Dear Parents / Carers,
I hope you all had a restful Easter break and welcome to our very first remote summer term!
We’ve all had to adapt to new ways of working, so I wanted to take the opportunity to say what an amazing job you’re doing supporting your child’s well being and learning during this time.
It’s definitely been a strange and challenging time, so it’s ok if you and your child feel wobbly and worried at the moment. We’re here for you every step of the way as we figure this all out together. Remember, if you have any concerns about helping your child learn or you need any other support from the school, please let us know by leaving a voice message on the regular school number (01207 610355) or direct to myself on 01027 610358, if urgent. You can also drop us an email on p2259.admin@durhamlearning.net at any time.
We miss the children very much, but we must follow the government’s guidance to keep everyone in our community safe. So, we’re carrying on with supporting parents/carers and children as best we can. This includes opening the school for critical worker children and families, provision of online resources, websites and materials, regular contact through welfare calls for identified families and children, FSM vouchers and Free school meal provision of breakfast resources (coming soon), where requested linking families with our behaviour intervention support worker and school nurse.
We have already shared timetables and log in details on our website and via text for the following online platforms :
You should have all of your log ins with you now and the following links can all be accessed on computers, laptops and tablets:
- Spelling Shed through spellingshed.com
- Mathletics through mathletics.com or the Mathletics app for Apple & Android devices
- Duolingo through duolingo.com or the app
- Once Upon a Picture onceuponapicture.co.uk (you can use this for creative writing prompts and reading skills without a login)
- Purple Mash purplemash.com (most classes can access using their Duolingo passwords, year 3 use spelling shed logins)
- TB Sport – PE Home learning Hub (no login required) tbsport.uk
- Easy Peasy for Early Years Parents (Nursery and Reception)
- Lexia (limited to some classes only) lexialearning.com
- Durham Music Service – Youtube Channel
- History – English Heritage https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/members-area/kids/
Soon you will also have access to :
- BBC bitesize (Monday 20th) and a wealth of video lessons bbc.co.uk/bitesize
- Lalilo – Year 1, 2, 3 only – Comprehension and Phonics (parent codes via text message this week) https://lalilo.com/?language=en
- Fiction Express (details via text message this week years 1 to 6) fictionexpress.com
But just because we’re not all in the same building, doesn’t mean we can’t have some fun together! Your children will have lots of activities they can get stuck into over the summer term – so keep a close eye on our school website not only in each Year Groups Class page but also the website Blog and News where we will provide additional updates and information.
We also love seeing the children’s fantastic learning at home – please keep sending their work/pictures in on an email to p2259.admin@durhamlearning.net. It would really help the children also to see their friends and know that they are out there safe and doing just as well as they are. And where we can, we will add it the website gallery pages in due course.
We can’t say yet when we’ll be able to open the school fully, but rest assured that we’ll continue doing our utmost to keep your child learning and our school community connected.
Let’s get cracking with our summer term!
Warm regards,
Mr Watson
Headteacher
