Before the end of term we will be setting up FSM vouchers for the summer holidays.

Currently you have been receiving your email from Edenred on a Friday ready for the next week, receiving £15 for each eligible child.

Over the holidays you will receive the email on a Wednesday for the following 2 weeks. This means that one eligible child will receive £30 for the 2 weeks, two eligible children will receive £60 and so on.

The emails will be sent on Wednesday 15^th July, Wednesday 29^th July and Wednesday 12^th August.

As things stand we believe that these will be the last vouchers as ALL children are due to return to school in September.

Please let us know the following day if you do not receive the voucher on Wednesday 15^th July, as we will be closed after Friday 17^th for the summer.

Any issues after this time can be directed to Edenred.

freeschoolmealsparentscarers@edenred.com

Despite the very strange times that we are in, we are making plans for September in the hope that all children will return to school. Please find below a table to show the class moves for September. If things change over coming months and we are unable to open to all children in September then we will communicate this to you and tell you of any new plans as soon as we can. 

At the moment the expected date for children in Yr 1-6 to return is Wednesday 2nd September.

Class moves September 2020.  – Names of new classes and staff teams.

I hope that this update finds all of you safe and well. Who could have imagined that we would be in this situation where we have  had so few of our children in school for the past 12 weeks? 

I am pleased to say that all of the staff team are fit and well. A small number of them are working from home due to shielding but are in regular contact with school. 

We have remained open for children of critical workers and vulnerable children. About 30 of these children have been in school most days. 

We have received some really positive feedback and thanks from the parents that have been able to continue to go to work because we have been open to their children since the beginning of lock down in March including through the Easter holidays and Whitsun half term.

Last week we opened to Yr 1 and Yr 6 pupils. Some parents of Yr 1 and Yr 6 pupils  made the decision not to send their child into school and we respect that decision. No action is being taken against any parent that does not send their child to school at this time. We currently have 18 Yr 1 children and 25 year 6 children attending. This extended opening has been very successful. The children are managing the social distancing and extra hand washing procedures and are successfully working and playing in their allocated group and play spaces. I am ever grateful to the staff that are coming into work regularly to provide care and learning to the children that are in school.  

We have attempted to maintain contact with all other children through telephone calls, and the staff really enjoy these conversations with you. We also continue to process free school meal vouchers each week to those that are eligible.  We do have plenty of food in the food bank at school. If you are experiencing any financial difficulty and would benefit from a food parcel please contact the school office and we will arrange for you to come and collect one at a mutually convenient time. 

As you can imagine, the current situation in school is constantly changing as new advice and guidance comes out from the DfE and the Local Authority.  They have now announced that Primary schools will not be opening to all pupils before the end of the school year. We are doing all that we can to keep staff, children, parents and visitors to the school site as safe as possible. We are now re-visiting our risk assessments and considering whether we can safely open to another year group of children and if so, which group. We will let you know if the decision is made to do so. Until then, sadly, we must remain closed to Reception, Yr 2, Yr 3, Yr 4, and Yr 5 children. 

Teachers will continue to upload new Maths and English lessons each week to the website class pages.  If you cannot print them off we will happily print them off in school for you to collect. 

Remember, there are book boxes outside the main entrance for children and parents to come and collect a new book to read. 

If you do need to visit the school site for any reason, please follow the signs and instructions that are displayed so that social distancing can be maintained. 

Phased Re-opening of School

The government have asked school to begin a phased reopening from June 1^st. They have asked schools to open to Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 children and to continue to accept children of key workers and those that are vulnerable. After giving careful and lengthy consideration to the DfE guidelines, looking carefully at the school site and resources, and taking into account the best way to keep children, parents and staff safe, the following plans are in place from the June 1^st.

