Support with The Return to School
Ideas for parents to use with their child to prepare them for their return to school.
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Ideas for parents to use with their child to prepare them for their return to school.
Dear Parents and Carers,
We continue to work towards opening to more pupils from the 8th June, welcoming pupils in EYFS, Y1 and Y6 back to school. From 1st June we will also be providing childcare for the children of keyworkers at KPNS (not Crossdale).
If you have children who will be returning to KPNS from the 8th, please read the 3 documents at the bottom of this blog very carefully:
It is very important that you read and understand the attached documents, so please contact us on contact@keyworth.notts.sch.uk if you have any questions - especially if you think we have missed something altogether from the guidance attached.
We will send out a survey to parents in EYFS, Y1 and Y6 early next week and would ask that you let us know definitively if you intend to send your children back to school from the 8th.
Have a wonderful weekend,
Mr Cresswell
Dear Parents,
I last wrote to you on the 13th May about the Government’s ambition to open schools to more children from June 1st. You have probably seen a little coverage about their plan in the media! It is important to keep in mind that the Government have stated that this is a conditional plan and as such its implementation will be dependent on many factors around the spread and containment of the coronavirus.
Since the 13th May we have been reviewing and digesting the government guidance that arrives in our inbox on a daily basis. The guidance is extensive, but in summary tells us that adhering to the following principles will mean a return to school is safe:
Our planning has focused heavily on these 4 principles to ensure the risk of contracting Covid-19 for children and adults is minimised. Ensuring we follow these principles in school, as well as a continued expectation to support home learning for pupils not in school, has meant completely reorganising all aspects of school life including timetables, behaviour codes, curriculum planning and delivery, marking & feedback procedures, the physical layout of the school, staff deployment, rotas, cleaning and hygiene procedures, H&S expectations and much more. These changes have necessitated writing a completely new staff handbook to cover all aspects of the school day. This has been a complex task for us – the risk assessments alone reference 9 different government or professional association planning guides.
Although we are still working positively towards opening to more pupils, the complexity of the task does mean that school governors have approved a plan to open in a measured, staggered way that allows for staff training and preparation. In practice, this means:
Keyworker parents should continue to book childcare for their children using the booking link sent out each week. If you have questions about this, please email us. Please note, school will remain open to the children of keyworkers every day, including Wednesdays. From the 1st June all children of KPNS Keyworkers will ATTEND KEYWORTH PRIMARY. When you arrive please wait, socially distanced, on the back playground and a member of SLT will greet you and show you where you need to go.
This staggered start should give parents confidence that all staff will understand and can follow the new guidelines and procedures they will need to use on a day to day basis.
Children coming to school will continue to follow a curriculum very similar to the one we have been sending home over recent weeks, based on a weekly learning mat. The children of keyworkers in school will also be working through their learning mats and can continue at home if they are attending part time.
Learning mats will be sent home for children in all year groups on a weekly basis. However, the parents of children learning at home must expect less communication from teachers – splitting each returning class into smaller ‘bubbles’ means all staff will be in class teaching every day.
Please see the attached leaflet for more information about our plans to open to more groups of children. However, please contact us using contact@keyworth.notts.sch.uk if you have any questions ahead of your child coming to school in line with the timetable above. We will provide a FAQ blog early next week to respond to these questions.
We will contact the parents of children in F1, F2, Y1 and Y6 next week asking them to let us know if they intend to send their children back to school.
We have received many supportive messages in recent weeks – these have meant a lot to staff and have been hugely appreciated.
Do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.
Kind regards,
Peter Cresswell
Pease see our newsletter and pupil letter below.
Well done Jellyfish! You have worked really hard to earn those stars this week :)
Well done Orcas! You have worked really hard to earn those stars this week :)
Dear Parents and Carers,
I am sure that you, like me, have spent much time this week thinking about the latest Government guidelines on the possible reopening of schools for pupils in certain year groups from 1st June.
It is important to keep in mind that the Government have stated that this is a conditional plan and as such its implementation will be dependent on many factors around the spread and containment of the coronavirus. It seems that there is general scientific consensus that children are not suffering from the virus in the way older people are, but there doesn’t appear to be any consensus on whether or not children spread the virus.
However, we are currently planning and considering the logistics of offering provision for:
One of the difficulties in planning is knowing exactly how many pupils we will be catering for. The Government are encouraging all eligible children to attend (where there are no shielding concerns in their households) so that they can gain the educational and well-being benefits of attending. However, we are aware that some parents may be unsure about sending their children back to school. To support you in making a decision, the following guidance from the Department for Education may be useful:
You can find the full Government guidance for parents and carers by clicking here.
I want to stress that we will be doing our very best to ensure that social distancing between staff and children, and between the children themselves, is adhered to. However, we are dealing with children and as you well know, children are inherently unpredictable. There is a crucial piece of information in the guidelines sent to schools by the Government:
In terms of curriculum content and teaching, in many ways this would be a continuation of the materials we have been sending home, within an overarching aim of ensuring the emotional and social health of the children after a long period away from school. There would be English and maths work for the mornings and additional activities for the afternoons. Continuing with a similar curriculum will mean we can still offer home learning to children not attending school – children at home and school will have access to almost the same curriculum.
The decision on whether or not you choose to send your children back lies ultimately with you - hopefully the information in this letter will be useful in this regard. Although we will continue to encourage our vulnerable children to attend school, there will be no pressure placed on you by school. Furthermore, the Government has said parents will not be fined for non-attendance at this time.
We will continue to plan and will be in touch over the coming days to share more information with you, as it emerges, and also to ask your views on sending your children back to school.
Our priority as a school is always the safety of the children and the staff, first and foremost in everything we do. All we can do as a school at this time is implement fully the guidelines the Government have given us, give you the same information we have been given and, if your children do return, promise to look after them as carefully as we would our own.
Best wishes,
Peter Cresswell
Dear Parents and Carers,
The government published very detailed guidance last night regarding the potential reopening of schools for pupils in Early Years, Reception, Y1 and Y6 from 1st June. We are currently working in school, and with other schools in Equals Trust, to review that guidance and formulate a plan - we are hoping to share our initial plans with you later this week or early next week. In the meantime, you might like to read the guidance that was also published for parents and carers by the DfE: CLICK HERE
I also attach a letter from the CEO and Chair of Equals Trust.
I hope you and you families are well – stay safe.
Best wishes,
Mr Cresswell
We are here to help, please shout out!
Dear Parents and Carers,
Following Boris Johnson's announcement about the potential for pupils in R, Y1 and Y6 to return to school from 1st June, I wanted to let you know that schools have not yet been sent further guidance regarding this plan. As soon as more details come through from the Department for Education (which we expect early this week), we will firm up our arrangements and contact you as quickly as possible.
In the meantime, it is worth noting that Mr Johnson said he hoped to see R, Y1 and Y6 in school from the 1st June at the earliest, […] if the UK’s lockdown status was lowered by then. He also said this plan all depends on a series of big ifs.
Stay safe and well. Best wishes,
Mr Cresswell
Well done Jellyfish! You have worked really hard to earn those stars this week :)
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