare and reassure them.
Click the link below to view:
We have offered an optional phased transition for the first week for our pupils moving into Reception and for those attending full-time Nursery and several parents have been glad of this offer as it’s a huge jump from half days back in March to full-time in September with nothing in between. We also recognise though that other pupils may also find returning to school full-time in September challenging so we are therefore extending this offer to all parents of pupils who haven’t attended school since March if you have significant concerns about how your child will settle in September. The phased transition would be Mon and Tues half days, Weds and Thurs increasing by another hour and Friday full-time. Please e-mail headteacher@anthonybek.derbyshire.sch.uk if you would like to discuss this further. All staff know that children may need support socially and emotionally so we have lots of activities to support this. Ensuring children are feeling mentally well and ready to learn will be a priority in September.
Reports and Class arrangements
Hopefully, you have all now collected your reports. I recognise these are not as informative as they would usually be but am sure you understand the reason why. We added the details of your child’s new class on their report so I hope you noticed this. Our class structure staffing overview for 2020-2021 is as follows:
Nursery- Mrs Abbott-Lewin with Mrs Leverton and Miss Monks.
Reception- Miss Harrison with Miss Hudson (sadly, Mrs Wilkinson is leaving us this year- we wish her all the best and thank her for her amazing contributions to our school).
Year 1-Miss Walker with Mrs Hand and Mrs Bonsall.
Year 2- Mrs Barnes with Mrs Pickbourne and Mrs Clayton.
Year 3- Mrs Braithwaite with Miss Rushin, Mrs Bowler and Mrs Thurman.
Year 4/5- Mr Cutt with Mrs Winstanley and Mrs Hyde.
Year 5- Miss Thompson with Mrs Winder and Mrs Rason.
Year 5/6- Mrs Miles/Mrs Smith with Mrs Standring and Miss Marriott.
Our Y4 cohort this year is considerably larger than the other classes. To help reduce the risks, we have been asked to keep group sizes as small as possible. Therefore, we have split the Y4 class slightly next year with some pupils joining the Y6 children to make a Y5/6 class and some joining the Y4 children to make a Y4/5 class. The remaining pupils are in the Y5 class. Parents have been contacted by telephone if this affects their child.
Pupils will remain in these classes and groups will not mix with each other to reduce the risk of spreading COVID 19. Mrs Holmes will continue to teach across many classes but will ‘teach from the front of the class’ to ensure she maintains social distance from all pupils keeping herself and the pupils safe.
Attendance
During this pandemic, attendance has not been compulsory and parents/carers that decided to keep their children at home even if they were entitled to a place, have not received any penalties or fines. As Government scientists now advise that, on balance, children are better in school than at home, they have also placed the requirement back on schools to report student attendance to the Department for Education and call for all students to attend unless they have a clear medical requirement to stay at home.
It is a difficult truth for us to share with you that we will be required to progress with prosecution of parents/carers who do not support their child’s regular attendance at school. We know that this is a worrying time for families and we do not underestimate the risks that are still around us. We would like to reassure you that we have clear risk assessments in place that all staff have read and agreed to work to. These extensive expectations include working in ‘bubbles’/small student and staff groups, robust respiratory hygiene expectations, extensive cleaning routines and working closely with the NHS Test and Trace Service.
Staggered start and end times
As you know, to minimise the risk of spreading COVID, all groups' start times and end times are staggered. Different gates are also used by different groups.
Kitchen gate:
Y1 8:50am-3:15pm
Y2 8:40-3:05pm
Middle/Nursery gate:
FS2 8:40-3:00pm
FS1 am 8:30-11:30
FS1 pm 12:30-3:30pm
Y3: 8:45-3:10pm
Main reception gate:
FS1 30hrs 9:00-3:00pm
Y4/5 8:50-3:15pm
Y5 8:40-3:05pm
Car park gate: (no access to and from car park during these times)
Y5/6 8:45-3:10pm
Only one adult should drop off and collect each child to minimise the number of adults at school. I appreciate if you have more than one child, you may need to wait or you may need to go to two different gates. If you do have to wait, please do this away from the gate as other groups may need to use the same gate before you. If you have older children, they may be able to queue at their gate on their own, leaving you to stay with your younger child. If this is not possible, just drop one child off and then go to the next gate. It is really important that you arrive at the times given as other groups may be arriving before you or after you. You will see white spots on the pathway outside the school gate. Please use these to maintain social distancing. Adults will not be permitted to enter through the schools gates to reduce the risk to staff and pupils so please ensure you talk to your child about this as this is not what they are used to. A staff member will greet your child at the gate and bring your child to the gate at the end of the day.