Reception Classes

School will not be open to Reception children yet. I believe that to open to EYFS at this time is ill advised and if we were to follow all social distancing and resource guidance relating to EYFS, the children would have a very alien, socially and emotionally unhealthy experience in school that could create trauma that will make their return to Year 1 in September more difficult than it is already going to be. Early Years education is at its very heart a social education, based on play, exploration and relationships. Being taught the basic skills of letter formation, number formation, reading and writing for these young children is heavily dependent on 1:1 or small group support directly with an adult, not sitting at a table 2 metres away from the adult giving instruction.  We will not be able to provide sand, water, play dough, large physical apparatus or the usual range of resources that make early years education what it should be. We will review the situation for EYFS in light of how it works with Yr1, or indeed if Government guidance on social distancing is relaxed and we can operate in a more normal way with our youngest of children. 

Having spoken to many parents of Reception children it is clear that they support this decision at this time.

Work will still be available on the website, a paper pack can be collected each week.

If you have to come to the main entrance, please wait in the ‘taped box’ on the floor and wait for someone to come out to you. You will not be allowed in the building. If you need to contact school please do this by phone or email where possible.

Those children eligible for FSM vouchers will still receive them.

If the situation changes then we will let you know.

Year 1

School will reopen to Year 1 classes on June 1^st. If you have told us that you are sending your child to school – these are the arrangements. Children will be taught in groups of 15 or less according to government guidelines. Currently we have less than 15 children intending to return in each Year 1 class. This means that they can continue to work in their own class room. However, timings and organisational changes have been made as follows:

• The school day will begin at the later time of 9:15 This is to reduce the amount of people on the school site at any time in order to maintain social distancing.
• Doors will open at 9:15 and will be locked at 9:20. We will not be accepting late arrivals.
• The school day will finish at 3:15. Again, please be on site and standing 2 metres away from others.
• Only one adult allowed on site to drop off and collect.
• 1HG will enter and exit through the main doors onto the infant playground. There is enough space here to stay 2 metres apart from others at all times. Please do not congregate in a group.
• 1S will enter and exit through the door which they normally come out of. Please pay attention to the tape on the floor along the vegetable garden fence line and keep a distance of 2 metres apart when you come to drop off and collect. Do not come up to the door along the small path. Please do not congregate in a group.
• Each group will be staffed by 2 adults - not necessarily their normal adults. The groups will not mix. They will use the toilets at different times (which will be regularly cleaned) and they will use different parts of the playground at social time.
• Children should come to school in their school uniform. This should be washed or changed every day if possible to reduce the risk of transmission.
• Rooms will be set up so that each child has an individual seating space – in order to comply with social distancing. They will have their books on their table as well as pencil, ruler and other resources needed which will not be shared.
• Water fountains will be unavailable. Children must bring a bottle of drink from home. Water will be available at lunch time as usual.
• Juice and toast will not be available at morning break. Your child may bring a healthy snack with them if they wish. Not chocolates, crisps or sweets.
• The only items that your child should bring to school are the water bottle, a snack and a packed lunch if needed.
• If you have stated that you do not intend to send your child back on 1^st June please do not just turn up. Staffing levels and groupings of children have been carefully considered and would not be safe simply to add another child. If you decide that you want your child to return, contact the school and we will arrange a safe start date.
• Extra measures we are taking – increased cleaning, regular hand washing, social distancing, setting ground rules for social distancing, staggering lunchtimes.
• Children who are entitled to FSM and are coming into school will receive these at school. Children who are entitled to FSM and are not coming into school will continue to receive vouchers. Children who normally pay for their meals will need to do so.
• Work will still be available on the website, a paper pack can be collected each week if your child is staying at home with you.
• If you have to come to the main entrance, please wait in the ‘taped box’ on the floor and wait for someone to come out to you. You will not be allowed in the building. If you need to contact school please do this by phone or email where possible.
• If someone in your household develops symptoms, do not bring your child in, self-isolate for 14 days.

