Noticeboard

Dear Parents,

 

We hope you are all continuing to keep safe and well.

 

After finalising our planning and preparation for the school to reopen for EYFS, year 6 and year 1  groups from the 1st June we have been informed that Derbyshire Schools are delaying their opening till at least the 8th June.

 

As a school we felt ready to welcome our children back however our Trust has rightly determined that we cannot open without consensus at least across the county schools so we will abide by this decision. 

 

We know this is disheartening and confusing but we are only able to react to the guidance as it happens-this was communicated to us this morning.

 

We will keep our plans for further groups to reopen and implement this when we are told to do so. Until that point we will continue to open for our allocated key workers.

 

As the Government has suggested it will give more information on the 28th May as to school's reopening, I ask that parents are patient with our planning process as we are responding as quickly and efficiently as we can at this time. 

 

I have placed a letter from our CEO under the parent's tab.

 

Other news.

Next week is Whit week and therefore there will be no home learning set or zoom meetings taking place. If you have an enquiry please email me on headteacher@dovedale.derbyshire.sch.uk as I will check these throughout each day. Any urgent safeguarding issues should be done through dojo for an immediate response, the teachers are not required to respond to other dojos throughout this week.

 

Free School Meal vouchers

If you have been in receipt of these vouchers you will receive vouchers next week but these are for the week commencing the 1st June and not the half term holiday. We have been advised that the Government are no longer funding FSM vouchers over holiday periods.

 

Thank you for your continued support, take care.

 

Good Morning,

 

Thank you for your patience as we develop our plans for opening. At the present time we are working with the guidelines. If however there is any change in these guidelines or timescales we will keep you informed. At all times we are working to make this a positive return but know that some parents do not feel it is appropriate at the current time to send their children in to school. There is no judgement on this as you need to do what is best for your child and your family circumstances at this time. We recognise that you are being asked to make decisions in circumstances which are unprecedented and so are we, but I do believe that by working together as a community we will make the right choices for our children.

 

Please find below some answers to the questions we received on the year EYFS, Year 6 and year 1 survey for your information. We are sharing this with the whole school community so that you all have some information even though this may not apply to your child just yet.

 

 If you have a child in one of these year groups and have not completed the survey please do so in the next hour or we will assume you are not sending your child back at this time. Please ring the school if you have any further questions which need to be answered to support your decision.

 

• We will be operating a 1 way system around school and have markers on the floor to show distances required.

 

• Play times will be split with bubbles playing in set areas supervised by their teachers. Games will support social distancing.

 

• Teachers will allocate children to their bubbles in mixed groups (as usual). We will endeavour to keep siblings in the same weeks and accommodate friendship groupings as much as possible.

 

• Your child will stay in one bubble. Key worker children will remain in their own group and not in their class group unless you have chosen for them to attend on a 2 weekly basis instead.

 

• Children will be allowed to join their class group bubble at a later date. However we do not know what changes we may be required to make moving forward so cannot assume it will be the same rota or system that they will return to. This plan is for these year groups only.

 

• Your child's teacher will tell you which week your child is in and the drop off and pick up times.

 

• Drop off and pick up will be staggered between 8.30 and 3.30. Your allocated slot must be strictly adhered to and parents must socially distance at all times.

 

• Children will be expected to socially distance within their bubbles at all times as much as possible.

 

• Children will be sat at their own table throughout the week when in their classroom space with appropriate spacing.

 

• PPE will not be worn except for first aid. This is following guidance (See below).

 

• We will keep this rota the same regardless of numbers for the time being to support parent's decisions and reduce confusion as we believe it will need to change again at some point anyway.

 

• Twins will be in the same class bubble.

 

• Children will wear uniform but should wear trainers ( If any year 6 children have out grown their uniform please contact me). 

 

• Children should bring their own named water bottle which will stay on their table all week.

 

• Packed lunches / snacks should be bought in a disposable bag.

 

• Staff will abide by social distance guidelines with adults and children.

 

• If at any time we receive evidence that a family is not adhering to the social distance guidance outside of school we may withdraw their child's place within school for the safety of all concerned.

 

 

This will be a very different space that the children are required to work within and you are best placed to decide if this is right for your child's well being. However it will not be a 'stark' environment and we will, as always make your child's time in school as happy and reassuring as possible.

 

Keep safe.

 

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-implementing-protective-measures-in-education-and-childcare-settings/coronavirus-covid-19-implementing-protective-measures-in-education-and-childcare-settings

 

Good afternoon all,

 

As always, we hope that you are keeping safe and well.

I am sure that after all the recent briefings and updates about potential school openings you have many questions as to how this will work.

We have worked this week to determine a strategy for the initial year groups to return to school following official guidance. Whist considering this guidance our main priority has been to keep the children and staff safe.

