Further update 5_1_21
Update Tuesday 5th January 2021.doc
Tuesday 5th January 2021
Re: update following Lockdown announcement
Dear parent / carer,
After the difficulties we were all faced with last night I would like to thank you for your patience and understanding yesterday. Whilst a school closure is not something that any headteacher would want to do, I really appreciate the support and engagement we had from the wider community.
Moving forward I thought it would be prudent to clarify a few areas that may have been missed in yesterday’s scramble to get information out to yourselves
School opening
For those children who are attending school, the gates will be open from 8:45am. As before, parents / carers are to leave the children at the gate where they will enter the school through the same doors as prior to Christmas. We ask that children come in their school uniform or PE kit.
School meals
From tomorrow the school kitchen will be closed so those children attending school will only be able to have a packed lunch. You are more than welcome to send in a packed lunch from home if your child would prefer.
For children who are eligible for free school meals, we will be receiving weekly food hampers which school will distribute. This will be organised in the coming days.
Booking places
For those children who are eligible under the criteria set out yesterday (see link), we will be commencing a booking system to ensure we know which days, places are required. Therefore, each Thursday a link to a booking form will be emailed to parents / carers for this. Please only complete if we have agreed that your child qualifies for a place at school under the set criteria.
Whilst we appreciate that children not being in school is far from ideal, the current Lockdown is to reduce the movement of people and therefore transmission of the virus so therefore if you are able to keep your children at home, even if you do qualify for a place, please do so.
Please also note that if the numbers of requests for places becomes unmanageable under Government guidance and/or unsafe for the site / staff then we will have to look to introduce further criteria.
Nursery
At present, I have taken the decision to close the Nursery. This will be reviewed on a regular basis and parents will be contacted should this position change
Online learning
If your child has any problems with the online learning content your first port of call is to contact their class teacher. If there is a technical issue then again please contact the class teacher or the school office.
As I mentioned yesterday, the content that the staff are sharing is not something that can be viewed as being optional. It is really important that your child spends quality time engaged with the learning and being able to understand what is being asked of them. We have made the decision not to provide ‘live’ lessons as I can appreciate that demand for devices, space and time will be at a premium in most households. Therefore, please complete the work when it is best for your child to do it with all the other pressures taken into consideration.
Tablets/chrome books
Just to repeat yesterday’s offer that we have a small number of tablets/chrome books that we are able to distribute to those that need. Whilst we will prioritise those in receipt of pupil premium initially please let school know if this is something that can help.
Vodaphone Sim Cards
We have a number of these available for parents if needed. These are set at 30gb for 90 days from when activated. Again, if these would be of benefit for families to engage with online learning please contact the school office
Many thanks and stay safe,
Mr. T Jones
Headteacher
