Keep up to date with all the latest news happening in school at the moment.
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Important online safety update
Tue 30 Jun 2020We have been informed of some very concerning content including images on an online chat forum on PS4 messenger used by some of our children. Some identified parents are aware, however we do not know all the children affected so would ask you to check this. If your child is using PS4 messenger we strongly recommend that you check their messages and delete them from any chats which include unknown gamers.
I request that all parents check their children's chats on a regular basis to monitor any inappropriate content.
Relevant steps have been taken by the school in response to this but it is only your vigilance in checking the children's online activity that will protect them from inappropriate and potentially harmful material.
I have attached a link below to support parents understanding of online chat so that you can monitor this behaviour. This link has lots of useful information and a short video.
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Holiday club
Mon 29 Jun 2020Good afternoon,
We are now in a position to start taking bookings for the holiday club.
There is a booking form under the parent's tab-Dovedale wrap around club section.
Alternatively contact Bernie on 077907526903.
Obviously if circumstances around Covid 19 change we will keep you informed.
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Friday updates
Fri 26 Jun 2020Good morning all,
I hope you have all been keeping well in what has been a very hot week!
I feel I need to give some clarity on our in school provision as it currently stands:
EYFS are in 4 days a week from Monday till the end of term.
Keyworkers are in on their allocated days - these bubbles are pretty much at capacity now so a reminder to KWs to stick to their days.
Year 1 and 6 will continue with their rota system.
We cannot accommodate any more year groups or offer more weeks. This is largely due to shared spaces and staffing. I have utilised every member of staff in a bubble with some staff playing multiple roles.
Although we would love more children in we physically do not have the capacity.
September
From September we are planning a full return (with a plan A and B and C of course).
School will reopen on Thursday 3rd September where children will spend time with their current class teacher and do a 'transition' on the Friday to meet their new teacher. Children will then start with their new teacher properly on the Monday 7th. This will also be the day we welcome in our new EYFS children.
There is currently an expectation that all children will be in school on this date and our usual attendance policy will resume at this time.
This all of course depends on no changes in government advice over the summer.
We will be informing parents of their children's new class teacher before the end of term as usual.
There will be no end of year reports this year for obvious reasons.
Home learning
I am aware that lots of children have been squirreling away with their home learning and that many parents have found a new talent for teaching (winking emoji should be inserted here!). As mentioned at the very start of this process we will ask children to bring in the completed work and any other evidence collected so that we can recognise and appreciate what they have done. I know that some parents are very keen for us to celebrate all the work and we wholeheartedly agree with this.
I will ask parents to drop this work either at the end of term or bring in September if some children are still working through the set tasks. The teachers will then be able to see the progress the children have made and use this to support planning for gaps in September and beyond. We will also baseline all the children in September as we know that with the best will in the world children may have had difficulty making the appropriate progress during this tricky time.
Attendance
As mentioned above from September there is an expectation that children will be in school as usual. this also applies to holidays with the usual exceptional circumstances evidence required. Term time dates and INSET days are on the calendar and also under term time dates. Please check these if you are planning to book holidays.
Holiday club
As mentioned in a text earlier this week we are looking to provide holiday club over the summer if this is needed. This will be a usual paid provision-prices can be found under the parent's tab in WRAP section.
To help us with our planning please respond to the questionnaire under the parent's tab if you will require a place.
General
I have posted some water safety assemblies in my updates section this week and the next chapters of Fantastic Mr Fox are now on. I will be uploading the REACH assembly later.
As always I have been so very proud of how our school community has been so positive and supportive at this time and I also need to thank here all the staff who have worked positively and enthusiastically under these new conditions. I know from the messages I receive that you have appreciated this too.
I hope you all have a lovely weekend.
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Safety
Mon 22 Jun 2020Good morning all!
As a warm week is predicted I have been thinking about the children's safety so have posted a water safety video under my updates.
This video is aimed at our younger children but could be a starting point for our older children.
I will post safety information all this week as this is my assembly focus.
If any children wish to send in keeping safe posters I would love to share them on the blog.
Take care everyone.
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Updates
Fri 19 Jun 2020Good afternoon all,
I hope you are all well and keeping safe.
Earlier this week the Government stated that schools would not be opening their classrooms to more pupils unless they had capacity.
