What a Week!
Well, it certainly has been a busy week! Thanks to you all for your patience and understanding, as we adapted and amended our plans to fit with the government’s last minute announcement on Monday evening. Apologies for any confusion caused, however I am sure that you are aware, that the decision to go into lockdown, was made sooner than expected.
For the next 6 weeks (until February half term at the earliest) school is divided into two: children who are attending school for face to face learning and the majority of children, who are at home, completing Remote Learning.
Remote Learning
As you know we are using the school website as the starting point for the children’s remote learning at home. The class blogs will be updated every Friday, but look daily as videos and additional resources may be added. The work on the website reflects what is going in school, and there is enough work on there to keep your child busy.
However, here are a few things to bear in mind...
The first and most important outcome of this situation is that we all survive (physically and mentally) this pandemic!
Most of the children caught up most of their missed learning last term - so we can catch them up again.
There is more to child development than academic attainment and improving ones knowledge.
These statements are not an excuse for us all to not try to help children continue their learning over lockdown, or allowing the children to do no learning during the next six or more weeks. However, we need to strike a balance for us all.
The Remote Learning is there to support you and your children to learn at home whist we get this virus under control, so if you do not log on to every meeting or your child is not enjoying them, or they do not fit with your work / home learning schedule then please do not stress. If you need the children to engage in BBC lessons for a day or so, or to do some baking or you all need to go for a walk during the day then that is okay. To be honest it is probably better than okay, if trying to keep to a timetable and log on each time is going to cause you and your children to be overly stressed.
Also, if you do not have a suitable device, please get in touch, we do have some laptops that we can loan to you. Please send me a message, if you think a school laptop would be useful for you.
Your children will be okay if you explain something incorrectly, it will not affect them forever. We need the children back with us, with well parents, when we get out of this situation. When we’re are all back together again physically, we will work with your children and help them catch up again. Educationally, it will be okay in the end.
I would however, recommend the children as a minimum, read everyday with you, do some writing, and some maths...even if it is 20 minutes of each everyday. Weekly exercise and some art and craft activities would also be recommended. Please do not let them just play for 6 weeks and not reinforce last terms learning but as I said earlier - this is about balance and surviving! The government are suggesting 3 hours a day for KS1 and 4 hours a day for KS2; you know your children best, you devise the best timetable for them!
Please use the email to contact the class teachers, but please be aware that they are busy teaching in school, so they may not answer you straight away. These emails are really for the children to share any work with their teacher, they are not designed to answer lots of questions by parents. Please be considerate to the class teachers, when using the emails, they are very busy people!
You will receive regular phone calls from school and there will also be regular Zoom meetings for the children.
The first Zoom meetings will take place at the following times:
Nursery: 9:30am on Thursday 14th January
Reception: 2:15pm on Thursday 14th January
Year 1: 1:30pm on Monday 11th January
Year 2: 1:15pm on Thursday 14th January
Year 3: 9:30am on Wednesday 13th January
Year 4: 11:15am on Thursday 14th January
Year 5: 11am on Wednesday 13th January
Year 6: 11am on Tuesday 12th January
30 minutes before the meeting, you will be texted the passcode to access the ZOOM call. Please ensure that children are dressed appropriately and are downstairs in a safe and secure place.
Face to Face Learning
There are still a number of children attending school; children of critical workers, vulnerable children and nursery children. These children are working in bubbles and are participating in lessons. These children may not be taught by their usual class teacher, as staff need time to prepare remote learning and to contact the children at home. However, we will ensure that there is consistency in the staff that teach them, so that they continue to make progress.
Although we love seeing the children, we must reiterate, that if at all possible, that if the children can work from home, that would help reduce the number of children in school, and therefore reduce the chance of transmission.
We have increased and developed our Covid precautions further. Staff wear masks around the school. There are no assemblies. All children eat their lunch in the classrooms. Children do not move around the school at all, they are either in the classrooms, or outside.
Children are taught in phase bubbles, so that we can release staff to complete remote learning activities, where possible they are taught in their year group.
As you can imagine, it is difficult to teach two different groups of children, in different locations. So, please bear with us.
In what has been a busy week, I thank you for your understanding and patience.
Stay safe.. and help keep others safe
Please keep in touch, we are here, if you need help with anything.
Miss Goodson