Important information following lockdown announcement

25th March 2020Gemma Newton
                                                                                           

 

 

 

 

Dear Parents/Carers,

Following Monday’s government announcement whereby you should stay at home wherever possible and the fact that many places of work have closed down I am sending this letter in order for us all to have clarification of those entitled to continuing childcare provision at school. I urge you all to review your circumstances in relation to a request for an ongoing school place and only request a place if you are in one of the Government identified categories and have no other provision for your child.

The advice is clear the safest place for your child is at home. The government have stated that the fewer of us who are having to make the journey to school then the safer it will be for our entire community.

We must all play our part and be responsible. If you are now working from home then your child should be too.

Could I ask that those of you who believe themselves to be in a key worker category or any other identified category to telephone me at school on 0191 4244859 or email at [email protected] to book a continued place next week.

I will insist that you provide evidence from your employer of your key worker role.If you have not already done so please provide this evidence as soon as possible as your child will not be accepted in school without it.

Please note children will need 14 days self isolation if they or anyone in their family have symptoms.

I ask everyone, be responsible, look after yourself, your family and others and

ONLY SEND YOUR CHILD TO SCHOOL IF THERE REALLY IS NO OTHER OPTION

Let’s all play our part, follow advice and come through this together.

Stay safe and many thanks for your continued support.

Kindest regards

Andrea Willis

Headteacher

 

Home Learning

24th March 2020Gemma Newton
Dear parents and carers,
In order to help you to timetable your home learning activities with your child we will upload a weekly timetable of activities to our website.
The timetable of activities will be uploaded to your child’s year group page in the home learning section on our website. A new plan of activities will be uploaded each Wednesday. Thank you

Important Information – Packed Lunch Collection

23rd March 2020Gemma Newton

Social distancing expectations when collecting packed lunches from school

  • Packed lunches to be collected from smarties building
  • Please ONLY arrive at your given time slot
  • Maintain a safe distance from other parents and staff. Stand 2 metres apart whilst waiting.
  • Enter the smarties building one at a time and collect your lunch from the table.
  • Please tick the sheet to say the lunch has been collected.
  • If you have booked a packed lunch then you will receive one each day. There is no need to book a lunch daily.
  • YOU MUST NOT ATTEND IF YOU OR ANYONE IN YOUR HOUSEHOLD IS SHOWING SYMPTOMS. PLEASE ASK SOMEONE TO COLLECT ON YOUR BEHALF.
  • If you do not require a packed lunch and have booked one please ring the school and let us know.
  • Packed lunches are only available for those of you receiving certain benefits and they are not provided as universal infant meals. If you are unsure of your eligibility please check our school website.

Thank you

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

URGENT UPDATE FOR MONDAY 23RD MARCH

22nd March 2020Gemma Newton

Please do not send your child into school on Monday 23rd March unless you have spoken to Mrs Willis and their attendance has been agreed. If you bring your child without prior agreement they will not be accepted.

If your child is attending school on Monday after prior agreement from Mrs Willis you MUST follow the guidelines from staff to ensure safe entry and exit procedures.

Thank you

URGENT – Please Read

20th March 2020Gemma Newton

PLEASE RESPOND BY 12 NOON IF YOU NEED SCHOOL PROVISION FROM MONDAY

Dear Parent/Carer,
Thank you for your continued support during these challenging times. I am proud of the commitment the Biddick Team have shown to ensure we have kept the school fully operational during the early stages of this pandemic.
Myself and the Governing board are doing all we can to monitor and respond to this rapidly changing situation. Today we have a little more clarity in terms of our school closure. The Government guidance is very clear if children can be cared for safely at home, they should , to limit the chance of the virus spreading. The fewer children making the journey to school and the fewer children in our setting can lower the risk that the virus can spread and infect vulnerable people in our community. I am urging you to respond and look after your child at home wherever possible.
As a school we are fully committed to providing continued schooling for those pupils whose parents work in key groups. We are now in a position to give you further clarity around this. These groups include
Health and social care
Education and childcare
Key public services
Local and national government
Food and other necessary goods
Public safety and national security
Transport
Utilities, communication and financial services
Further information can be found at Gov.uk:  Guidance for schools, colleges and local authorities on maintaining educational provision  Closure of educational settings: information for parents and carers