We as a school have used every space and every single adult to provide provision for the existing year group requirements and are not therefore in a position to open for other year groups under the current guidelines.
Whilst we recognise that many parents will be disappointed by this we cannot compromise the children's or adults safety at risk.
We therefore envisage that the current year groups will continue to be in school and can only hope that by September we will be able to return to normal schooling.
We will keep you updated with any news we receive about provision over the summer as it becomes available.
Take care.
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Online safety
Tue 16 Jun 2020As lots of children are accessing tik tock and other online apps during this time I would advise parents to check out the resources available through Thinkuknow
https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/parents/
This website supports parents with tips for managing their children's online presence.
These resources are available for all primary age groups.
Take care.
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Update
Fri 12 Jun 2020Hello all,
Another week has passed and we have had a very successful week with our new year groups in school. The children have managed really well and the teachers are enjoying getting to work with some children they would not usually work with.
We hope that you are all keeping well and safe at home. Please contact me if you have any issues which you would like to talk about confidentially. We are here to support you.
Back to school groups
As you are probably aware we have now been told that schools are not taking extra year groups back before the end of this academic year. Although we are sad that this process is taking so long we need to be realistic about the measures we can put in place whilst following the social distance guidelines.
This being said there are available places in the EYFS, year 1 and year 6 bubbles if parents feel they would like to access this-please contact your child’s class teacher.
Our Key worker bubbles are growing but we can accommodate a few more children on certain days and from certain year groups. Those people identified as key workers on our initial list should contact me directly if they now wish to take up a place.
We will continue to monitor these arrangements and adjust if necessary or appropriate.
We have no further information as to the next steps but will, as always keep you up to date with any new news.
Home learning
We know that you have been working hard to support your children as much as possible with their academic progress. For the last month of this term we will be endeavouring to catch up on core and key skills that we feel the children need to have accomplished for their transition to their next year group. I would therefore ask that a determined effort is made to engage your child with this learning if at all possible as it will put them in a stronger position for the next phase of opening.
If you need extra books or printed work - we know that some children work better without the distraction of electronics- please contact your child’s teacher or the office and we will support you with this.
Free school meal vouchers
If you have been in receipt of free school meal vouchers please make sure you are downloading and using these as they do have an expiry date and we can see that some people have not accessed them. (They should have come as an email).
Holiday club
We are considering the possibility of opening holiday club over the 6 weeks operating along the same principles as we are now running. This of course will be dependent on staffing and whether there are other guidelines issued by the government before then.
I will therefore be putting a very quick questionnaire up under the parent’s tab as to determine how many parents would wish to access this provision so we can determine if it is something our parents would want. This would be a paid provision with slightly reduced cost due to not being able to provide a hot meal.
I will send a text when the questionnaire is on the website.
Other
If your child is in school next week please send with a jumper or fleece as we are having doors and windows open to ensure ventilation but it has been a little cool in school this week. We are hoping for better weather!
Please continue to keep yourself safe and send me any pictures/videos of the children’s activities. We love to share them.
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Update
Tue 02 Jun 2020Good afternoon everyone,
I hope that you are all keeping well.
Next week from Monday the 8th we will be opening for Years Reception, Year 1 and year 6 as per the government guidance. After the delay incurred through Derbyshire County Council's decision to enable all schools to be ready we feel we are very much in a place to open the classes with the appropriate safety requirements in place.
Your class teacher will tell you which week your child will be attending and the drop off and pick up times via dojo.
The teachers are liaising to ensure siblings are in on the same week.
As previously outlined the bubbles will run bi-weekly and children will not be able to bring in bags other than disposable lunch bags.
PPE should not be worn ( as per previous posted guidance) but all children should be in school uniform from the 8th.
I will post a walk round for the children this week so that they can see how the classrooms look and talk them through some of the requirements so that they get a feel for this new way of being in school.
We will as always try to make your child's time in school as settled and enjoyable as possible but it must be acknowledged that it will be a different environment for the time being.
Please refer back to the letter under the parent's tab if you have any further questions in regard to this initial opening or email me on the headteacher email.
We have as yet no further guidance on when other year groups will be back in school or the expectations for distancing when this happens. As always I will inform you as soon as we know any further details.
Take care.