Dear Parent/Carer,
Please find below a link to a letter from the Director of Education. This letter outlines some important points regarding the continuing efforts to maintain a safe environment in school. You will notice that the Local Authority have asked parents to use face masks on the school site when dropping off and collecting children as well as when they visit school.
Many thanks,
Mrs Woodford
Dear Parent/Carers,
We have had a lovely week in school.
The children have been delightful and they have really worked hard. Nursery have been making bird feeders for their garden, our Coedwig class have taken delivery of mountain bikes and all the junior children have enjoyed playing with their new ‘playground’ boxes; we have some lovely chalk drawing on the playgrounds! The infant classes will be choosing some playtime resources of their own over the next few weeks as well. The juniors are now working hard on their Enterprise activities and, once again, I have been so impressed by their ideas and attitude.
For Children in Need next week we will be having a non-uniform day and be doing fun activities in class. Children can wear their own clothes and paint spots on their faces or have funky hair styles but no fancy dress clothes please. We will not be collecting money so please donate independently of school if you would like.
I would like to remind to all parents that Class Dojo should not be used to make complaints to teachers under any circumstances. Teachers are working hard at the moment under difficult circumstances and receiving a complaint to their phones in the evening or on the weekend is not appropriate. I am very happy to chat to any parents about any issue or you can email the school (crynalltprimary@npt.school) and we will get back to you as soon as we possibly can.
We are working on activities for Remembrance Day in school at the moment and the children are making and decorating poppies which will be displayed across the school. Year 5 are also taking part in a challenge to raise funds for the Poppy Appeal- more news will follow about this from the Year 5 class teachers.
Thank you again for the support and kind messages we continue to receive. This makes a real difference to us all.
Take care and have a lovely weekend- hopefully in the sun!
Mrs Woodford
Dear Parents/Carers,
It has been lovely to see the children back today and I hope you all managed to have a good half term, despite the dreadful weather and lockdown!
I have some information, reminders and updates for you:
Ventilation
There was some concern this morning about windows remaining open in school. I can confirm that we are ventilating the school as much as possible as well as putting the heating on for longer. This is not a unilateral school decision but is Local Authority policy based on the latest guidance from the Welsh Assembly which states:
Schools and Settings should ensure adequate levels of ventilation…… Where schools rely on natural ventilation including opening windows and doors to provide a supply of fresh air, this practice should continue to improve ventilation.
However, this can and will be altered if the weather is very cold or wet. In this case windows may only be opened a small amount/ fewer windows will be open and classrooms will be ventilated before and after the school day.
As mentioned already, it is a good idea to send children to school in warm clothing appropriate for outdoor learning but if you would like to send your child into school with an extra layer of clothing in case they become cold please do so. They can always take a layer off if they get hot. Please make sure all clothing is named in case children do want to take layers off during the day.
DROPPING OFF AND PICKING UP CHILDREN
Although around 80% of parents are following procedures in school, I had several parents concerned about social distancing this morning.
It’s really important that we work together to keep our children and their families safe and keep the school open, especially as cases of Covid 19 are rising. Can I appeal again for all parents and carers to follow the systems in place? We understand that as the weather gets colder and wetter this may be inconvenient, but the whole school community can achieve the safest possible environment by working together.
Quick reminders:
IMPORTANT
A reminder that all schools have been advised to provide parents with a single email address that they should use to inform head teachers of positive cases of COVID-19.
It is as follows: covid.crynalltprimary@npt.gov.uk
The email should contain your child’s name, class and a phone number.
A member of the school leadership team will contact you as soon as possible after receiving the email.
RISK ASSESSMENT
The updated risk assessment relating to Covid 19 has now been uploaded to the website.
STAFF
On a number of occasions recently staff have been subjected to rudeness from parents, including shouting and having the phone put down on them. The reasons for this are varied and include parents being stressed by the current circumstances and sometimes because they say they are not aware of events and INSET Days.
As a school, we expect our staff to behave with respect towards children and parents but we also expect the same for our staff in their place of work. I would like to take this opportunity to remind parents that we have a zero tolerance policy towards rudeness directed at staff who are working tirelessly at this difficult time. I am happy to discuss any issue you may have so please contact the school to speak with myself or Mrs Bridgman.
We also work hard to communicate with parents and I would respectfully remind you to ensure you have downloaded Schoop or you check the school website to read the messages (under the news tab) very regularly. If you have Facebook the parents’ Facebook page is another source of information and during these difficult times, messages from school are being uploaded there.
