Noticeboard

 

Good morning all,

 

I have attached a link below that takes you to a page where there is some useful information links about keeping your child safe online.

 

Some of these I have shared previously but thought a reminder might be good as we move forward. 

 

Our children are accessing virtual content more and more and are being expected to regulate their own actions which of course is very difficult for children to do without adult support.

 

I hope you find this information useful.

 

Sarah Houseman

 

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-keeping-children-safe-online/coronavirus-covid-19-support-for-parents-and-carers-to-keep-children-safe-online

Happy Friday all,

 

This week it was lovely to welcome the children back to school. They were all very excited and settled back in well.

 

I need to remind parents to be vigilant with any symptoms as we progress as we already have 1 bubble closure and I don't think we are quite out of the woods yet as far as positive cases are concerned. If anyone in your household needs to be tested your child should stay at home until the results are through. I believe some parents may be conducting the lateral flow tests (the ones you do at home)  but if anyone has symptoms a full test must be taken. It is not advised for primary children to have a lateral flow test so if in any doubt book a full test.

 

I feel positive that we are on the right side of lock downs and feel very positive about how the children have returned and hope the steady move towards pre pandemic life will keep us all motivated to keep ourselves and others safe.

 

I hope you all have a lovely weekend.

 

Take care

 

Good Morning all,

 

As we get ready to welcome all our children back in to school I thought I would give some updates.

 

As from Monday all children must be in school. We know some children may be feeling a little anxious about this but we will do our utmost to make them feel safe and secure on their return. Children already in school may also feel a little nervous about sharing their desks again etc so we are already thinking this through with them.

 

School from 8th March is compulsory and we will follow absence procedures as usual. Although we would all like a holiday, holiday requests should only be submitted for exceptional circumstances as per the school policy.

 

Practicalities

On return all children should arrive at their set drop off times (as in the Autumn term). They need to line up and distance from other year groups as usual. I would ask that parents continue to socially distance on school grounds

and wear a mask (wearing a mask is not compulsory but I believe it makes some people feel more comfortable at our busier times). We will not challenge any individual who chooses not to wear a mask but will remind people to distance if we see groups gathering on school premises.

At both drop off and pick up your child/children should remain with you and should not be playing around the school grounds. They must not go on the play equipment.

 

We will continue to keep the children in their class bubbles. Hand washing and sanitising will continue.

 

If your child is unwell for any reason please be vigilant and do not send them into school. This applies particularly if your child has a temperature, cough or lack of sense of smell or taste. Headaches and sore tummies, flushed faces are also symptoms displayed by children. Although we realise it is sometimes difficult to tell we would err on the side of caution as cases in our particular area continue to be relatively high and we wish to avoid bubble closures and potential illness in families.

 

If a child tests positive we will continue to close bubbles where necessary after seeking advice. It is really important that you let us know if anyone in your family is waiting on a test or tests positive so that we can make sure we follow all guidance. If someone in your house is waiting on a test due to symptoms or tests positive then your child/children must isolate for the appropriate time.

Your child will receive home schooling if they isolate individually or as a bubble.

 

On return to school children should bring in their lock down work to share with their teacher if it has not be seen or responded to. The Collins books can remain at home to be used as advised by the teacher.

 

Households with school age children are now able to get Lateral flow tests twice a week.

 

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/all-households-with-children-of-school-aged-to-get-rapid-covid-19-tests-per-person-per-week 

 

Use this link for more information.

 

There is also a lateral flow drop in point at West Park leisure centre.

 

On return

Our main priority is to settle the children back into as normal a school routine as possible. We will provide support for health and well being as part of our weekly timetable and allow the children some space for getting back into the routines and being with all their friends again.

Academically we will focus on core skills on the children's return and test before Easter to determine any gaps and next steps. Our approach to catch up is outlined in our catch up funding statement which can be found under the key information tab.

We will determine the progress of the children using our usual assessment system. Year 6 and 2 will sit previous SATs papers and the teacher assessments will be informed by this and other formative assessments.