Year 6

School will reopen to Year 6 classes on June 1^st. If you have told us that you are sending your child to school – these are the arrangements. Children will be taught in groups of 15 or less according to government guidelines. Currently we have less than 30 children intending to return to Year 6. The children will be split into 2 groups. You will receive a Group Text to make you aware of which group your child is in so that you know where to come to drop off and collect.  Other timings and organisational changes have been made as follows:

• The school day will begin at the earlier time of 8:45 This is to reduce the amount of people on the school site at any time in order to maintain social distancing.
• Doors will open at 8:45 and will be locked at 8:50. We will not be accepting late arrivals.
• The school day will finish at 3:00. Again, please be on site and standing 2 metres away from others.
• Only one adult allowed on site to drop off and collect.
• Group A will enter and exit through the external door of Mr Davis’s room. This will be where they are based. There is enough space on the main playground to stay 2 metres apart from others at all times when you come to drop off and collect. Please do not congregate in a group.
• Group B will enter and exit through the external door of Mrs Mutton’s room. This will be where they are based. There is enough space on the Trim-trail playground to stay 2 metres apart from others at all times when you come to drop off and collect. Please do not congregate in a group.
• Each group will be staffed by 2 adults - not necessarily their normal adults. The groups will not mix. They will use the toilets at different times (which will be regularly cleaned) and they will use different parts of the playground at social time.
• Children should come to school in their school uniform. This should be washed or changed every day if possible to reduce the risk of transmission.
• Rooms will be set up so that each child has an individual seating space – in order to comply with social distancing. They will have their books on their table as well as pencil, ruler and other resources needed which will not be shared.
• Water fountains will be unavailable. Children must bring a bottle of drink from home. Water will be available at lunch time as usual.
• Juice and toast will not be available at morning break. Your child may bring a healthy snack with them if they wish. Not chocolates, crisps or sweets.
• The only items that your child should bring to school are the water bottle, a snack and a packed lunch if needed.
• If you have stated that you do not intend to send your child back on 1^st June please do not just turn up. Staffing levels and groupings of children have been carefully considered and would not be safe simply to add another child. If you decide that you want your child to return, contact the school and we will arrange a safe start date.
• Extra measures we are taking – increased cleaning, regular hand washing, social distancing, setting ground rules for social distancing, staggering lunchtimes.
• Children who are entitled to FSM and are coming into school will receive these at school. Children who are entitled to FSM and are not coming into school will continue to receive vouchers. Children who normally pay for their meals will need to do so.
• Work will still be available on the website, a paper pack can be collected each week if your child is staying at home with you.
• If you have to come to the main entrance, please wait in the ‘taped box’ on the floor and wait for someone to come out to you. You will not be allowed in the building. If you need to contact school please do this by phone or email where possible.
• If someone in your household develops symptoms, do not bring your child in, self-isolate for 14 days.

Key Workers and Vulnerable Children

School will remain open to children of key workers and vulnerable children from June 1^st. If your child is classed as vulnerable you will have received a letter stating which days your child can attend. Children will be taught in groups of 15 or less according to government guidelines. However, timings and organisational changes have been made as follows:

• The school day will begin at the normal time of 9:00. Other groups in school have different start times. This is to reduce the amount of people on the school site at any time in order to maintain social distancing.
• Doors will open at 9:00 and will be locked at 9:05. We will not be accepting late arrivals.
• The school day will finish at 3:15. Again, please be on site and standing 2 metres away from others.
• Only one adult allowed on site to drop off and collect.
• Children will enter and exit through the library doors from Monday 1^st June. They will be based in the Y3 classrooms. There is enough space on the main playground to stay 2 metres apart from others at all times when you come to drop off and collect. Please do not congregate in a group.
• Please do not come up the steps.
• Each group will be staffed by 2 adults - not necessarily their normal adults. The groups will not mix. They will use the toilets at different times (which will be regularly cleaned) and they will use different parts of the playground at social time.
• Children should come to school in their school uniform. This should be washed or changed every day if possible to reduce the risk of transmission.
• Rooms will be set up so that each child has an individual seating space – in order to comply with social distancing. They will have their books on their table as well as pencil, ruler and other resources needed which will not be shared.
• Water fountains will be unavailable. Children must bring a bottle of drink from home. Water will be available at lunch time as usual.
• Juice and toast will not be available at morning break. Your child may bring a healthy snack with them if they wish. Not chocolates, crisps or sweets.
• The only items that your child should bring to school are the water bottle, a snack and a packed lunch if needed.
• If your child is classed as vulnerable and is entitled to free school meals but only attending part of the week – the value of the FSM voucher will be adjusted accordingly. This information is in the letter which you have received from Miss Carroll.
• Extra measures we are taking – increased cleaning, regular hand washing, social distancing, setting ground rules for social distancing, staggering lunchtimes.
• If you have to come to the main entrance, please wait in the ‘taped box’ on the floor and wait for someone to come out to you. You will not be allowed in the building. If you need to contact school please do this by phone or email where possible.
• If someone in your household develops symptoms, do not bring your child in, self-isolate for 14 days.

