Dear Parents and Carers,

There is still no news from the government regarding their plans for schools so I am unable to update you any further at the moment.

 

However, I am able to offer a final opportunity for your child to return to school if they are in nursery, year R, 1 or year 6. This will be for the last few of weeks of term from Monday 29^th June. It is fair to inform you that much higher numbers than we have currently would mean that the children are unlikely to be with their usual teacher, or in their own classroom, especially at the infant school and are very likely to have to join a new ‘mixed year group family’ as that is the only way I could provide appropriate staffing and toilet facilities for the reduced class sizes we have to adhere to. If you would like your child to return for the last couple of weeks then please ring into school before 2p.m. on Monday 22^nd June to book your child a place. Online learning will continue for those of you who still feel your child is safest at home.

 

Library Books

Thank you to so many of you for returning library books. We are still quite a few missing so please check your children’s bedrooms carefully as every book we have to replace means 1 less new book can be bought. There is a box in both reception areas where you can hand them in.

 

INSET day

We have an INSET day planned for 26^th June which is the last one for this academic year. The previous one which was planned, for May, didn’t actually happen due to it being in the middle of the lockdown but this next one is the day the staff spend preparing for their next year’s class. I do want to ensure that records are completed so that all information is passed on efficiently to your child’s new teacher. Therefore school will not be open on Friday 26^th June except for vulnerable and key worker children who have booked in as requested.

 

Weather

Having looked at the weather for next week it appears that we are in for another hot week. Please do ensure that your child has a sun hat and that you apply sun cream before they come to school as the children do spend quite a lot of time outside.

 

FSM vouchers

A number of you have been enquiring about more vouchers. These are ordered regularly but we have to wait for them to be processed by Edenred before the link is emailed to you. The vouchers are allocated retrospectively as well as for a couple of weeks ahead, again depending on how much time your child spends in school. It has now been confirmed that the government have will continue to provide vouchers throughout the summer holidays too. 

 

It is not too late to apply for Free School Meals which will entitle your child to a free meal or, if they are currently staying home, vouchers towards your food shopping as well as vouchers during the summer holiday as mentioned above. To check if you are eligible and for details of how to apply please go to the Free School Meals page on our website. 

 

Finally, keep up with the social distancing and remember that your children should still not be visiting other houses unless they are part of your household bubble. If you or any of your family show any symptoms you must book a test immediately and isolate with your household and other members of your household bubble.

 

Stay safe.

With my very best wishes,

 

Mrs Sheila Pape,

Executive Headteacher

Dear Parents and Carers,

 

Today we welcomed back some more children into school and it was lovely to see them. They all seemed to have had a great day and quite a few parents commented that this was the case at the end of the day as they were collected.

 

I am still working on transition plans, especially for year 2,  as mentioned in my update last week and hope to have more details about these very soon.

 

Thank you to so many of you for returning library books. We are still quite a few missing so please check your children’s bedrooms carefully as every book we have to replace means 1 less new book can be bought. There is a box in both reception areas where you can hand them in.

 

My understanding is that there will be announcement this week, by the Government, on plans for summer catch up for children. I am awaiting the detail of this just as you may well be. Hopefully the announcement will be made soon and then we will all know what is happening.

 

INSET day

We have an INSET day planned for 26th June which is the last one for this academic year. The previous one which was planned, for May, didn’t actually happen due to it being in the middle of the lockdown but this next one is the day the staff spend preparing for their next year’s class. I do want to ensure that records are completed so that all information is passed on efficiently to your child’s new teacher. Therefore school will not be open on Friday 26th June except for vulnerable and key worker children but only if you are unable to make any alternative arrangements. If you need us to provide care for that day then please let us know by ringing in to the office by the end of Thursday 18th June so we can organise cover.

 

Please note next year’s INSET days are on the website.

 

Finally, I was concerned to see so many people forming queues today to get into shops and they were all so close to each other. Sadly these are the occasions when this virus will spread so please be careful if you are out shopping and ensure you maintain a good distance from other people to keep yourselves and your family safe.