We recognise that not all children will have made appropriate progress during lock down but had evidenced in the autumn term that our procedures had a positive impact on children's progress so we are determined that we will be able to support all children with this.

 

Other news

Year 6 are able to wear their leavers hoodies on return with a school t shirt underneath.

 

There are spaces in holiday club for both Easter and summer holidays and the summer half term. Please get in touch with Bernie at the club if you wish to book a place. Your child can do morning, afternoon or full day sessions. A full day runs from 7.30 till 6.00.

Please see further information under the parents tab-Dovedale WRAP club.

 

We will be holding a virtual parent's evening after Easter and will let you know the details for this shortly.

 

School is closed on Friday 2nd April as it is Good Friday.

 

I realise this is a lot of information to take in but know there may be even more questions. I will continue to keep you up to date with any further guidance.

 

Thank you for all your support-we truly appreciate it.

 

Sarah Houseman

 

 

Applications are invited for the 7th series of Junior Bake Off, a Channel 4 programme that celebrates the culinary talent and ambition of the younger generation in Britain.

 

Filming for young budding bakers would take place from July 2021, but applications close on Sunday 28th March 2021.

Good Morning all,

 

I hope that you and the children have managed to have some quality time at some point over half term.

 

As I am sure you are aware it appears that schools will reopen fully from March 8th. We will keep you informed of any changes to drop off and pick up times and any further arrangements once we have full details.

 

Please be advised that the Directors have agreed to change the autumn term dates. School will reopen to children on the 2nd September and finish for the Christmas break on the 22nd December.

 

We look forward to welcoming our key worker children back tomorrow and all our children on the 8th March! (Unless we get told otherwise!).

 

Social distancing requirements will remain in place in school and on the school grounds.

 

Take care

 

 

Happy Friday everyone,

Well, we have reached the end of Spring term 1 and it has been one filled with lots of ups and downs for everyone. but at the end of the 6 weeks we can say that the children have made us proud and we have delighted in all they have achieved.

Thank you to all the parents who have battled through the home schooling regime, learning alongside their children in many instances whilst juggling their own jobs or demands and thank you to all the critical worker parents who have had to continue to put themselves on the front line. I believe we are stronger as a community because of these difficult times, even though at times we may feel frustrated or exhausted we are still able to pull together for the sake of our children.

Hopefully soon we will get back to some sort of normal and the children will be back in school ready to build on the new skills and resilience they have learnt. We have no further information with regards to school opening fully but will keep you informed as soon as we do.

I have received several messages this week from parents thanking staff for the work they are doing and I would like to take this opportunity to personally thank all the staff as they have universally shown resilience, dedication and flexibility; juggled their own lives and anxieties and continued to deliver learning and support to inspire and nurture the children.

 

I hope you are all able to have some rest over half term and enjoy your family units.

Please continue to keep safe and we will see you all either virtually or in person from Tuesday 23rd February.

 

Sarah Houseman

 

The Rotary club of Long Eaton are running a "Young Photographer Competition"  on "Wild Nature" this is for different age groups, Juniors 7-10yrs Intermediate 11-13 yrs and Senior 14-17 yrs. 

All the children have to do is send one photo of something that they see locally - 'In their back garden' in fact anywhere locally. 

I have placed details for submission under the news and events-letters home tab on the website, there is also a  consent form to be completed and sent with your entry.

Entries go directly to the email on the information sheet and not submitted to school.

Paper copies can be collected from the school if you wish.

 

Good afternoon all,

I hope you are all well.

 

I realise that many of you will have heard Boris Johnson's announcement that schools will remain closed till at least the 8th March. Although this is  frustrating, as we are starting to see a little downward movement in National cases I guess it would be foolhardy to wish to open any sooner.

 

We are seeing cases in some bubbles in school, amongst children not staff and all our lateral flow tests for all our 60 staff were negative this week so that is reassuring. We do however continue to close bubbles for positive child cases and will monitor the lateral flow tests throughout the week.