Years 2, 3, 4 and 5

Currently there are no plans to reopen to these year groups.

• Work will still be available on the website, a paper pack can be collected each week for your child if you prefer.
• If you need to contact school please do this by phone. If you have to come to the main entrance, please wait in the ‘taped box’ on the floor and wait for someone to come out to you. You will not be allowed in the building.
• We will continue to make welfare phone calls. If, however, you require any advice or support do not hesitate to contact school. The email address of your child’s teacher is available on the class page of the website. Teachers would love to hear from their children and will get back to them.

We appreciate that this is a lot of information but wish to keep you as informed as possible. If you have any queries please do contact school and we will do our best to answer them. We hope that all of our families are managing in these difficult times and continue to keep safe and well. We can not wait until we are all back in school together as normal.

Some great news to share. Alfie in Year 3 is embarking on a cycling challenge. He wants to cycle 100 miles in 10 days to raise money for Birmingham Children's Hospital. What a great way to spend time during lockdown, getting fit and raising money for a worthwhile cause!

If you would like to donate please go to Alfie's just giving page. Link below:

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/alfies-bch-100miles?utm_term=ZyNve8AyE

Good Luck Alfie!

Many of you will have watched the Government's update last night and heard the announcement that schools may be opening to Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 from 1st June. At the moment we are waiting for more clarity and details about this. As soon as we know more and can  make plans to have children and staff in school safely, we will inform you. Until then, we continue to be open to vulnerable children and children of critical key workers.  We also continue to provide work packs that can be accessed on the class pages or can be collected in paper form from the school office. These are renewed every Monday. 

Free School Meal vouchers are being processed every week for those that are eligible. We appreciate that accessing the Edenred site to download the vouchers has been difficult for many of you, as it is for us, but there is nothing that we can do about that. Once we have processed them it is out of our control. 

I hope that you are all keeping well and staying safe. We are missing having the children in school and look forward to some normality as soon as is safely possible. 

If you are experiencing any difficulty, such as a change in financial circumstances and need to access the food bank, please let us know at school as the food bank is now kept here for us to distribute to any families in need. 

I would like to thank all of those families that donated to my just giving page when I shaved my head for NHS charities last week. I am deeply grateful. I am pleased to say that we raised almost £3000

All best wishes

Debbie Colley

Mrs Colley's Head Shave

The big event has happened!! 24 children were in school today to witness the shave. Mrs Colley looked visibly nervous as she walked to the shaving chair in the hall. Mrs Peake wasted no time in scything through Mrs Colley's locks. The children sat in stunned silence. The staff present had open mouths. Less than 5 minutes and the floor was strewn with hair.

Once complete the children gave 3 cheers for the brave Mrs Colley - raising money for the NHS. Only then was Mrs Colley allowed to see the finished look in a mirror. After a gasp of surprise - the usual smile returned. The children in the hall thought overwhelmingly that it suited. What do you think?

If you would like to donate, the JustGiving page is still open. Just go on the page and search for 'Mrs Colley's Head Shave'.

Congratulations Mrs Colley on raising so much money for a very worthwhile cause. Woodgate is very proud of you.