19th June 2020
Dear Parents and Carers,
As ever, I hope that you are well, safe and coping through one of the many different scenarios that you may find yourself in currently.
This week we welcomed back our year 6 children. Thank you to everyone for your support during the week. Almost 90% of the year group returned on Wednesday. It was fabulous to see so many friendly and happy faces walk through the gates and enter the playground spaces. The week has gone very well and it has been an absolute pleasure to have some children back. Everyone has followed all of the safety and hygiene measures and have adapted to the many changes we have put in place, which shows great maturity and understanding. Lessons have resumed positively, albeit in smaller groups, on separate tables and with protective measures in place. Any anxieties have alleviated throughout the week and children have been happy and positive about their return. I am very proud of them.
Next week our Reception and Year 1 children return and we cannot wait to see them too. Yes, things are different but school is still a great place to be right now. Staff have been pleased with the way that children have returned and cannot wait to see more children back and continue with more teaching. For those families who are choosing not to return to school, our home learning packages will remain. Class Dojo continues to be a platform to share work and gain feedback.
I know families in years 2-5 will feel more frustrated but please remember we are following government guidance. The numbers we are allowed in bubbles, with consistent staffing, is dictating our current plans. If guidance changes, and when I have more staff able to work, then we will review our procedures accordingly, and communicate new plans with you.
Our home learning offer continues to be something that we are proud to share. We appreciate that some families want more virtual online teaching, but this is currently not an option for us due to safeguarding implications, the level of technology required in some families (when parents are also working from home) and the number of staff now teaching. From next week, we will be using ‘Loom’ across school, which is an online platform to enable teachers to share pre-recorded teaching videos and messages with children. This has been trialled this week in some year groups and we are hopeful that this will be well received.
Finally, there is a lot of speculation around teaching currently. What will happen over summer? What will happen in September? How will we return? What will transition look like? As a school, we avoid the media speculation and follow the official guidance from the government and the Local Authority. When we are updated by the Department for Education (DfE), we will discuss the guidance, consider what is possible for our school and then contact you with our plans (as we have all along).
Once again, thank you for the support and have a great weekend. Please take care and stay safe.
Yours sincerely,
Mrs Bates