Visiting school
Unfortunately, at this time, we cannot have visitors inside the school building. We therefore ask you to telephone or e-mail the school in the first instance. 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. Please bring a pen as we are not permitted to share pens with visitors.
What should my child bring to school?
To reduce the risk of contamination from outside school, pupils are asked not to bring anything with them to school apart from the following:
Nursery
At the beginning of the week- please bring a plastic bag (preferably) containing a change of clothes, spare pants/pull ups as appropriate, wet wipes, sun hat, sun cream and wellies which can be left in school. Please do not bring any toys, teddies etc from home. We have lots to play with and have to limit the reources coming into school.
Over the summer holiday, if your child is not toilet trained, please make this your focus so they come to come in September in pants.
Daily- Coat
Reception
At the beginning of the week- please bring a plastic bag (preferably) containing a change of clothes, spare pants/pull ups (if appropriate), wet wipes, sun hat and sun cream which can be left in school. Your child will also need a PE kit (see website for details), including plimsolls and trainers and wellies to be left in school.
Daily- Coat, Home school diary, reading book/Phonics cards, lunchbox (if relevant).
Years 1-6
At the beginning of the week- a plastic bag (preferably) or a drawstring bag containing sun hat, sun cream, PE kit and trainers which can be left in school.
Daily- coat, reading book, organiser, lunchbox (if relevant)
Pupils are now asked to bring their personal organiser and reading book each day and to get back into the habit of reading at least 5 times a week with parents recording this. Lunchboxes need to be plastic so they are easily wiped. If your child doesn’t have this type, please send them with their lunch in a disposable bag instead.
What will my child be learning at school?
There is no doubt that the prolonged absence from school will have impacted pupils and we expect there to be gaps for most of them in the areas we didn’t get chance to cover this year. In September our priorities are as follows:
We recognise that not all pupils will have gaps and some will have more than others. The Government has announced additional funding for us to provide the best support to our students and this will be a key priority next year to ensure pupils ‘catch up’ where needed as quickly as possible.
What else will be different at school?
We will, of course, ensure the pupils receive a broad, balanced curriculum which inspires them to learn.
School uniform
The revised guidance says there is no need to wash pupils’ clothes more frequently any more so we are reverting back to our school uniform for all pupils. (Except Nursery where uniform is optional). Please see the website for details if you are new to our school.
It is really important that staff maintain social distance from pupils as much as possible so please ensure younger pupils wear clothes which they can do themselves, e.g. trousers with elasticated waistbands rather than buttons, shoes with Velcro straps rather than laces etc. Staff will, of course, still help where needed but we need to minimise the adult contact wherever we can so please support us with this.
Children can still wear clothes of their own choosing on their birthday or on the closet school day to their birthday for those pupils who have birthdays at the weekend of in the holidays.
Break times
Each group will have an allocated playground and time slot so no two groups are on either playground at the same time. Children will still engage in a variety of games as long as contact is avoided. E.g. they may pass the football to each other or take practice shots. There will be limits to the number of pupils in each zone. Hand sanitisers will be used before using the trim trail.
|
Playground |
10:00-10:15 |
10:20-10:35 |
10:40-10:55 |
|
KS1 |
Y1 |
Y2 |
Y3 |
|
KS2 |
Y5/6 |
Y5 |
Y4/5 |
Dinner routines.
The catering team will be offering the full menu choice as indicated on the latest menu, including sandwich and vegetarian options. Please order via School Money. Even if your child is free school meals or entitled to universal free meals, you can still order on School Money- you won’t be charged if your child is entitled to free meals.
