Click here for information about school opening next week.

Dear Parents and carers,

 

I am sure you will have heard on the news that the Prime Minister has reiterated his intentions for schools to move to wider opening from 1st June.

 

Daily I am receiving more and more updates with advice on how this wider opening should happen and I am being extremely thorough in my reading of all of the documents to ensure that when we do open, I have taken all the actions expected of me by the Local Authority and the DfE.

 

This is taking a great deal of time to plan and organise, to ensure that it is as safe as possible for your children and my staff to return to school with these higher numbers of pupils. So please do not expect all of the year groups to return immediately. As is the case with many schools, we will be staggering the return of the year groups outlined in the DfE guidance (nursery, year R, 1 and 6) and once Boris Johnson has confirmed, on Thursday, that this wider reopening will go ahead then I will include my plans on my Thursday update.

 

Please note, in response to requests for information through texts, my updates and direct phone calls, I am planning for the return of those children whose parents contacted us last week to confirm their child/children would like to return when possible. 

 

However, if you decided to keep your child at home, that is absolutely fine, but should you change your mind you will not be able to just turn up with your child or ring up and ask for them to come in the next day, as the logistics of this new way of schooling is very complicated. If numbers increased suddenly it would mean I need to organise further classrooms and staffing which is not easy as each class now needs at least 2 teachers as class sizes will be no greater than 15. Also there are physically not enough rooms to continue to house ever growing numbers. What I do intend to do is provide parents, who have chosen to keep their children at home, with the opportunity to review their situation at certain times over the next few weeks. This will give me and the staff time to prepare for even greater numbers of children in school. 

 

If your child is returning to school and is in one of the specified year groups, it is expected that they will now attend full time, this also applies to those children of key workers and vulnerable children if they are in those year groups. So for example, if your child has been attending school because you are a key worker and they are in year 1, they will now be expected to join their year 1 class full time to re start their education. This means that in the infant school, the only children who will be attending the vulnerable/key worker class will be pupils from year 2. In the junior school the vulnerable/ keyworker class will be for pupils in years 3,4 and 5. Part-time childcare in the vulnerable/key worker class will still be available as it is at the moment with booking necessary.

 

I sincerely hope that you are all keeping safe and maintaining social distancing to help keep your children, families and the community safe. There will be many expectations on the children and yourselves to keep to these rules once wider opening begins for the safety of us all. I know you will understand why this is necessary.

 

As I said earlier, my Thursday update will include all the detail about how we plan to start our wider opening once this has been confirmed by Mr Johnson.

 

With best wishes

 

Sheila Pape

Executive Headteacher

Dear Parents,

 

Thank you to all of you who have rung in to inform us of your decision regarding whether or not you intend to send your child back to school from the 1st June, should the government make that decision for us to open. 

 

The year groups which the government have prioritised are nursery, year R, year 1 and Year 6. The provision for key worker's children and vulnerable children will continue but, if their year group has returned, then the government have made it clear they must return to their respective year group full time.

 

Once year 1 parents have telephoned tomorrow to inform us of their intentions, then I can finalise plans - but at the moment we will be able to open to all of the year groups requested in the government guidance, once instructed to do so, unless the situation changes. However, I will just reiterate that there is no guarantee the children, in either school, will be with their usual teacher or support assistant, nor in their own classroom. Children will be given a classroom with a number of other children from their year group which will be called a 'school family' and they will stay in this room and with their 'family' each day as there is to be no mixing of groups. Neither staff nor children will be allowed to visit other 'school families' except in exceptional circumstances.

 

My plans are based on the number of parents who have asked for their children to return. This will be reviewed every week and if parents who have currently opted to keep them at home then choose to return their child at a later date, then they can do so but only once they have agreed this in advance as further plans will need to be implemented should numbers increase further.

 

At the moment these are all just PLANS. No final decision has been made by the Government that wider opening of school will go ahead as they have been clear this will only happen if it is safe to do so and their criteria has been met. My understanding is that this decision will be made next Thursday and at that point I will be able to update you in more detail.

 

We are open as usual next week for Key worker and vulnerable children except on the Bank Holiday. Food and support will still be available should you need them.

 

Change of INSET days

I also need to inform you that I have had to change one of the INSET days planned for 2020-2021. Monday 7th June 2021 was one of the dates we had identified as an INSET day, this has now been changed to Friday 25th June 2021. The other dates were: 2-10-20; 2-11-20; 12-2-2021 and 4-5-2021.

 

In the meantime enjoy this continuing lovely weather. Maintain social distancing and remember that 1 person from your household can meet 1 other person from a different household, but only in a public place and you must stay 2 metres apart.

 

Finally keep safe and hope to see you soon.

 

best wishes

 

Sheila Pape

Executive Headteacher

Dear Parents,

 

Under normal circumstances next week would be half term, but these are definitely not normal circumstances! So, to continue the support we have provided for the last 9 weeks we are remaining open next week for the children of key workers and any vulnerable children as well as children with an EHCP, as usual. We are however, closing for the Bank Holiday Monday.

 

During the half term week I have insisted that my staff have a complete break on the days they are not in school, as they have been working every day for the last 9 weeks including over the Easter holidays and the May Bank holiday, and if we are to resume teaching on the 1st June I would like them to come back refreshed.

 

As a result of this, no new work will be posted on line for the children to do over the half term break, nor will any work be checked or marked during this period. The children also need to have some time when there is not the expectation to be completing work, as many have been working diligently every single day. If they really want to do some work they have their study books and learning packs which they can work through.  

 

My understanding is that the Government will be making an announcement next week regarding whether any return to school is possible- so keep checking the website for details- although I guess you are likely to hear it on the news, just as I do.

