Dear Parents and Carers,
We are almost at the end of this half term and I wanted to thank you so much for the many positive messages that we have received from you about our remote learning provision. We know that this is an extremely challenging time for all of us and our staff very much appreciate hearing from you. Similarly, we are delighted with the very high levels of engagement from children which we know must mean there has been a significant effort on your part; for this we are equally appreciative. As a mother of two, I know how challenging it is balancing working full time, supporting children with home learning, looking after vulnerable family members and managing all the usual everyday life tasks but we must keep going for a little bit longer to ensure our children don’t have huge gaps in their learning when they return to School. Please remember staff are here to support you with any issues you may have or if you just need support to motivate your child to complete home learning. We break up on Friday for February half term and we will not be setting any work for next week; it is important that the children, and you, have a well-deserved break.
In his recent announcement to Parliament, the Prime Minister confirmed that schools would not re-open before Monday 8th March 2021 and that this will be dependent upon a number of different factors, including infection rates and how successfully the Government has delivered its vaccination programme. We will receive two weeks’ notice of reopening and it is possible that children will return on a phased basis. In the meantime, we ask that everyone continues to do as they are doing and remain fully engaged with home learning to support your children.
We apologise if you feel we are pressuring you into completing home learning but there is a national expectation from the Government that children will complete the work and send it to Teachers so that they can offer vital feedback to move their learning forward. Home learning will undoubtedly support your child and ensure they do not fall behind and teaching in school will continue from the point home learning stops when all children do return to School.
We do appreciate all feedback on remote learning and we recognise that now more than ever, it is only through working in partnership that we can make this provision work as well as possible.
For those children who are with us in School during this lockdown period I would like to thank the Parents and Carers for adhering to the measures in place to ensure staff and children are as safe as they possibly can be.
We have now switched to the supermarket voucher scheme for free school meals and vouchers should have been issued to all eligible families via email last Monday. If you have any queries or questions, please contact the School Office and they will be able to offer further assistance. Originally the Government issued guidance to say that vouchers could not be issued covering the half term period however now they have said that we should issue a voucher but unfortunately we are not able to use the Edenred provider. We have purchased all eligible families a £15 Aldi voucher which you will be able to collect from the School Office from today; you will have received a text message if there is a voucher for you to collect. If you think you are eligible but have not yet applied then please contact 0191 561 1417.
School closes on Friday 12th February for half term and we start back on Monday 22nd February for those children attending during lockdown; this is also when home learning will begin again.
I hope that you all enjoy a restful half term, and thank you, as always, for your positivity and support.
Kind Regards
Mrs A Charlton
