Re: possible reopening of school to more pupils in June
I have a feeling that I may well be writing a few of these ‘updates’ over the coming weeks…this is just a bit of a follow-on from yesterday’s initial post.
We’ve had some guidance from the Government, which I’ve put a link to the one for parents below, and we’re waiting for further guidance and clarification from the Government and the Local Authority, which will hopefully help us create an action plan for our phased reopening. We’ll share this with you as soon as possible so you know what the school’s reopening will look like in practice. We had a skeleton plan in place already, but some of that will now change after the latest information that we have received from the Government.
It’s a very unsettling time for us all, but rest assured that we’re going to be doing everything we can to make sure we’re ready to receive these year groups if it’s safe for our school to reopen in the coming weeks. This will include regular, strict cleaning; hand washing and sanitising regimes; possibly different start/end times and different drop-off/pick up points; and children being in smaller groups than they would be normally in school. Please be assured that we will share all of this with you in more detail when we have a firmer plan in place.
However, we’re also not going to be pressuring anyone to send their children to school, since you know your children and personal situation best. We’ll keep you updated with all our preparations for making sure the school is as safe as possible, so you can make an informed decision.
In the meantime, the school is still open only for vulnerable pupils and the children of critical workers. We know some employers will be encouraging you to return to work, but we’re not in a position right now to extend places to other children until we receive further Government guidance.
We’d like to thank you for your continuous support in helping your child learn from home. We’ll need to keep going with this for a while yet, so please do continue to do what you can and stay in touch with us about how your child is doing.
Survey for Reception, Year 1 and Year 6
Thank you to everyone who has completed the quick survey about returning to school. If you haven’t completed it yet, please complete it here.
Government Guidance for Parents and Carers
Opening schools and educational settings to more pupils from 1 June: guidance for parents and carers.
Online safety lessons for 6-9 year olds.
Childnet have released six new easy-to-follow videos for parents and children to work through together. The 10 – 15 minute videos offer simple, clear online safety advice using fun activities, games and discussion. There are optional follow-up activities to extend children’s learning.
The videos can be found here: https://www.childnet.com/resources/video-lessons
Dudley Learning Support Service
If you need any advice, support or resource suggestions for any child who may have learning needs, please see the flyer here. We use Dudley Learning Support in school and they are excellent.
Fun Card Games for All Ages
Here’s something a bit more fun! There are some card games here for children of all ages. Worth a look!
Lockdown Song
We were asked last week by Worcester Diocese if we would take part in a national project to record our version of a specially-written song about lockdown. We recorded some vocals and some photos and videos and put them together…and here it is! It will be shared across social media too. Sing along!