 

Stay safe.

 

With my very best wishes,

Mrs Sheila Pape

Dear Parents and Carers,

 

I begin my update today with some very happy news: Miss Evans, who works in the junior school office, gave birth last week to a beautiful baby girl weighing 5lbs and 10ozs, called Darci Coral. We are delighted that Mum and baby are doing well and our best wishes go to them all. Congratulations!

 

I am also pleased to say that a number of parents took advantage of the opportunity to review their child’s attendance at school and we have got approximately 35 more children starting across the federation next week. I am sure they will settle just as well as the other children have, and can re-start their learning for the last few weeks of the term. In fact Christine Singh, a speech and language therapist who works in school sent this comment to us after working in school earlier this week:

 

I am so incredibly impressed by how the children are so happy and settled and adhere to the new way of working so well. You are all exceptional .

This is an absolute testament to the professionalism and talent of you all as a staff and I just wish that parents could be able to be a’ fly on the wall ‘and to see the fantastic work you are all doing. 

 

The children have been exceptional, and have totally accepted this new way of working yet realising the importance of maintaining their regular hand washing regime.

 

As the end of term approaches, rather rapidly, we are working on a transition plan for both the year 2 and year 6 children. Ideally it would be lovely if we could have them all back, in small groups, to enable the teachers to say goodbye to them. For the year 2 children almost all of them are transferring to the junior school, so they will be able to see their friends again in the autumn but I am hoping to be able to offer the opportunity for them to visit the junior school at least once before the end of the term.

 

For the year 6 children, they are mostly transferring to The Vyne but there are a significant number moving to other secondary schools in Basingstoke. Again it would be lovely to give them the opportunity to say goodbye. We will certainly miss them all.

 

I am hoping to have these plans out to you over the next couple of weeks.

 

Annual reports are still going to be sent out to all parents as planned, but obviously they are only able to reflect the work the children had covered until the end of March. Nevertheless, it is important for you to be able to see how your child was progressing before the Lockdown. Along with their reports there will be a letter informing you of who your child’s new class teacher will be. Our usual whole federation transition day will not be possible but again, we are looking to see how we can provide a way of the children meeting their new teacher so that they do not worry over the summer holidays.

 

I am sure you have heard on the news reports about children attending school over the summer holidays. I have been asked if I know how this is going to be organised. The simple answer is no - I only know what I have heard on the news. No information at all has been shared with schools but I believe that the Education Secretary is due to share his big plans next week.

 

The lockdown has now been eased a little more with shops open from Monday 15th June. Please be careful if you do visit shops, we have all done so well at keeping this virus away, it would be a shame to spoil that now. Furthermore, if you are a single parent with children under 18, you are allowed to create a ‘bubble’ with another household, to provide you with support and company. If you do form a ‘bubble’ it should be with only one other household and you can’t change who this is once established as this will only increase the risk of the virus spreading further. If you want to know more about forming a ‘bubble’ and who is eligible to do so, then please give me a call.

 

Finally, we still have food at school should you need any – please just ask at either school reception.

 

Stay safe.

 

With my very best wishes

Mrs Sheila Pape

Executive Headteacher

Dear Parents and Carers,

 

We are now into our second week of Wider Opening with children from nursery, Year R, 1 and 6 attending full time if parents have chosen to send their children back to school. If you have kept your child at home, that is fine and as I have said before – no action will be taken over non-attendance at this time.

 

The provision for Key Worker and Vulnerable children continues too, in both schools. Please ensure that you book in advance for this childcare as we are almost full on some days so can’t take extra children at short notice as extra arrangements will need to be made to ensure we comply with DfE guidance.

 

As I said in my update on Thursday, the opportunity to review your decision regarding your child returning to school would be offered to you with a start date of 15^th June. So, if you have changed your mind, and you would like your child to return to school and they are in nursery, year R, 1 or 6, then you must ring the school office before 3p.m. on Wednesday 10^th June to book your child in.