 

Please note that there will still be food available if you need it.

 

In the meantime stay safe

 

With best wishes

 

Sheila Pape

Executive Headteacher

Monday 18^th May 2020

 

Dear Parents,

The sunny weather seems to be back which is great and helps to cheer us up during these uncertain times.

As you will have heard on the news there is a possibility that schools will reopen to certain year groups as from 1st June. As I said in my update last week we are planning for children in nursery, Year R and Year 1 as well as year 6 to return at some point during that week - in line with government guidelines.

 

Again I said some of you may well be apprehensive about sending your children back to school whilst the virus is still not under control so I just want to make it clear that the decision is totally yours. However, we would like an indication of who is planning to return so that plans can be finalised. If your child does not return - they can continue to work through their study books and/or learning packs, on line work will also still be available.

 

So, if you have a child in year 6, you should have rung the office either today or be ringing tomorrow to let us know whether or not your child will be returning that first week in June if we are allowed to open. Please note, if you still feel that it is not in your child's best interests due to health concerns, or due to a concern about another vulnerable person in your household, and you choose not to send your child in to school, you will NOT be fined for non attendance. At this point in time the safety of our children and families is paramount.

For nursery, year R and year 1, please can you ring school on Wednesday (nursery), Thursday (Year R) and Friday (Year 1) to inform us if you intend to send your child in to school as mentioned above. Again - if you choose not to, you will NOT be fined as I have said earlier.

 

Due to having to reduce class sizes to a maximum of 15, it will mean children may not be with their usual teacher and the school day will still not be a 'typical day', instead they will be accessing a limited amount of work which can be covered safely from their planned curriculum, prioritising the key skills they need to have covered.

The government have asked that only 1 person brings the children to school and the same person collects them so as to reduce different contacts. Parents will not be allowed into the school, you will drop your child off at a designated place and then you will need to leave the site immediately, not stopping to interact with other adults. There will be a one way system around the site with different gates being designated as either an entrance or exit.

 

These are all measures suggested to reduce the spread of the virus.

Once plans are finalised, and more information provided from the government, I will update you again.

Please do ensure you follow the social distancing rules and remember you are only allowed to meet one other person outside of your household in a public place. Also as of today the government have announced that anyone over the age of 5 who displays Covid 19 symptoms is able to have a test carried out. They have also added 'a change or loss of taste or smell' to the list of key symptoms - so be aware. Should you, or any of your household show any signs of these symptoms that person is to self isolate, along with the rest of the household.

 

It was very reassuring today as I walked around some of our local area, that no children were seen out playing. This is great news as this is helping to reduce the transmission of the virus and shows that we are all following the government guidance by staying in.

 

Please do make sure you ring the school to let us know your intentions about returning to school as this information is vital for me to be able to plan effectively should we be given the go ahead by the government.

 

Stay safe and well.

 

With best wishes,

Mrs Sheila Pape

 

Dear Parents,

 

Mrs Sheila Pape

Executive Headteacher

Dear Parents,

 

I am writing this update a little later than usual as I wanted to listen to the announcement which Boris Johnson was making tonight at 7p.m. Many of you may have watched both last night and tonight's broadcasts, so I just want to clarify the situation as far as South View Schools are concerned.

 

In terms of the potential for schools reopening, the Prime Minister said ‘In step two – at the earliest by June 1 – after half term – we believe we may be in a position… to get primary pupils back into schools, in stages, beginning with reception, Year 1 and Year 6’. It is important to note that the statements makes it clear that this is not a set date, and that this may happen at the earliest by June 1^st. However, should infections start to rise again, this date will be delayed even more, so it up to us to follow the social distancing rules and act sensibly to reduce the rates of transmission of the virus and so keep ourselves and our families safe.

 

This means that, at the moment, nothing has changed as far as schools are concerned. We will continue to remain open for children of key workers and vulnerable children as well as those with an EHCP. If your child falls into one of these categories and you need childcare, then please get in touch with me.

 I understand that this may well impact on your ability to return to work if you are not able to send your child to school as they do not meet the criteria, as mentioned above, set earlier in March. Mr Johnson was clear that if this is an issue for you, you must discuss this with your employer as they should understand this as being a barrier to you being able to return to work.

 

What I can say is that both the Government and the Local Authority are working on plans as to how to manage any re-opening of schools to ensure that is safe for your children, parents and staff. Obviously one plan will not suit every school, as each one is different, so I am working on various options for our schools, but I can reassure you that I will not reopen unless I know I have taken every step I possibly can to ensure it is as safe as possible for your children and my staff.

 

I will continue to provide these updates on a  Monday and Thursday via the website so as soon as I know anything else I will let you know.

 

In the meantime we have received another food delivery, so if you are in need of food, particularly for breakfast, then please call in to the junior school reception to collect some. The food is available for both infant and junior parents.

 

There are still a lot of parents who have not claimed their free school meal vouchers. In some cases this amounts to quite a lot of money which you are entitled to. Please contact school for more details if you think this applies to you.

 

I know that over the last few weeks I have spoken to many of you either on the phone or in person, if you do want to speak to me please do not hesitate to ring me.

 

Finally please remember to keep social distancing at all times to help reduce transmission of the virus and keep us all safe.

 

With very best wishes,

 

Mrs Sheila Pape

Executive Headteacher

 

INSET dates for the Academic Year 2020 - 2021

 

Friday 2nd October 2020

Dear Parents,

 

 

 

 

Mrs Sheila Pape

Executive Headteacher

Dear Parents,

Mrs Sheila Pape