I hope as parents that you know we will do everything possible to make the return to school appropriate for our setting and recognise that the plans put in place will differ from school to school.

I must emphasise that following guidance we have created an initial plan for the phased return of reception, year 1 and year 6. As a school we have been informed that changes to the expectations of school's reopening may be announced by the government with up to 48 hours’ notice and as new guidance is released, we may make adaptations where needed.

I have placed a letter for reception, year 1 and year 6 groups under the 'Parents' tab on the website. This letter details our initial plan and further information will be given to these parents moving forward. We will also be asking parents for their initial response as to whether they will be sending their children back into school under these conditions.

We know that this is a difficult and confusing process and we will try to make it as straightforward as possible for you and your children.

Thank you for your continued support and positivity during this time.

Some official guidance for your information: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-educational-and-childcare-settings-to-prepare-for-wider-opening-from-1-june-2020/opening-schools-for-more-children-and-young-people-initial-planning-framework-for-schools-in-england

Good afternoon,

 

I hope you are all continuing to keep safe and well. We have been amazed by your continuing engagement and support for the school during this difficult time. I would just like to say again that we do not have an expectation on you to have become teachers in your own home. The teachers here are well aware through trying to teach their own children at home just how difficult this is! Do not hold yourself up to anyone else's expectations-we all have our own challenges to manage at this time. Yes we love sharing the children's pictures but we are just as happy to see them being kind as to completing their maths! Just seeing their faces makes our day!

 

I am sure their are lots of questions after Sunday's announcement with regard to the return to school. Rest assured that we are working to ensure that we can get the children back in to school as safely and sensibly as possible. The transition for this may look a little different with staggered start and finish times, different lunch arrangements and utilising different classroom spaces, but we will inform you of all this before the expected deadline. Your children's wellbeing is our primary concern and this is what we will base all our decisions on. I am sorry I cannot give you a clearer plan as of yet but hope you can appreciate that we need time now that we have been given a little direction with regard to timescale and year groups.

 

We realise that more people will be returning to work over the next few weeks but will continue to follow the guidance with regard to those children we have in school.  

 

I will be sending out a questionnaire to get a little feedback with regard to how people are feeling about the proposed timescale for return to school as through this we can further inform our decisions. I know that some of you may be anxious or confused and we will of course take all of these factors into consideration. I will send a text once this is live.

 

If any families are struggling financially we can refer you to the food bank for support. Please email me at headteacher@dovedale.derbyshire.sch.uk - we know that many families have been impacted upon financially and would like to help wherever possible.

 

We are hopeful that we will soon have something resembling normality back in the not too distant future and I feel that as a community we are in a strong position to be able to make this work positively for our children.

 

Keep safe.

 

 

 

 

Good Morning all,

 

I hope that you are continuing to keep well and manage your time in this difficult process. I must reiterate here that although we want the children's learning journeys to continue as best as can be expected we do know this can be very stressful whilst juggling all other pressures at this particular time. Be kind to yourselves.

 

As there are some movements towards a change in lockdown conditions I must make it very clear that the school will only be accepting the children of identified key workers until otherwise directed.

Although some of you may start to go back to work we will continue to follow guidance on the provision we are required to give and so alternative child care provision will need to be made unless we have previously identified you as a key worker and agreed to provide provision. Children must only be in school when absolutely necessary and this applies to key worker children also.

These measures are to keep the children-their key worker families and our staff safe whilst social distancing is still a requirement.

 

Starting next Friday I will be uploading a REACH assembly for the children. In this assembly I shall read out the certificates of nominated children.Children will be nominated by the Teachers or support staff for a range of things including work they have completed, activities they have engaged in or demonstrating our REACH values.

 

Next Friday is Bank holiday and there will therefore only be 4 days of work uploaded for the children.

 

Keep safe and well.

 

 

Hi everyone,

 

Well as another week goes by I continue to be thankful for all the lovely things that I hear and see that the children and their parents have been up to. We know you are taking time to enjoy the time where you can whilst appreciating that this is a very difficult time. 

 

We still have no news with regard to school reopening but are making plans within school for when this happens. We know it will be a peculiar transition whenever or however it occurs so will be ready to take on that challenge for everyone once the process starts.

 

There have been a couple of questions as to how the school will respond to holiday bookings if they have to be rescheduled due to lockdown. As always the school will look at any requests on an individual basis however evidence of unavoidable rescheduling during term time will be needed. This will not apply to any holidays which were booked during term time as these would have been unauthorised.

 

Next week the teachers will be holding Zoom sessions with their classes to touch base and begin reintegrating the children back into a whole class format. Information on how to join this if you wish your child to participate will be sent by each teacher detailing the time and how to log on to the meeting.