CHRISTMAS
Christmas will be very different for the children in school this year but we are now thinking of socially distanced ideas for celebrating. More details of this will follow.
Stay Safe,
Mrs Woodford
Please find below a link to our Covid 19 Risk Assessment:
Dear Parents/ Carers,
Please find below a letter regarding a confirmed positive Covid 19 in a pupil.
There are no identified close contacts with this pupil.
Regards,
Mrs Woodford
Pupil-letter-not-close-contact3
Dear Parents/Carers,
I have sent out so many messages about Covid 19, I thought it would be a good idea to have a Covid free one!
Sponsored Event
Firstly, I would like to thank you all for your generosity with our sponsored events. We have raised well over £1,500 which means we will be able to buy resources for all the classes for playtime. These have already started to come into school as you can see below.
Curriculum
It has been the strangest term but throughout the staff have worked tirelessly to keep children safe and deliver an interesting curriculum. The children have benefited from all kinds of activities including fossil hunting, forest schools, dinosaur maths, spy science, film making, Spy School Days, thinking skills activities, Kahoot quizes, code breaking and learning about electricity. I would like to thank all the staff for their hard work, but also congratulate the children for their resilience and positivity. Well done all!
Unfortunately, there have been a couple of unpleasant comments on Facebook again about staff. Can I please remind parents that Facebook is not an appropriate place to vent frustrations, most of which are innaccurate. Staff cannot reply to this type of negativity and it is always a one sided point of view. Please contact the school if you have any issues. I am happy to discuss any concerns or suggestions with parents and carers.
Enterprise Fortnight
As part of our Curriculum Pioneer work, all the Junior classes will again be carrying out an Enterprise Project in November. Each class will be given £25 to buy materials and they will work out costs and prices before taking on different roles in their ‘business’!
As you are aware, we cannot hold an event like the one we had last year when parents, LEA staff and local business were able to come and see the children’s work. However, we will be running Enterprise online instead. Your child’s class teacher will send more information nearer to the time.
The Infants will be making Christmas Cards to sell for their classes and these will be displayed and orders taken separately in the next few weeks.
The profit each class makes will be given directly to the class to spend on treats or equipment that they chose. This could include wet playtime games, a film afternoon with refreshments, sponsoring an acre of Rainforest, charitable donations or art and craft activities. The choice is the children’s and they are usually very imaginative!
Drinks and snacks in school
Just a reminder that all children should bring a named water bottle to school. This can be filled up during the day. Pupils may also bring a fruit snack to school. We do not allow any other type of snack, including cereal or fruit bars.
I hope you all have a restful half term and we look forward to seeing the children back in school on Tuesday 3rd November.
Warm regards,
Mrs Woodford
Wednesday 21st October 2020
Dear Parent/Carers,
As we approach the end of the first half term, I am writing with some updates, information and slight changes to arrangements in school for the next half term.
INSET: We have an INSET day planned for the 2nd November so school will restart for pupils on Tuesday 3rd November.
Change to timings/entry points:
Having re-evaluated the processes in school we need to make some slight changes to 2 classes in the Infants.
These are as follows:
Reception (Miss Hawes class) will now start school at 8.45am and finish school at 3.15pm. They should be brought round the back of the building and taken to the Reception classroom door. They will not use the main entrance from the 3rd November.
Year 1 (Mr Fitchett’s class only) will continue to start school at 8.45am and finish school at 3.15pm but they will use the main entrance to enter and leave school. Parents should queue inside the bollards that are put out, ensuring they socially distance. The children will be brought to the main entrance at 3.15pm to be collected.
Dropping your child off and picking them up:
Due to the staggered starts and ends of the school day we have worked hard to be as flexible as possible. However, as the term has gone on we have found that the number of children being picked up and dropped off over a range of times has caused issues in many classes. This is because staff have to be by the door to let children in and see them out. This means they cannot be supervising/teaching the rest of the group. In some classes this has meant the first and last half hours of the day have been disrupted.
In addition, social distancing in the playground is more difficult if children are not being dropped into school/collected at the allocated times.
