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This information is for the Critical Workers, and parents of vulnerable children, whose children require childcare from Monday. This does not affect the families whose children will not be attending school from Monday.

From Monday, the childcare provision for Crossdale and KPNS will be based at the Crossdale Primary site.

The Keyworth Primary site will be closed to children.

Mrs King, Mrs Holmes, and Mr Cresswell will all be on the gate and in the playground at Crossdale to greet the children when they arrive from 8.45am and several other KPNS staff members will be ready to welcome the children and make them feel at home. All children from KPNS will have a familiar staff member in their classroom, working with a Crossdale staff member, for the whole day on Monday. Subject to staff’s continued availability to be at work, this will continue for the rest of the week.

We have taken this decision as it gives us the best chance of staying open in a safe and clean building for as long as possible. We are already seeing the impact of Covid-19 on our ability to keep our schools operating smoothly. As one example, Notts County Council can no longer provide cover when a cleaner is absent due to sickness – last week this meant teachers arrived at 7am to clean parts of the school at Crossdale. It seems inevitable that staff availability will reduce further in the coming weeks. Pre-existing medical conditions and illness means our staffing complement in both schools has already been reduced.  Having 2 site managers, 2 cleaners, 2 cooks, 2 sets of admin staff, more teachers, more first aiders, more safeguarding leads and more specialist TAs will ensure the children can continue to come to school and have a safe and positive experience.

In making this decision, our one priority was to ensure we can stay open safely for as long as possible.

Many other local schools are already making similar contingency plans to work together in hubs based at one school. Our close partnership between KPNS and Crossdale means we have been able to implement this more quickly than others.

There will be 12 KPNS staff members at Crossdale on Monday and they have been working incredibly hard with staff from Crossdale to plan engaging activities for all the children.  We are hoping that they will return home on Monday evening talking about their new friends and the positive day they have had.

All children should NOT come to school in uniform on Monday. Children should wear clothes that will allow them to join in with the sporting challenges Miss Robinson has planned for them. Outdoor activities and sport will be a feature of every day, so uniform will not be required at all from Monday.

Email us using contact@keyworth.notts.sch.uk if you have any questions about practical arrangements for Monday.

Windmills Childcare

Please note that families intending to use Windmills from Monday to support their Critical Worker role can access these services at Crossdale too. We will blog information about this on Sunday. However, if you have  any doubts or questions about the information we send, simply turn up at Crossdale on Monday at the time you need and somebody will help you. We are currently planning to have the Crossdale site open from 7.30am-6pm.

 

 

Friday 20^thMarch 2020

Dear Parents,

We have sent out a lot of formal communication over the last few days around Covid-19 and the current situation in school. As we are about to enter a period of uncertainty and will be closing our KPNS doors for many pupils and parents today, we wanted to thank each and every one of you for your support and kind words over the past week. 

Please feel reassured that, although we won’t be seeing you and the children every day, we are certainly thinking about you all and planning for the moment we get chance to open up our doors again! Don’t forget that we are just on the other end of an e-mail (contact@keyworth.notts.sch.uk) if we can help support you or the children in any way; it will be lovely to see some photographs of what you have all been doing together! 

Take care of each other over the coming weeks, enjoy what can be a special time with your children and check our website regularly for fun activities you can do together at home. Parents- You’ve got this! 

We’re counting down the days until we can have our hall full of smart red uniforms again. 

Love and best wishes, 

Your KPNS Staff Team 

 

 

 

 

Dear Parents and Carers,

Overnight, the government have provided guidance regarding the care schools are being asked to provide from Monday for a limited number of children. You will all be aware that all schools in England will be closed from 3.30pm today for the majority of children.

To help us all plan, the government have published some key principles. The following apply to our school and to all families in England:

1. PARENTS: If it is at all possible for children to be at home, then they should be.
2. PARENTS: Parents should not rely for childcare upon those who are advised to be in the stringent social distancing category such as grandparents, friends, or family members with underlying conditions.
3. PARENTS: Parents should also do everything they can to ensure children are not mixing socially in a way which can continue to spread the virus. They should observe the same social distancing principles as adults.
4. SCHOOLS: If a child needs specialist support, is vulnerable or has a parent who is a critical worker, then educational provision will be available for them. (Our school will contact you if your child might be classed as vulnerable)

The government have asked that, as a country, we do what we can to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 virus. It is clear that we all have a responsibility to help slow the spread of the virus and save lives.

Urgent actions for all parents and carers:

• Read the 4 principles above and consider your role in helping slow the spread of the virus.
• Read the Critical Worker guidance and ‘confirm with your employer that, based on their business continuity arrangements, YOUR specific job role is necessary for the continuation of this essential public service.’
• Please respond to the survey we will send out by text this morning (as soon as you possibly can) to help us plan our provision from Monday.