Please be aware that the cost of meals increases in September to £2.20 per meal. Our dinner money policy has been updated to show this. Children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 are all entitled to universal free school meals. If your child is moving to Y3 in September, please remember you will need to pay for school dinners from the first day back.
To prevent different groups mixing, dinner times will be staggered, different rooms used to eat and each group will have a separate zone on the playground or on the field with only one class being in each zone. Each class will have a named Midday Supervisor who remains with their group only at all times.
Nursery and Reception pupils will eat in the dining hall in separate areas.
All other classes will eat their lunch (school sandwiches, school dinners or sandwiches from home) in their classroom (on their named table). These will of course be cleaned before and after the children have eaten.
FS1: 11:30-12:30 break. Eating at 11:50am in the dining hall with Teaching Assistant.
FS2: 11:50-12:50 lunch break. Eating at 11:50am in the dining hall. Midday supervisor-Mrs Steel.
Y1: 11:55-12:55 lunch break. Eating at 11:55am in the Y1 classroom. Midday supervisor- Miss Burton and Mrs Lack.
Y2: 12:05-1:05 lunch break. Eating at 12:05pm in the Y2 classroom. Midday supervisor- Mrs Bingley.
Y3: 12:15-1:15 lunch break. Eating at 12:15pm in the Y3 classroom). Midday supervisor-Miss Carr.
Y4/5: 12:20-1:20 lunch break. Eating at 12:20pm in the Y4/5 classroom. Midday supervisor-Miss Garratt
Y5: 11:55-12:55 lunch break. Play break first then eating at 12:25pm in the Y5 classroom. Midday Supervisor- Miss Tucker.
Y5/6: 12:00-1:00 lunch break. Play break first then eating at 12:30pm in the Y5/6 classroom. Midday Supervisor-Mrs Jackson.
Breakfast club
This provision will be available in September from 8am until the time your child’s class starts school. Please be aware due to increased staffing and food costs, the price of breakfast club has increased to £1.50 per day, including breakfast. Due to COVID restrictions, numbers will be limited to 19 so it is crucial you book and pay in advance. Priority will be on a first come, first served basis. If there are no spaces available, the system will let you know. We truly hope this will not be the case however and will monitor the provision closely. Please do not send your child to breakfast club if you haven’t pre-booked as we will not be able to cater for them. Bookings will open on Wednesday 2nd September for you to book for Monday 7th September onwards.
Childcare after school club
We are continuing to offer after school club provision in September- however for the first term, we will be offering reduced hours. We expect to build this back up as COVID hopefully continues to reduce. Due to COVID restrictions, the number of places available will be limited to 19 so it is crucial you book and pay in advance. Priority will be on a first come, first served basis. If there are no spaces available, the system will let you know. We truly hope this will not be the case however and will monitor the provision closely. Please do not leave your child in school at the end of the day if you haven’t pre-booked as we will not be able to cater for them. Bookings will open on Wednesday 2nd September for you to book for Monday 7th September onwards.
In September, we will offer after school childcare from 3:15-5:15pm. Please be aware due to increased staffing and food costs, our prices have increased. Our price structure and timings for September 2020 are as follows:
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.
Our charging policy has been amended to show these price changes.
Social distancing
As I have said in previous communications, social distancing outside of school is crucial to minimise the risks to all pupils and staff as well as their wider families. Please ensure you/your household all follow the social distancing rules consistently, keeping up to date with any changes in the rules that Government. I’m sure you can understand everyone has a right to be kept safe and we don’t want a situation where staff or other pupils feel unable to come to work or school due to increased risks.
What to do if your child has symptoms
If your child has COVID related symptoms you should request a testing kit from the NHS Test & Trace team. Your child will not be allowed to attend school until you have test results to share with us. If the test result is positive, your child will need to remain at home for at least 7 days. Their absence will be authorised and all family members living in the same household will be required to self-isolate for 14 days.
Every case is different and we ask that you follow the NHS guidelines.
If your child arrives at school with any COVID-related symptoms, they will be safely supported until you can collect them and take them home and arrange for testing. Again, all other household members would begin 14 days isolation on the first day of symptoms. If the test is negative and your child is well enough, they can return to school and family members can end the self-isolation.
