We are looking forward to welcoming all of our children, both old and new, back to school next week. To ensure that we can continue to enable our children to return to school and to their learning, it is essential that we all work together to follow the guidance in place.

Below are some reminders for parents, as well as links to websites and documents that should be useful.

Parents are encouraged to visit gov.uk/backtoschool for information and practical guidance to help them plan for their child’s return to school. The following publication produced by the Children’s Commissioner for England may also be useful.

cco-back-to-school-guide

Please find the letter sent to parents at the end of the summer term here.

 

Attendance

Parents/Carers should use the usual school procedures for sickness absence.

Attendance Letter to Parents

Attendance Policy Information for Parents Leaflet 2020-21

 

Travelling to School

Bikes and scooters can be used to travel to school, however currently cannot be stored at school.

Please see the current guidance regarding accessing public transport.

Durham County Council Guide to Getting to and from School

 

On the School Site

It is essential that parents/carers, as well as pupils, maintain social distancing when entering the school site and that parents/carers leave the school site immediately once their child has entered the building. To help to ensure social distancing and maintain ‘bubbles’ on the school site, it is essential that pupils arrive/leave promptly at their allocated time.

Pupils who use face coverings when travelling to and from school should remove them when they arrive in the school building and adhere to the following procedure:

• They should not touch the front of their face covering during use or when removing them.
• They must wash their hands or use hand sanitizer immediately on arrival.
• They should dispose of temporary face coverings in a lidded bin or place a reusable face coverings in a plastic bag that is to be placed in their school bag so that they can re wear it to travel home.
• They must then wash their hands again before heading to their classroom.

Anyone in the school displaying symptoms will be sent home.

Where a pupil or a member of their household displays symptoms of the coronavirus, please follow the Guidance for households with possible coronavirus infection.

Pupils or a family member displaying symptoms are advised to self-isolate and will not be permitted into school until 7/14-day isolation is completed and should arrange to have a test to see if they have coronavirus (COVID-19).

Tests can be booked online through the NHS testing and tracing for coronavirus website, or ordered by telephone via NHS 119 for those without access to the internet. Testing for COVID-19 is available through the NHS to everyone whatever their age.

We ask Parents/Carers to inform the school immediately of the results of a COVID-19 test.

The main symptoms of coronavirus are:

–   a high temperature – this means you feel hot to touch on your chest or back (you do not need to measure your temperature)

–   a new, continuous cough – this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours (if you usually have a cough, it may be worse than usual)

–   a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste – this means you’ve noticed you cannot smell or taste anything, or things smell or taste different to normal.

Parents/Carers and pupils should ensure that they adhere to staying alert and social distancing guidance when away from the school.

 

 

 

 

 

The re-opening of schools across Durham from 15th June is still to be absolutely confirmed and when we have further information, we will inform parents.

In anticipation of the school re-opening from Monday 15th June, please find the letters sent out to parents which details more specific information regarding the children’s return to school. You will also find below a quick video showing the inside of the building and any changes made – please note social distancing markers are still to be put along corridor floors.

Year 6 Group A – Phased return further details letter to parents

Year 6 Group B – Phased return further details letter to parents

Year 1 Group A – Phased return further details letter to parents

Year 1 Group B – Phased return further details letter to parents

Reception Group A – Phased return further details letter to parents

Reception Group B – Phased return further details letter to parents

Nursery Group A – Phased return further details letter to parents

Nursery Group B – Phased return further details letter to parents

Please find below a letter to all parents regarding the delay to reopening the school:

Letter to Parents – Delayed School Re-opening 27.5.2020

DCC Press Release – Delay to Reopening of Schools

Please find below a letter to all parents regarding organisation for potential school reopening:

Letter to Parents – Potential School Reopening 20.5.2020

 

On Monday 20th April, we will be using the Seesaw app to assign work daily for our children. We have also added a few more useful links to the bottom of each of our class work pages.

Please find details of the key worker groups below. Please be aware that schools are closing for social distancing purposes and that child care should only be used if there is absolutely no alternative.

Health and Social Care

This includes doctors, nurses, midwives, paramedics, social workers and care workers.

Year 4 – Collage ‘Dancing Figures’

As part of Year 4’s Art lessons, they have been learning about the famous artist ‘Henri Matisse’. The children have researched his work and his life to find out why he created his wonderful masterpieces.

Matisse became ill, ended up in a wheelchair, and was unable to paint in style he was use to, so he came up with a new style and called it ‘Painting with Scissor’. The children were challenged to create their own art piece based on the same style and used scissors, a variety of warm and cool colours to create a collage with a focus on dancing figures.

Mrs Meek sent Megan Coyle an email with all the children work and she has now replied and put some of the children’s work on her blog.

To view the blog visit the following link:

https://megancoyle.com/2020/03/13/still-life-collages-from-wolsingham-england/

Our teachers are working hard to ensure that learning can be continued at home.  We will be posting up daily work for children who may be absent whilst the school is still open and educational packs will also be provided in the event of school closures, which children can be working on whilst at home.  These are available on the class Work Pages a link to which can be found on each Class Page.

During one of our Eco Group meetings it was decided that we could link two important areas together – recycling and helping the homeless.  We discovered that a lady in London was recycling foil crisp packets to make into ‘Bivi bags’ – a sleeping bag.  Mrs Ashcroft, Ginny and Bea, kindly offered to go along to a meeting in Bishop Auckland to learn all about the scheme and to take part in making a bivi bag.  She then returned to school to feedback what she had learned to Mrs Lambard and Mrs Routledge.  Now Mrs Routledge has set up a team of helpers in after-school club who clean, dry and cut the foil crisp packets that we have been collecting in school.  She will then iron them together so that we can send the foil blankets off to London to be made into a bivi bag.  Each bivi bags needs around 150 crisp packets!