Click here for the Critical Worker list

Many thanks for your ongoing support – you have helped us considerably over the last few days

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Full government advice: Closure of educational settings: information for parents and carers

Keep it the same… as it’s becoming different.

In times like these, it’s very easy to change the routines, change your general rules about screen time, bedtime, bath time, wake time, snacks or whatever else. Keep a similar schedule from day-to-day and make sure your child gets dressed. Set a wake-up time, a time for lunch, screen time and bedtime. If you can, try to mimic your child’s school day by having periods of time during which certain activities will take place. This will help reduce stress and uncertainty.

Structuring learning

If you have a learning pack from school create a visual schedule with times or durations for each activity and follow it throughout the day. You can download blank timetables from the internet or simply make your own.

• Regular breaks. On your timetable make it one short activity and then have a snack or a physical break just as they would at school. Gonoodle website is great!

• Pick your battles. If they struggle with an activity do some of it with them so it doesn’t become a battleground. Make it sound fun and interesting.
• Read books with your child. It's not only fun, but reading together strengthens your bond with your child AND helps their development.
• Make time for active play. Bring out the blocks, balls, jump ropes and buckets and let the creativity go. Play games that kids of all ages can play, like tag or duck duck goose. Let your kids make up new games. Encourage older kids to make up a workout or dance to keep them moving.
• Keep an eye on media time. Whenever possible, play video games or go online with your child keeping that time structured and limited. If kids are missing their school friends or other family, try video chats to stay in touch.
• Have fun. Make one activity a day their fun choice so it could be baking, playing a game with you, making a model together, dressing up, planting seeds, having a teddy bears picnic in the lounge, blowing bubbles or making a den in their bedroom. You could make a jar together and they could fill it with suggestions of activities they would like to do with you in the house and garden.

Rules

• Work with your child to draw up some simple rules and expectations for this time.
• Draw them up as a family so they feel involved.
• Go for the positive and link them to your reward chart.
• Display them. Your child could design the poster themselves.
• Be consistent and fair. Make sure you give warnings and choices. ‘Do your writing with my posh pencil or your pencil.’ ‘When the clock says 7pm the television will go off.’

Rewards

Introduce a reward scheme so that you are rewarding positive behaviours. Give your child a tick every time they do the right thing (saying thank you, completing a piece of work, helping their little sister etc) so that after 10 ticks they get a little reward. Make these rewards small such as choosing what’s for tea, choosing the TV programme at 5pm, a sticker, time with you, a favourite story, or save rewards for something bigger. Print a chart from templatelab.com/reward-charts or www.101printable.com-reward-charts-for-kids or make your own.

Reducing anxiety

• Filter information and give simple reassurance. Remind children that researchers and doctors are learning as much as they can, as quickly as they can, about the virus and are taking steps to keep everyone safe.
• Give them control. It's also a great time to remind your children of what they can do to help – washing their hands often, coughing into a tissue or their sleeves, and getting enough sleep.
• Stick to routines. Children may get cranky, be more clingy, have trouble sleeping, or seem distracted. Keep the reassurance going and try to stick to your normal routines.
• Monitor their media. Keep young children away from frightening images they may see on TV, social media, computers, etc. For older children, talk together about what they are hearing on the news and correct any misinformation.
• Mindfulness. Try some of the free activities on smilingminds.au or practise simple breathing exercises or squeezes e.g. childhood101.com/fun-breathing-exercises-for-kids, Cosmic Kids on You Tube or Moovee Calming Breathing and Relaxation

If it goes wrong

• Give yourself a moment. Controlling the way you act, when you feel like you are at breaking point, is important for you and your children. When you notice an emotional response in yourself do something to take the edge off. Have a cup of tea, go for a walk, play music, have some chocolate, run a bath etc. Model a calm response. Your child will learn from you.
• Think positive Instead of getting too stressed about your child’s bad behaviour, look out for and reward their good behaviour.
• Laugh. Humour can take the heat out of a situation and can even make everyone forget about what’s made them angry. Try to see the funny side of things if you can.
• Use distraction Fetch a new game or offer a snack to change the mood.

• Strike when the iron is cold. Unless your child is unsafe, wait until you are both calm before dealing with an incident. Giving them a snack and drink first often helps.

Keeping positive

• Praise is always better than criticism. Try “You are so good at tidying away. Can you put the Lego in the box before I make your drink?”
• Use ‘when and then.’ “When you are dressed, then you can get a snack.”
• Tell them calmly and clearly exactly what you want them to do. “Bottom on the chair, book on the table. Thank you.”
• Give them some ‘take up time’ and repeat using the same words.
• Praise specifically. “I like the way you kept going even when you found it tricky.”

Finally, try and enjoy some precious family time with your child.

RUSHCLIFFE PRIMARY BEHAVIOUR PARTNERSHIP