 

This gives us 2 days to make the necessary arrangements depending on numbers. They will then start on Monday 15^th June with the expectation of them attending full time. Please be aware that your child will not necessarily be with their usual teacher or LSAs nor in their usual classroom. 

 

If you have been receiving FSM vouchers while your child has been at home please be aware these will no longer be issued from the date your child starts back at school as they will be receiving a free meal at school.

 

Vulnerable and Key Worker/Breakfast Club

Breakfast club is only available for vulnerable and key worker children and they have to arrive between 8.45 and 9a.m. if they want breakfast. If you do not want breakfast, children should arrive with everyone else between 9-9.30a.m.

 

Library books

Our librarian, Mrs Boseley, is needing to carry out an annual stock take of our library books and as we can’t use the library at the moment this is an ideal time for her to do this. If you have any library books at home please can you return them as soon as possible. There is a box in both school reception areas for you to drop the books into and then Mrs Boseley will scan them back in. We spend a huge amount of money on books for the children and any lost book means that we have to buy a replacement which subsequently reduces our ‘new book’ spend. Please look carefully for any books you may have. Thank you.

 

Finally, please stay safe, the lockdown rules do now allow up to 6 people to meet outside as long as they socially distance, but the more people you mix with the greater the risk of you transmitting the virus as well as catching it, so please try to keep socialising to a minimum as I am sure we would all like to keep South View Covid free.

 

With very best wishes,

Mrs Sheila Pape

Executive Headteacher

 

Dear Parents and Carers,

 

We are nearing the end of the first week of the Government’s plan for Wider Opening and it has been lovely to see some familiar faces again. I would like to say thank you to those of you who are bringing your children in and can be seen to be taking social distancing very seriously.

 

As you will have seen if you have been to school, I have been out on duty at the beginning and end of most days to direct parents, answer questions or provide advice and it has been great to catch up with you all. Parents and children have been using the yellow ‘drop off’ lines as requested which again is helping to keep staff and children safe.

 

At no point have I witnessed any congestion on the site as all of the gates are open and so parents are approaching from all directions and so providing you all with a lot of space. We are lucky to have such a large site.

The children who have returned have been incredible. They have taken to the new rules and expectations exceptionally well, even the nursery and Year R children have been trying really hard to keep their distance but if they forget they respond quickly when asked.

 

All children across both schools have been provided with their own space to work in, pens and pencils and equipment or toys relevant to their age.

 

The Year R and nursery children have their own set of construction toys as well as objects for counting so that there is no need to share equipment. If they do need to it is being washed or sanitised in between use.

 

At lunchtimes and playtimes the children are going outside into their own ‘school family’ space and being supervised by other adults in their ‘school family’. At no time have I been told a child has tried to escape to another family, but have been playing very happily with the children in their own ‘family’. Again equipment has been provided for each family to use to focus their play.

 

The children have soon settled down to their learning and the teachers have planned modules of work to help address the work they have missed during the last 10 weeks. Again some of the children are not with their usual teacher or support staff but have adapted very well to this.

 

For those of you who want to review your situation regarding school attendance, details of how you can do this will be included in Monday’s update, with a start date of 15^th June. We need to have these specified start dates to ensure the children already in school aren’t continuously disrupted by new children arriving each day, teachers aren’t having to recap everyday on previous work because this takes up precious learning time and to reduce cross contamination of constant new arrivals.

 

Just to remind you that if you still feel you would rather keep your child at home that is totally acceptable and you will not be fined. You have to do what you feel to be right for your child and family.

 

The provision of work, on line, continues as the teaching staff who are not class based are managing this side of the learning. Children should also have their learning packs or study books to work from (except nursery).

 

Library books

Our librarian, Mrs Boseley, is needing to carry out an annual stock take of our library books and as we can’t use the library at the moment this is an ideal time for her to do this.

 

If you have any library books at home please can you return them as soon as possible. There is a box in both school reception areas for you to drop the books into and then Mrs Boseley will scan them back in.