 

I have placed a letter under the parents tab about online phonics sessions

(phonics is one way we teach children to read). These lessons are aimed at Reception and year 1 children but may also be useful for some year 2 children who need a little extra support. The sessions are daily online and are led by celebrities including children's TV presenters. Please use this resource if you are able.

 

We hope that you and all your families are keeping safe and well and we hope to see you soon.

 

 

 

Hello everyone,

 

I hope you are keeping well and safe and managing to build some normality into your daily routines as well as getting up to some new things which you may not have had the time for before. We have loved hearing and seeing what you are up to - it really makes us smile!

 

Next week there will be staff on site every day so if you have any questions or concerns please contact the school office. If you have any issues which you would like to discuss with me confidentially then either call the office saying that you need to speak with me or would like me to call you back if I am not available. We are here to support you in whatever way we can so please remember to get in touch if you need us. 

 

Some parents have been contacting school with questions about the free school meal vouchers. The vouchers that are being issued are only for children who have an existing Pupil Premium claim. This is a claim that is made through Derbyshire County Council ( DCC) which parents are directed to once their child starts school or if their financial circumstances changed. All children under 7 receive a meal through the Universal meals system-this is not the same as the pupil premium system- not all under 7s are entitled to the vouchers. We know that this is a little confusing but the vouchers are allocated on the information provided to us by DCC after a succesful claim has been made.

Obviously we recognise that many families may be experiencing financial difficulties at this time. If you think you may be entitled to free school meals under the pupil premium scheme please apply through the process on the Derbyshire county council website. The criteria for applying/eligibility can be found through this link 

https://www.derbyshire.gov.uk/education/schools/your-child-at-school/meals/school-meals/free-school-meals.aspx

I cannot guarantee how quickly these claims will be processed at the current time or if they are looking at new claims at all. 

 

I know that lots of you have been communicating with the teachers directly and I would personally like to take this opportunity to thank all the staff at Dovedale who have worked so hard to keep our families connected at this time and have continued to prove- if any proof were needed -what an amazing team they are.

 

As a school we have no further information as to when schools will fully reopen but will keep you informed with any information we receive.

 

Keep safe and we hope to see you all soon!  

 

Sarah Houseman

Hi all,

Well that was another week!

I hope you are all managing to keep safe and well and if possible enjoy the sunshine.

The little things seem to be very important at the moment and it's lovely to see that the NHS clap is getting bigger around the streets and bringing people together-even if it is at a distance.

If like me this week has been a bit of a struggle for you as we listen out for any positive news and know that the lock down will continue as it stands for another couple of weeks at the least I hope you know that we think you are doing a great job!

Every adult in school can't wait to get back to normal and this is a testament to your children and ultimately to you. Our 'usual' working day is made a delight as we learn from so many wonderful little people. You as parents have enabled them to be kind and respectful and during this difficult time we hope you remember this.

We are currently living in a very different world from the one we were in only a few weeks ago but Dovedale school is grateful for its community and the support we have received from our parents and we believe that when we return back to 'normal' we will be a stronger community for it.

Take care all and keep safe.

 

 

 

 

 

Hi all,

As your children and young adults may be accessing the internet more frequently at the present time please see the link below for support with online safety.

Either paste into the search bar or control and click.

 

https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/parents/support-tools/home-activity-worksheets?utm_source=Thinkuknow&utm_campaign=46e6250b3e-TUK_ONLINE_SAFETY_AT_HOME_07_04_20&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_0b54505554-46e6250b3e-55059493

 

Keep safe!

 

Hello all!

Well we are at the end of another peculiar week and I hope that you and your families are all keeping well. I know you're all keeping busy one way or another and being creative with the time you've been given! We have had some lovely messages from parents and we are thankful for such a great school community!

 

We have had a strange week in school with up to 19 children at anyone time in this week which is a little odd but Miss Nadin, Miss Bestwick, Mrs Reed, Miss Mercer and Mrs Thomas have all been enjoying themselves with their little groups. These key worker children have been an absolute credit to their parents, so sensible and caring towards each other and they have made the job here all the more enjoyable. We are happy that we can support those families who are doing their jobs to keep us safe.

 

Over the Easter break I am requesting that the teachers get a little head space so it will be holiday as usual. You can however continue to use the headteacher@dovedale.derbyshire.sch.uk email for communication if needed.

 

The link below is a website which is offering free parent resources for children including E books so you may wish to sign up to this as an additional resource.

 

collins.co.uk/learnathome

 

Audible have also got lots of free audio books for both adults and children.

 

https://stories.audible.com/​

 

The children this week spent some time writing letters and making cards for the local nursing or residential homes and we have had some lovely letters from the old Vicarage Care home, Treetops and Alexandra nursing home. We are happy we've helped put a smile on some faces.

 

We hope you all keep safe and well and I will continue to update you with any relevant information.