Today would have been the Year 6 Transition Day to the Academy. While you can’t be welcomed you into the building, staff have put together some videos with tasks you can try to give you an idea of some of the things that are waiting for you when you do join them  As well as the taster videos, please check out the Art activity and English Poem to accompany them.

Parents are also missing out on the Parents’ evening so there is a recording of what  would have been said. You should also have received a handbook in the post, with more information about Academy life to help prepare your child for their start.

Check out the FB page at the following times for online taster sessions and  the Virtual Parents’ Evening:

10 am Science
11 am Computing
12 noon English
1 pm Technology
2 pm PE
3 pm Music
4 pm – Parents’ Evening Presentation

If you have any queries please contact enquiries@consettacademy.org.uk with the subject “Transition”.

Dear Parent / Carer,

September reopening

Over the last week or so many of you have been asking about the reopening of school in September and therefore I hope this letter addresses some of these questions.

We are still awaiting further clarity and guidance in relation to what September will look like in school, however, one thing I can be certain of is that it will not be business as usual as we will still need to follow more stringent hygiene measures whatever happens.  We have heard recently of classes needing to be treated as bubbles which will require timetabling of playtimes, outdoor spaces and possibly lunch provision.

We also need to remember that every school is different and has a different context, so we will all do things in a slightly different way as this meets the needs of our school community, no one else’s, so please try not to compare with other local schools.

We have started with what we can do and we are currently reviewing our curriculum in relation to what children will do and learn as we all have a restart to our education. This may include aspects of a recovery curriculum, increased PSHE or beginning by teaching/revisiting the summer term curriculum from the previous year group as appropriate. It may also involve identifying key core concepts and knowledge which underpin our future learning. It may also involve moving some staff to support our youngest children with the challenge of returning after so long to a different school and setting. We will also need time to reassess the needs of our pupils upon their return to make appropriate changes to the curriculum and curriculum coverage in our school.

I am concerned however at some of the language being used in the media in relation to catch up I feel very strongly that children are not catching up- they are all in the same position so who are they catching up with?

Myself and the staff recognise the impact that this prolonged period away from school will have had on our children and you as parents/carers.  We all know how hard you have tried to maintain children’s learning at home within the context of your families but children will all have had different experiences and we need to account for this moving forward.  Our curriculum plans will reflect this.  We cannot simply pick up where we have left off.  Everyone in our community will be experiencing some sense of loss for the time they have been away whether that is the loss of routine, friends, teachers, SATS etc. and we need time to address this.  I will share our plans with you in relation to the curriculum once they are finalised in the coming weeks.

As parents/carers, you need to be aware that several things are likely from government announcements, and each will have an impact on what school will look like in September. John Tomsett, a Headteacher in York has addressed these scenarios and grouped them into four scenarios and we need to be prepared for them:

I cannot predict what guidance will be in place for September or when it will be announced but I will keep you up to date with our plans as they develop.  We will be planning based on all four scenarios as we need to be prepared for whatever announcement is made as do you as parents.   Please be aware that we are not made aware of government plans before they are announced to the public.  Therefore, if announcements are made which change guidance and impact on school, we will work through this guidance, process it and inform you of any changes that we are putting in place.

We are planning that school will be closed to everyone over the summer holidays unless current government guidance changes.  Children, staff and parents need a rest to spend time with their families and to regroup to be ready to move forward for September, however that looks.

Please continue to stay safe at home.

Yours sincerely,

Mr M A Watson
(Headteacher)

Dear Year 1 Parent / Carer,

I hope that you all remain safe and well. Further to my previous letter on the phased reopening of school I am pleased to say that we will be reopening Year 1 to confirmed pupils on the Monday 29^th June. Following last week’s Welfare Calls, on Monday a text message and email was sent to those parents who had yet to notify us as to whether their child required a place or not in order to confirm final numbers and this has now been followed up with individual telephone calls today.

I can now tell you that we will be opening 1 bubble for Year 1 lead by Mrs Pedro along with Miss McLean and Miss Hamilton. A text to confirm if your child has been allocated a place will be sent out tomorrow Wednesday 24^th June at 1pm.

