Recovery Planning from September 2020
Pupils have come back into school well and our transition arrangements seem to have been successful. It is fabulous to have everyone back together, albeit in class bubbles. There is a lovely buzz around school and lots of happy faces!
Action Plan Review
Following a review of the current action plan we have decided to move to the next stage of learning with our year 5/6 pupils. From Monday 21st September Y5/6 pupils will remain in class bubbles for the majority of the day but will move to their allocated maths set three times a week. We have risk
assessed this and are confident that we can move to and from sets safely.
Another change is that Elm Class are now being dropped off and picked at the large car park gate and not on Billingwood Drive.
Reading Recovery
The teaching staff are really pleased with the levels of reading pupils are demonstrating. Teachers have all said what a pleasure it has been to hear all their classes read on their return to school and have commented on how much progress they have all made while reading with their family during lockdown! This is particularly good news as due to shortened lunch times we may not be able to hear your child read as regularly at school as usual. This makes it more vital than ever before that you hear your children read at home regularly – and we thank you for your support in this. We are currently working on producing a virtual workshop for parents/ carers to support you in the teaching of phonics in KS1. This is to replace the phonics workshops we usually hold in school at the start of the year: more details to follow.
Due to the quarantining of books, pupils may only bring home one book. Once a book is finished, children will be able to choose a new book, and the old one will go into a quarantine system, before it goes back into circulation. Teachers will minimise handling of reading record books, and some classes will use a sticker to record reading comments, which the child will stick in themselves. If this is not possible, hand cleaning will take place before and after touching children’s books. We would ask that you also clean your hands before touching the school reading book and reading record book.
Please visit the RSP Learning Zone for on going information about supporting learning now that we are back in school.
If you have any queries, please log these on the Learning Zone contact forms and we will get back to you.
Health and Well being
Pupil well-being, especially mental well-being is one of our key priorities on our re-opening of school to pupils. This half term we are introducing Mindmate, a program of learning which supports our PSHE (Personal, Social and Health Education) work in school, with a particular emphasis on mental health. We are launching this today in all classes and there will be regular Mindmate sessions, in addition to our regular ongoing PSHE work. It is worth noting that all the data that was collected during the time that Y6 and Y1 were back in school last year, demonstrated that pupils’ well-being and resilience increased over the seven weeks that they were in school. Pupils plotted their mental well-being on a weekly basis on a mountain graphic to illustrate their feelings of well-being and by the end of the term 99% of pupils had shown significant progress. This of course bodes well for all pupils now back in school and we will be carrying out a similar activity as part of our Mindmate work.
Please visit Mrs McCarthy's mindfulness and well being pages on the Learning Zone.
Keeping Safe
Please be aware of the many scams/frauds that can be available online. Visit our online safety page for information and links to useful websites. Safer Schools App is a fantastic way of getting quick updates about current events.
They offer a 24 hour helpline. Their telephone number is 0113 2460401.