 

We spend a huge amount of money on books for the children and any lost book means that we have to buy a replacement which subsequently reduces our ‘new book’ spend. Please look carefully for any books you may have. Thank you.

 

Transition

At this time of year we would normally be holding open afternoons and visits for parents and children to see their new school, as well as supporting the year 6 for their move to secondary school. Obviously due to the current situation these will not be able to go ahead. However, we are working on alternative ideas to help  with your child’s transition and details of these will be provided very soon.

 

I have already spoken to Miss Pearce at The Vyne School and we have arranged for our staff to work together to support the year 6 once they have transferred, so that both their learning and emotional needs are met.

 

It is usual practice for Mrs Keys and Mrs Pink (ELSAs) to continue to support children during the first term of their transfer and this will continue next term providing Covid 19 restrictions allow. If your child is transferring to another secondary school other than the Vyne, and currently receives ELSA support, we will make the same offer to continue that support but it will be up to the individual school as to whether this is something they would agree to.

 

Finally, please stay safe, the lockdown rules do now allow up to 6 people to meet outside as long as they socially distance, but the more people you mix with the greater the risk of you transmitting the virus as well as catching it, so please try to keep socialising to a minimum as I am sure we would all like to keep South View Covid free.

 

With very best wishes,

 

Mrs Sheila Pape

Executive Headteacher

Dear Parents,

 

Well tomorrow is the first day of the school opening to more pupils other than key worker and vulnerable children.

 

As you will have seen in my update last Thursday we are having a staggered intake during this week and tomorrow we see nursery, year R and year 6 returning. Year 1 will return on Thursday.

 

Thank you to you all for keeping us up to date with your decisions as to whether your child is returning or not, it has enabled me to put very clear plans together.

 

Over the weekend a few of you have changed your minds and decided not to send your children in, that is absolutely fine and again appreciate you informing us of this.

 

If your child is attending tomorrow you should now know which class they are joining, as the infant teaching staff rang parents of any child who was booked in to let them know the arrangements for the day.

 

The year 6 children who are booked in will go to their usual classroom (6KM or 6KY).

 

Year 1 parents should receive a phone call before Thursday.

 

For infant children you should walk your child to the external door of the classroom they are going to be based in and you will leave your child at the yellow marker line for them to then walk into school.

 

Arrival can be anytime between 9-9.30a.m. This is the same door you will collect them from between 2-2.30p.m.

 

Please ensure social distancing, at all times, with other adults on the site.

 

For year 6 they will also arrive between 9-9.30a.m. and come into school through the doors opposite the staff room and then go to their class. Collection will be from these doors between 2-2.30p.m. If you would like your child to walk home at 2.30 then you must inform the school office of this.

 

Vulnerable and Key worker children should arrive at 8.45 if they wish to have breakfast. They will go their rooms as outlined above if they are in nursery, year R or year 6 (and year 1 as from Thursday) 

 

If they are not in one of those year groups they will go to their own 'school family' room - Mr Gaunt's room at the junior school and Woodpecker class at the infant school. This slightly earlier arrival will enable them to eat breakfast before the other children arrive. Collection is 2.00 - 2.30 p.m.

 

Any child arriving after 9.00 a.m will be offered a bagel as usual.

 

All school gates will be open as usual.

 

Please explain these new arrival and collection routines to your child before leaving home (as well as washing their hands!) so that they know what to expect. Staff will need to maintain social distancing rules with the children which will make it very difficult if a child is distressed or upset on arrival, so it is best they are prepared before they leave home for the new routine.

 

If you have not booked your child in, you cannot just turn up. However next week I will offer parents the chance to review their decision for their child to then return on 15th June.

 

We have many safety measures in place in school and a number of these were outlined on Thursday's update. Should you want any further information please do not hesitate to ring me or speak to a member of staff (from a distance of course!).

 

These are very strange times for us all and I want our school community to be as safe as we possibly can. So please help us to look after your children and the staff by following these requests and keep a social distance.

 

Take care and stay safe

 

With very best wishes

 

Sheila Pape

Executive Headteacher

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