 

Miss Martin has placed more THRIVE support materials under the Parent's tab in the THRIVE section. These activities are designed to support children and parents emotionally and with how this may exhibit behaviourally. As we know this is a time of emotional turmoil you may find these activities useful even if your child does not usually attend our THRIVE sessions.

 

Don't forget to get your children to watch the weekly assemblies in the offsite learning section. I have also placed one on the Mrs Houseman's updates specifically for our offsite children who we are all missing and thinking about daily.

 

I hope you all have a lovely weekend, keep safe and take care.

 

 

Good morning all,

 

I hope you are keeping well.

 

Today we see the start of lateral flow testing for staff.

This testing allows us to see if any staff are positive without symptoms. The test time is 30 minutes.

Although this is a great thing with regard to helping to prevent the spread of the virus we need to make you aware that this may have some impact on in school provision.

As it is being suggested that 1 in 3 people may be positive but showing no symptoms (asymptomatic) I cannot rule out that we will see some positive cases. 

If this is the case it may mean we have to suspend a bubble whilst we arrange cover or the positive case gets a confirmation test. If the positive case has been in school then it will result in bubble closure and isolation.

We will inform you of this if necessary. 

 

School will be closed as planned on the INSET day February 22nd and over half term as usual. WRAP club will be available over these periods. Please contact Bernie directly if you require a place. Details can be found under the parent's tab.

 

I am having several requests for school places as I know many people are finding it increasingly hard to home school their children.

Places were initially allocated after the first cut off date and we have attempted to offer places after this date based on need and criteria. If a parent is at home and able to have their child then this is still the right place for them to be but we will continue to review our places and allocate any spaces becoming available appropriately.

 

Take care

 

 

Good Morning,

 

I hope you are all keeping well.

 

I realise it is continuing to be a difficult time for everyone but am being made aware of some really positive things happening out in our community as well.

 

We are closely watching all updates for any indication of when we will be able to open fully. At the present time we are working with the after half term timescale. However we will keep you informed if there are any changes to this or further information received.

 

Communicate

Please remember that as a school we are here to support you and that if you need to speak with someone confidentially do not hesitate to contact us. Our children are our utmost concern and we know that families may be in crisis financially or/and emotionally. We are therefore here to support you as much as possible so that you can continue to support them. 

 

Food boxes

I have seen some comments on social media with regard to food boxes. As an Academy Trust food boxes were decided upon as this was recommended if possible over vouchers.

The reasoning behind this was so that parity and consistency of provision could be ensured for all the children receiving a free school meal box. I am however aware that some families not just in our community but across the UK have found the boxes lacking. 

The food provided is for 5 lunches a week and each child receives 1 box of lunch supplies. A child's meal is costed at £2.20 a day. 

Recipe suggestions for the food provided can be found under the school meal section on the parents' tab. 

At the moment the boxes contain:

1 loaf of bread, 6 eggs, 3 yogurts, 1 cheese spread, 1 large tin Heinz beans, 1 large tin tuna, 1 cucumber, 500g carrots, 2 baking potatoes and 5 pieces of fruit.

I only list these for clarity as I am not sure that the posts on social media were representative of our provision.

As of Monday 25th they will also contain: 1 pack sliced ham, 1 tin tomatoes and a bag of pasta.

We will of course continue to monitor the quality and content and update our position as necessary.

 

Leaving

Miss Aldis has secured herself an exciting new role and will be leaving us at February half term.

Miss Aldis has worked at the school for 20 years and has been an integral part of the Team. She will definitely be missed by staff and children alike.

We wish her all the very best with her new professional adventure.

 

We are happy to say that Miss Muir will continue as the class teacher in this class until the end of the year.

 

Covid updates

We are seeing transmission among children and must remind you to be vigilant to any potential symptoms whether your child is in school or at home to keep everyone safe. 

Some media outlets seem to suggest that children either don't contract it or transmit it but we are seeing evidence to the contrary. Tummy aches and headaches are symptoms we have seen in addition or instead of  the usual

cough, temperature and loss of taste and smell.

Please stay safe.

 

Take care