If a member in your household has COVID-related symptoms, we ask that your child follows the 14 day home isolation requirements. The full 14 days needs to be completed if a positive test is received. The child can return to school if a negative test is received.
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.
We will remind you about these procedures again in September.
Home learning from September
We will be very lucky indeed if no pupil or group has to self-isolate due to suspected or confirmed COVID symptoms in either themselves or a wider family member. With that in mind, all teachers will plan for this possibility every week so that if a child has to self-isolate, they will immediately have access to quality online learning as close to what is being learned in school as possible, so they don’t slip behind. Those who cannot access learning online will be provided with paper based activities.
Eggs and Peanut allergy
Can I remind all parents that we have pupils in our school with serious allergies to eggs and peanuts?
Peanuts
Peanuts should not be brought onto the school premises. This includes foods which may contain
peanuts (labels will indicate this). If the label says ‘may contain nuts’ but not specifically peanuts,
these can be bought into school. If you bake anything for any of our events or if you send food
treats to share with classes, please ensure that peanuts are not used.
Eggs
Raw eggs should not be brought onto the school premises. The only exception to this is the school
kitchen where pupils are not permitted. Cooking eggs at high temperatures changes the protein in
the egg making it less dangerous for people who are allergic. Pupils will bake with egg replacements.
The kitchen will no longer be offering egg sandwiches. We would prefer pupils to only bring foods
containing baked eggs, e.g. cakes. Due to needing to eat in the classrooms, pupils in Year 1 are not permitted to bring any foods in which eggs haven’t been cooked for long, e.g. boiled eggs, egg mayonnaise. In other year groups, we would prefer these not to be brought but if they have to be, we will have a separate section in the classroom and your child will need to bring a toothbrush and toothpaste to use after eating.
Behaviour policy
Due to the restrictions of COVID, we have edited our behaviour policy which is available on our website. Children are still earning Beks, although we can’t plan any trips to spend them on at this time. However, we will still keep banking them for when they can spend them. In the mean-time, we will have a competition in each class to see who can earn the most Beks in the term. Prizes will be given at the end of the term. Pupils will still be able to earn and lose Beks in the same way.
This term we have been giving out Rainbow drops to reward excellent work, attitude, effort etc. In September, we will announce the winners from each class working from home and for each group working in school and award them each with a prize.
Our Crusader codes remain unchanged and we will be looking to award Crusaders by half term (Oct).
One key difference in our behaviour policy is the way we deal with very challenging behaviour. In KS1 and KS2, if a child reaches the bottom of the behaviour tower in class, (which thankfully doesn’t happen very often) we would usually send them to a partner class for the rest of that lesson. However, we are not able to mix children with other children not in their class so instead, we have a ‘reflecting’ table outside of each classroom with a timer. Depending on their age, children will spend a relevant amount of time at this table completing their work supported by a teaching assistant. It is expected that they will return to class and climb back up the tower. In extreme cases, where this doesn’t occur, the child will spend the remainder of the day with a senior leader. Parents will be contacted to discuss next steps should this occur.
Transport
For your safety, it is recommended that public transport is avoided wherever possible. The safest way to journey to school for those that live close enough is by walking. It is also not recommended to car share if it’s avoidable.
Mobile phones
Please remember mobile phones are not permitted in school. We are not insured for such valuable items.
INSET days 2020-2021
Our INSET days for the next academic year are Wednesday 2nd September, Thursday 3rd September, Friday 4th September, Friday 4th December, and Friday 28th May.
I hope over the summer holidays you have the opportunity to spend time together as a family without the added pressure of home-schooling although it would be really wonderful if you could still ensure your child reads regularly so we can get a good start in September. Mr Cutt has been very impressed with the number of Rock Stars and Rock legends we now have on TT Rockstars!
Thank you for the support you have given us over the past four months.
Stay safe,
Mrs Donna-Marie Johnson
Please remember today (Friday 17th July) is the last day of school. We reopen on Monday 7th September 2020. Please check the details for your child to ensure you know which gate to arrive at and what time to arrive. We look forward to welcoming everyone back in September.
Take care,
Mrs. Johnson