As a result, all children should be dropped off and collected at the times in the table below. If you arrive early you will need to wait in the allocated place in the playground taking care to socially distance from other families. The only exception to this will be for pupils with siblings who have an earlier start or finish time. It is essential that you let your children’s class teachers know via dojo or by ringing the school office if this is the case. They will then arrange a time for your child to be brought to you.
| Year group | ARRIVAL
|
LEAVING
|
| Reception | 8.45AM
Reception classroom door (at the back of the infant building) |
3.15PM |
| 1JE | 8.45AM
Usual door |
3.15PM |
| 1MF | 8.45AM
Main Infant Door |
3.15PM |
| 2 JB | 9.00AM
Usual door |
3.30PM |
| 3KR | 9.00AM
(Year 3 door) |
3.30PM |
| 2/3LM | 9.00AM
(Main Entrance) |
3.30PM |
| 4AT | 8.45AM
(Year 3 door) |
3.15PM |
| 4LG | 8.45AM
(Main Entrance) |
3.15PM |
| 5DG | 8.45AM
(Upper Playground door near to hall)
|
3.15PM |
| 5SP | 8.45AM
(Upper Playground door – Year 6 area) |
3.15PM |
| 6CN | 8.30AM
(Upper Playground door- Year 6 area) |
3.00PM |
| 6AC | 8.30AM
(Main entrance) |
3.00PM |
| 6BG | 8.30AM
(Upper Playground door near to hall) |
3.00PM |
Frequently asked questions:
The rules and guidelines change so regularly that we are all struggling to keep up. Below there are some of the most frequent questions we are asked:
My child has a new dry cough and/or a fever. Should I keep them home?
Yes please keep them home for 10 days self-isolation. If you receive a negative test result they can return earlier but only if they do NOT have a continuous cough, high temperature or loss of taste or smell. Please let the school know what is happening.
Another member of the family has a new dry cough and/or a fever. Should I keep my child home?
The advice at the moment is that your child should remain at home, in isolation with the rest of the family for 14 days. If the family member receives a negative test result your child can return earlier but only if they are well. Please make sure you inform the school about any symptoms at home and test result, positive or negative.
My child or someone in the household has been asked to self isolate? Do we all have to stay home?
No, if you have been asked to self-isolate the rest of the family can carry on as normal UNLESS anyone becomes symptomatic. If this happens the whole household should self-isolate for 14 days. Please inform the school immediately.
How will you cover staff absence?
Staffing is very difficult at the moment. We have had as many as 13 staff off on one day- most of these staff members are well but are self-isolating, have family members unwell or have issues with childcare, due to Covid19. Covering staff is challenging so please bear with us if there are any difficulties due to this. If a member of staff is absent we will;
We will not combine ‘pods’ of children in the case of staff absence.
How can parents help? What expectations do you have of parents?
With increased numbers of cases our main concern is to keep school safely open for children and staff. To help us with this we need to ask the whole school community to comply with the following:
If you have any suggestions, questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us. Please rest assured that your children’s wellbeing is always our top priority. I hope you all have a safe and happy half term holiday, despite the lockdown. We look forward to seeing all the children back on the 3rd November.
Yours sincerely,
Helen Woodford (Headteacher)
Dear Parents/carers,
Please find below letters for parents approved by the Track, Trace and Protect team. The first letter is for the parents of all children except Miss Todd’s class. The second is for Miss Todd’s class only.
Thank you for your continuing support,
Mrs Woodford
Dear Parents/carers,
Please find below letters for parents approved by the Track, Trace and Protect team. The first letter is for the parents of all children except Miss Todd’s class. The second is for Miss Todd’s class only.
Thank you for your continuing support,
Mrs Woodford
Dear Parent/Carer,
As you will know, we have had a confirmed positive case of Covid 19 in Miss Todd’s class.
Mrs Bridgman and I have managed to make contact with most of you to inform you of this and of the fact that the children in this class are required to self isolate until Thursday 29th October.
I would like to thank you for your support and consideration this morning. Without exception, parents were supportive of the school. A letter, approved by Track, Trace and Protect will be put on the school website by this evening.
Schoolwork for your child will be provide via Teams on Monday. This can be accessed on a phone, tablet or computer. The work will include some pre-recorded lessons via Explain Everything/Flipgrid as well as tasks for the children to complete.
The children have all been practising signing on to Teams and accessing wok so they should be confident doing so. If you have any queries or concerns about work, please direct them to myself at school initially. If I cannot speak to you immediately, I will telephone you back or arrange for another member of staff to help.
If you have no access to the internet or a device, please let the school know on Monday.
Stay safe,
Mrs Woodford