In order to ensure we have accurate numbers of pupils who require continued schooling and that there is a clear and coordinated plan to ensure children are supervised, supported and cared for I need clear numbers of pupils who fall in these categories. I am attempting to try and open school on MONDAY 24th MARCH BUT I NEED TO KNOW NUMBERS by 12 NOON TODAY
If your child does not fall into one of the identified key worker categories they must not attend school. I am now also in a position to give you details of how you can access a packed lunch for your child. Lunches will be available for all pupils who do not pay for a school meal. I will give you details of where packed lunches can be collected from later today. In order to ensure we have enough packed lunches for all who require one you MUST let school know TODAY if you need a packed lunch while your child is not attending.Once you have booked , a lunch will be available for collection every day during the period the school is closed.

Finally, I must thank you all for your overwhelming support during this unprecedented situation. This is by far the greatest challenge I have faced as a Head Teacher.
The Chair of Governors and I will be monitoring the situation daily. We will ensure that we publish key information for those of you working in key groups on our website and myschoolapp to keep you updated regarding school reopening for certain groups of pupils.

Please stay safe and let us all try to do all we can to come through these incredibly challenging circumstances together. I look forward to the day we can all come back together as a school community.
The Chair of Governors has asked me to thank you all for your continued support.
Take care and don’t hesitate to contact me if you require clarification or have any questions.
Best wishes
Andrea Willis

School Work Packs

19th March 2020Gemma Newton

Your child will receive a work pack today to be completed during the school closure. If your child is absent from school and you are currently self isolating please arrange for someone to collect a pack from the school office ASAP. Thank you.

Important Information – Tuesday 17th March

17th March 2020Gemma Newton

Dear Parent/Carer,

As a school we understand that the current situation regarding coronavirus is a worrying time for parents and carers. Can I reassure you that we are following all daily advice from the government and local authority.

In line with government advice the school is taking the following actions in terms of infection control. We are stressing the importance of regular handwashing for at least 20 seconds with soap and water in the following circumstances:

  • before leaving home.
  • after using the toilet.
  • before eating any food.
  • after playtimes and PE.
  • We are ensuring pupils and staff understand to catch their cough and sneezes in a tissue and immediately throw the tissue in the bin.
  • We are attempting to ensure that surfaces and frequently touched objects are cleaned and disinfected more regularly than normal.

At the moment in following the government advice schools have not been asked to close. Should a school closure be necessary we will inform parents by letter and via our website and mySchoolApp. In the event of a school closure we will provide work for pupils to complete at home most of which will require internet access, and a computer, laptop or tablet. If you do not have access to electronic devices please inform the school in order for alternative arrangements to be made and paper based work can be provided.

In order to follow recent guidelines around social distancing please read the information around key events planned for the forthcoming weeks.

Parents Evening

We have decided to postpone our parents meetings until the summer term. Details will be provided once we have set new dates.

After School Clubs

All afterschool clubs will cease to operate after this week. We will give you further information as to when we can recommence the clubs.

Music Festival

The music festival due to take place next week has been cancelled. I recognise that this is a huge disappointment for pupils staff and parents. The organisers are hopeful that the festival can be rescheduled and take place later in the year.

Fundraising Assembly

Our assembly scheduled for Friday 20th March to award our fantastic fundraisers has been cancelled. It will be rescheduled for a later date.

Could I thank you all for your continued support which is essential to ensure that we look after everyone in our community.

Please continue to be sensible and vigilant and follow the guidelines of Public Health England. Stay at home if your child has a new or persistent cough or a high temperature for 14 days.

If anyone in the household is displaying symptoms then all members of the household must            self-isolate for 14 days.

I will keep you updated of any further information as it comes into school.

Take Care

Mrs A Willis

Head Teacher