We continue to use our ClassDojo page for continual updates on our current situation and we are here for you if you need.  Please do not hesitate to e mail the school if you need us for whatever reason.

 

On behalf of myself, our staff and governors may I wish you all a very Happy New Year. We hope that with the on-going COVID vaccine rollout programme that at some point in the coming year we will all be able to enjoy a more normal way of life.

However, you will be aware that we are still in extremely difficult circumstances due to an increasing number of Covid cases, both nationally and locally, along with lack of clarity or guidance from local and national government about how schools can respond to the increase in cases, along with the new variant of the virus.  We have also been informed that support staff are following advice from their unions and professional organisations due to concerns raised over the current situation and that they will not be available to teach full key worker groups within school.

The LA have released this statement:

Given the confusion over Government communication and guidance to schools, we believe the Secretary of State must provide clear and consistent information to schools in tier 4 that includes a move to remote learning for all pupils (excluding vulnerable children and those of key workers) and a return to school on 18th January. In the absence of changes to Government guidance DCC is clear that any decision on school closure should be made by school leaders and their Governing Bodies based on individual risk assessments at local level. Risk assessments continue to be updated and need to take account of a range of factors including local infection rates, availability of staff as well as the school’s physical environment and organisation. DCC will continue to support all of our schools based on established locally derived information along with national guidance and best practice.

As we are now in a position where we are unable to re-open fully to all children, we have made the decision to move to remote learning so that we can protect everyone in our whole school community. Due to the timings involved in receiving this information the School Leadership and Governing body have needed to make decisions rapidly. We do appreciate that receiving this news at such short notice may cause disruption to some families, and for this we can only apologise.

We would like to wish a warm welcome to all of our new children who are coming into Nursery.  We are throughly looking forward to getting to know you all over the next few weeks and months!  Any questions please do not hesitate to ask – either call or email the school.

We would love it if you could all collect a smooth stone when your next out on a walk (this can be any size but not to small!)  Once you have collected your stone we would love it if you could paint the stone in bright colors – a pattern, a rainbow, a picture…. then if you could write a memory of your child’s time in Nursery along with their name and have a walk down to Nursery to put it in our special memory stone area.

We already have a few and it really is looking great – keep them coming, the more colorful the better, we want to brighten up everyone’s day!!

Oh no! Beechdale Bear was feeling lonely in school all day by himself so he has taken himself off for a little adventure!  Can you help us to keep an eye out for him and let us know if you see him anywhere?!

Please look out for a special message that will be coming home via our school app each day from a member of staff.  The video will be a little way of saying hello and keeping in touch, each member of staff will also suggest a little job/activity for you to do!  And don’t forget to look out for Beechdale Bear! Enjoy!

This week please look out for a phone call from your child’s key worker to say hi…. we miss all of our families very much at this strange time, so we thought it would be nice to give you a ring a say hi…..

Hungry Little Minds is a great website that offers some lovely ideas and nice links to age appropriate apps for home learning….

https://hungrylittleminds.campaign.gov.uk/

We continue to provide emergency childcare for those families who qualify for the care.  The children will be supported at our federated school – Consett Infant School between 8:30am—3:15pm.  Whilst we are willing to support key workers that have a real need, please be mindful that this emergency care is not provided to protect jobs but is a LAST RESORT to enable essential workers to carry out their roles. If you feel that you are entitled to access this childcare service please email school with details and we will get in touch with you to discuss this further.