Newsletter - w/c - 23/11/20
Dear Parent/Carer,
Please see below for some important notices about school life:
Remote Education and Self-isolation
Thank you to those parents and carers working hard with their child/ren at home - you are making sure the children do not fall behind with their learning and for that we are very grateful.
Whilst the teachers are well, they will be posting daily activities on your child's class Facebook page. We warmly invite parents and carers to post comments, including photographs or videos of your child and their work, as it can really help brighten up a teacher's day when he or she is having to self-isolate. Otherwise, you may click here to find worksheets aimed at your child's year group.
Please also ensure you answer any telephone calls from a private number (i.e. number withheld) as it may be your child's class teacher or a teaching assistant telephoning to see how your child is getting on and to answer any questions you may have.
Please see below for a reminder about when your child's class (or group in the case of the Breakfast Club children) may return to school if they are well enough to do so:
Willow Class - Friday 20 November 2020
Beech Class - Friday 27 November 2020
Walnut Class - Friday 27 November 2020
Birch Class - Friday 27 November 2020
Pine Class - Friday 27 November 2020
Ash Class - Monday 30 November 2020
Chestnut Class - Monday 30 November 2020
Apple Class - Monday 30 November 2020
Selected Breakfast Club Children - Monday 30 November 2020
Once again, thank you to the parents/carers for supporting us by following the guidance we are being given by the local authority and in turn the government. We know self-isolation can be worrying and stressful so we appreciate your ongoing support and we hope to soon have all the children back in school as normal.
To be clear, if your child is meant to be self-isolating, they cannot leave your home, this includes going to the shops and collecting brothers/sisters from school and nursery.
If you need help transporting your child/ren to and from school, because you have a child or children self-isolating, we may be able to help. Please e-mail admin@hurstdrive.herts.sch.uk and request a telephone call from Mrs Lloyd (Safeguarding Coordinator) or Mrs Bye (Family Support Worker).
Coronavirus - Changes in School
We invited a Senior Infection and Prevention Control Nurse into school on Tuesday 17 November 2020 so he could inspect our building and the systems in place to slow the spread of COVID-19 and to also have him suggest ways we may further improve. He was very complimentary about lots of what we have in place already, including our enhanced cleaning schedule, our arrangements for children's lunchtime that allows them access to hot meals, the playground zones for break and lunchtime, the setup of our classrooms and so on.
He has suggested we try some new actions, and these are detailed below to start on Monday 23 November 2020:
- Change the sign on our outdoor hand sanitiser station to remind adults to sanitise their hands to keep children and adults safe;
- Invite parents/carers to wear face coverings as added protection for themselves whilst on site;
- Remind parents and carers to keep 2 metres apart (i.e. no chatting on the playground or outside school);
- Kitchen staff to wear masks while serving food to children and staff; and,
- Trial a one-way system that still ensures vehicle and pedestrian separation.
Our school is not well designed for a one-way system as you will have figured out yourselves. However, we would like to trial the following next week. When parents/carers enter the site, if they are dropping off to classrooms (this affects Year 1 parents/carers only as children in Years 3-6 walk themselves to class and Reception and Year 2 are accessed from the large front playground) they must walk all the way around the building and come back into our car park (which we will cordon off to avoid any accidents) before exiting out the main gate. If they are picking up, they must do this in reverse, entering through the main gate and walking towards the car park and around the building to collect their child from their external classroom door. In this way, we are limiting the number of children being in the car park - something the nurse highly recommends.
We know many of our parents/carers understand that school staff are working as hard as they can to slow the spread of COVID-19, and we appreciate your understanding at what continues to be a difficult time for us all.
Nasal Flu Immunisation - Wednesday 16 December 2020
It is very important that the children have this vaccine to protect them against flu which can lead to serious problems like bronchitis or pneumonia.
We will be e-mailing out forms for parents/carers and we will also be giving paper copies to your children to take home.
You must return the completed form to school by Friday 4 December 2020 and you can do this by e-mailing completing forms to admin@hurstdrive.herts.sch.uk, by giving the completed form to your child's class teacher at the end of the school day, or by placing the form in the blue parcel box outside the School Office.
Please note, if you already handed in the form, but your child was absent on Tuesday 17 November 2020, your child will have the vaccine on Wednesday 16 December 2020 - you do not need to complete the form again. If you are unsure whether you handed in the completed form, you may e-mail admin@hurstdrive.herts.sch.uk, giving your child's full name and an Office Administrator will investigate and get back to you.
2020 Parent/Carer Survey
As you know, we use the survey to inform actions in school so we may continue to improve the school for the children and their parents and carers. Please see below for information on two upcoming changes:
Starting in the week commencing Monday 14 December 2020, and continuing each half term thereafter, parents/carers will receive an e-mail from their child's class teacher, detailing what subjects will be taught next half term and what your child will be learning in each of those subjects. This is in response to some parents/carers stating they were unsure about what their child was learning in school. Please remember, you can still view the curriculum on our website.
Also, the Senior Management Team have met, and we currently have a graphic design company creating a mock-up of a report card we may send out termly to parents/carers so they receive more regularly feedback on their child's learning. In this way, a parent/carer would receive two report cards and an annual report, alongside the two parent/carer consultation evening appointments. Hopefully we will be ready to send the first of these report cards in December 2020 or January 2021 and parents/carers will feel better informed about their child's learning.
Kind regards,
The School Office Team
Hurst Drive Primary School
admin@hurstdrive.herts.sch.uk
01992 624099