There's a lot to think about...

Here we are at the end of another week and I continue to be so proud of how well the children are working and behaving in school. This week there have been lessons on place value, word classes and portraits; and for some children, teaching trees is back. Across the school we have been talking about the “Learning Pit” - a metaphor, to help the children explain what they should do when they get stuck and find things difficult. The learning pit helps the children to devise their own strategies for overcoming difficult problems, and helps them develop deeper learning. If you are interested, more information about the learning pit can be found here: https://www.challenginglearning.com/learning-pit/

Thank you all for your continued support, I fully appreciate it is a difficult and stressful time for us all in these unprecedented times, particularly when we watch the news and wonder what is around the corner? From the children’s perspective, school is relatively normal. The staff are working incredibly hard, and I would like to thank them for going above and beyond. Supporting each other, the whole community working together, is important and I hope you all feel that Winshill Village Primary and Nursery School is doing its best to support your children and yourselves. We will be sending out a survey next week to collate your thoughts.

I have had a lot of conversations about colds this week! There are a lot of colds around at the moment - which is normal for this time of year - however, this year there is the added complication of Covid 19 - and the dilemma of whether you send your child into school or not. Below, I have outlined some symptoms to look out for and the steps to take. I hope you find it useful, but if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me via the contact button on the website or email me at: win-headteacher@win.jtmat.co.uk

As you can imagine, school is receiving daily updates from the Department of Education and Public Health England, and we do our best to keep you up to date, but do not be surprised if things change regularly. Also, do not be surprised if different schools interpret the guidance in different ways; each headteacher and governing body make decisions on what is best for their specific school. Therefore different schools (particularly between primary and secondary phases) will have different procedures and Covid 19 risk assessments.

Below, I have summarised the current guidance for Winshill Village Primary and Nursery School:

1) If a pupil or member of staff is symptomatic (i.e has a high temperature; a new persistent cough or a change in taste or smell senses)

a) Arrange a test

b) Isolate until result is available

c) Household should also isolate at this time.

2) Confirmed cases should be advised to continue self-isolating until the latest of:

a) 10 days after the onset of the symptoms (or 10 days after the test date if they are asymptomatic)

b) The time at which symptoms, other than a cough or loss of smell/taste, are no longer present.

c) If suffered from diarrhoea and/or vomiting, when the individual is 48 hours free of symptoms.

3) For suspected cases who go on to test negative

a) Pupil or staff member can return to school as long as they no longer have fever

b) Household members of suspected cases can stop isolation as soon as negative result is received.

When it comes to the coronavirus, the NHS defines a new, continuous cough as “coughing a lot for more than an hour, or three or more coughing episodes in 24 hours” - this will hopefully help you make the decision about sending your child into school or not.

I hope this clarifies a few things. I know that there has been some difficulty in getting tests which delays the process. I know it is frustrating, but keep trying and renewing the web page. I have heard that if you keep “renewing” the website, they update the page and some tests become available, but I don’t know how true this is. It is important that you keep school informed regarding potential tests and definitely keep the school up to date with any results. The NHS have released some documents to explain to parents what symptoms to look out for. I hope you find them useful.

As a school we have put together a home learning plan, which you can find here. This, will support children who can not attend school because they are self-isolating or are waiting test results. This is not for pupils who are absent for another reason. At this point, no pupil or member of staff has tested positive for COVID 19. Please keep socially distancing on the playground and sticking to the staggered finish times to help keep us all safe. Thank you.

ENOUGH OF COVID! Let’s focus on lovely things….

Individual Photographs: On Tuesday, the children will be having their photographs taken. This year, unfortunately, we will not be taking sibling photographs. If your child is normally wearing their PE KIt to school on a Tuesday, you may want them to wear their uniform instead this week, so they look smart for their photograph!

Zoom Story times: In a couple of weeks, we will be holding Zoom story times for each class (please see the calendar for the dates and times of specific classes). This will be an opportunity for you to “Zoom” into the classroom, listen to a story with the children and then chat to them about it when the return home that evening. More details nearer the time.

Clubs: Remember you can sign up for clubs on Monday morning at the office. If there is less than 5 children then the clubs will not run. Please encourage your child to attend, as it is a great way to “close any gaps”.

Harvest: Together with St. Mark’s Church and Tower View Primary School, Winshill Village Primary and Nursery School, would like to use Harvest time to support the local food banks. They are providing a vital service for the local community. Therefore in the next couple of weeks, if you can spare a couple of tins or packets of food, we will be able to put some food hampers together. I will let you know more details nearer the time.

Stars of the Week

Congratulations to:
KS1: Ivan, Lyra, Ruby and Joshua
KS2: Carson, Seren, Scarlett, Chloe, Jacob, Matilda, Connor and Jasmine

Headteacher’s Awards: Blake and Harry

Term Dates: All the dates of the school terms for 2020/2021 can be found here.

Thanks to you all for your continued support, it is much appreciated.

Stay Safe

Miss Goodson

Covid-19Andrea Goodson