School Newsletter

Counting down to our Grand Return 2021. We have used the assemblies this week to remind the children of our countdown to being back together again as a whole school community and it is now officially only two more days after today! Our photos above show the online learning taking place in school this week and some of the live lessons.I am once again exceptionally proud of the staff efforts and children’s responses. We have led the way in primary provision by live streaming online lessons – none of us will be sad to see online learning go as it’s definitely a second best option to teaching face to face.

We are committed to continuing with the Covid control measures in the school and now have perspex screens for some of the rare situations when one or two individual children from different bubbles are taught together in the shared areas. Hands, Face, Space continues as does all the isolation information that we followed for the past year.

Class bubbles will isolate if they have confirmed cases so please be vigilant for high temperatures, new coughs and loss of taste and smell. We have reviewed the start and finish times, and the groupings in early years. We have also had to send back the external bathrooms and implement routines for separate classes to use the bathrooms we have. On the first Monday next week we will run through these issues with the children so they can be confident about the changes.

Start and finish times next week

We have really appreciated the time that families have given to the staggered start times when they have siblings in different year groups. This has also been problematic in school too in terms of coordinating timetables, assembly times, and arranging meetings whether virtual or otherwise. We cannot fault the cooperation that you have all shown to us by complying with the staggered starts/finishes, but we would like to try something different from now on in an effort to evolve towards normality. Please be mindful of this when coming into school as parking will once again become difficult so we recommend (when you can) to use the cycle paths either cycling or walking into school from now on. This is also advised by government’s efforts to keep travelling to and from schools as Covid safe as possible.

We ask all adults coming onto the school site to continue wearing masks at all times, and keeping 2 metres from others at all times. Please check the end of this newsletter for a FAQ section for returning which includes this and other practical information about returning to school.

Lateral Flow Device Tests

Staff at school have all been taking twice weekly lateral flow device testing to support the early identification of asymptomatic cases. There is now availability for parents and families of children in primary school to get test kits for home use as you can read below:

Undertaking regular, rapid coronavirus (COVID-19) testing helps reduce transmission of the virus. Parents and other adults in households with children at school or college,
who do not have symptoms, can now access regular, rapid coronavirus (COVID-19) testing. This includes childcare and support bubbles.

Tests are fast, easy and completely free. There are different ways for a household, childcare or support bubble to collect their test to take at home, twice-weekly:

If you have any queries about the tests, and you live in England, please call 119 (free from mobiles and landlines). Lines are open every day from 7am to 11pm. Children of primary school age (and below) without symptoms are not being asked to take a test.

Testing is voluntary, but strongly recommended to all who are eligible. Alongside the vaccine, washing hands, wearing face coverings, and maintaining social distancing, rapid testing plays a vital role in reducing transmission rates. Getting into the habit of regular testing as part of our everyday lives will help us all to play our part and do what we can to protect each other.

through your employer, if they offer testing to employees
by collecting a home test kit from a local test site – anyone aged 18 or over can collect 2 packs of 7 tests
by ordering a home test kit online – please do not order online if you can access testing through other routes, this frees up home delivery for those who need it most

World Book Day

As we were somewhat dispersed for this week’s World Book day we’d like to repeat it once the children return fully to school. We’d like to purchase books for all the children so they can have something special to read on the day we choose. We don’t want to have costumes this time, but really focus on immersing the children in texts, stories, drama and role play that day, alongside a chance for them to also unveil their new book. We are asking children to choose a book of their choice. For parents who are able, we’d like to ask for any monies you may usually have spent on costumes (suggesting £5 – £10) to maybe be given as a voluntary contribution towards the cost of your child’s new book. No child will be penalised if you can’t contribute, but we would really appreciate your support for this special event and want to afford for your child to have a proper choice of which book they would like to choose.

Ashleigh’s outdoor idea

It can be quite chilly outside and we need to keep the birds warm. Can you use natural resources to build a nest and keep our birds warm?

Well done James!

We were so proud to see that James in Year 2 has taken to collecting some of the litter from the beach, carefully supported by Mum over the half term. James was upset seeing the litter strewn and so he collected a whole bag. How good to know our children care so much about the local environment in which we live!

Covid update

As we prepare for the children to return, we have once again revised the whole school risk assessment. This has allowed us to reconsider the control measures we have in place, with the new guidance documents which the Dept for Education released during half term. As part of the consultation process all staff, governors and our health and
safety rep have reviewed this and overviewed it. Please don’t hesitated to ask any questions if you have them.

An anonymised version has been posted onto the school website which can be viewed here.