Although some guidance has changed since my last letter (the development of ‘Support Bubbles’) much remains the same. This means there will still be some changes to how we do things but we will ensure that the children’s emotional wellbeing comes first and we will be including lots of positive messages about hygiene, keeping ourselves safe and discussing feelings about change.

Keeping children in their own class and with some familiar staff will help to lessen any worries or fears about returning to school and still allows children to be part of a friendship group whilst maintaining safe group sizes.

The children will be based in the Year 1 classroom and main outdoor yard and not in any other part of the school.  Your child will need to be dropped off at 8.45 and collected at 3.00 using the main external Entrance door as you would normally on a morning (please see Phase reopening booklet).

Click here for Phase reopening and Updated Parent Protocol

Please ensure that you adhere to social distancing rules with other parents when waiting for your child.

Please note that this provision will only be available Monday to Thursday from Monday 29^th June until the end of Term. School will be closed to all staff and pupils every Friday – this will also allow a sterile 72 hour period before reopening each week.

Below is an outline of other important changes to note:

• Children need to be brought to school and collected from school by a member of their household / support bubble (please notify the office if this is the case) :

Using a support bubble for informal childcare

From 13 June, if you are a lone parent you can form a support bubble with another household to provide informal (i.e. unpaid) childcare for them or for them to provide informal childcare for you. You should not form a support bubble with more than one household.

You must not:

Form a support bubble with another household if neither you nor they are in a single adult household

• Children can not be collected by a childminder or family member that do not live with them (unless they meet the criteria to form a ‘support bubble’). This may change if the government relax their guidance on social contact in the future
• Each “bubble” will have access to an indoor and outdoor environment every day. We will be allowing the children to play in the same area of the environment but will give age-appropriate reminders about social distancing and over-crowding an area. There will be staggered outdoor play and lunchtimes, with very limited contact between different bubbles.  Each child will eat their lunch within their room with the same staff each day
• We will be making as much use of the outdoor play environment as possible as medical research shows there is less risk of infection when in the fresh air. We anticipate that the vast majority of our curriculum will be delivered outdoors until the end of the summer term.  Please ensure that your child comes dressed appropriately for the weather each day
• If a person within the bubble family tests positive for Covid-19, the whole group MUST self-isolate for 14 days
• There will be limited access to resources to reduce the possibility of cross contamination. We have been advised to remove certain play equipment e.g. playdough, water, sand, etc from all our environments. Certain resources will have to be cleaned by staff each day. To minimise the spread of the virus, children will be encouraged not to bring any resources to or from school
• Children will be reminded regularly of the needs for frequent handwashing throughout the school day (at least 5 times a day)
• Staff administering first aid or care needs will be required to wear PPE
• Unfortunately, parents will not be permitted to enter the school building at any point during the school day so we kindly request that all communication is done via email or telephone, and only in exceptional circumstances the school office.
• Children will have their lunchbox cleaned with anti-bacterial spray when entering school and they need to bring their own water bottle into school – they must be named and taken home for cleaning and refilling each day – those receiving a school dinner will be provided with a packed lunch / hot meal option each day.
• Please could you ensure that your child wears clean clothing each day – this does not have to be school uniform as long as it is practical for indoor and outdoor play
• Unfortunately, there will be no whole school events such as sports day, leaver concert, parent evening etc.
• Parents will need to be contactable at all times while their child is in school and must be able to collect them within a half hours’ notice if they or another school member displays symptoms of Covid-19
• If a child is being collected before or after their allocated beginning or end time, parents must not enter the school site but ring the school office on arrival.

We know that there are lots of changes and they can seem overwhelming for parents, but there will be many things staying the same too.  We will do everything we can to make sure your child is kept safe and happy.  As you have chosen to send your child back, we know that you are supporting us in this unfamiliar time.  We are very much looking forward to welcoming back your child for the last few weeks of term and will strive to make this a positive experience for them.

Please continue to stay safe at home.

Yours sincerely

Mr M A Watson

Headteacher

Click here for Phase reopening and Updated Parent Protocol

Original Letter to parents