Newsletter - w/c 30/03/2020

Dear Parent/Carer,

I hope you and your child/ren have found a routine for your first week together during this period of school closure. I know many of you are juggling working from home with educating and caring for your child/ren and that's no easy task so please know we are here for you .

On-line Learning

Starting Monday 30th March 2020, your children's teachers will be posting videos via their class pages on Facebook. Each day they will post one video relating to maths and one video relating to reading which will include tasks for the children to complete. If you have any questions, you may use the Facebook messenger app to communicate directly with your child's class teacher.

If you are happy to share photos of your child/ren on-line, please tag your child's class page on Facebook so all us teachers may see how they're getting on with their learning or morning workouts. It really does help to put a smile on our faces to see how hard our families are working at home schooling their children so please, don't be shy!

Next week, members of our administration team (i.e. the ladies who work in the School Office) will be telephoning any parent/carer who we suspect may not be on Facebook to see if we can get you on-line to avoid your child missing out on learning opportunities. If you receive a call from a private number, it is likely someone from school so please answer the call.

Free School Meals

For those children eligible for free school meals, we are continuing to offer packed lunches for collection, Monday-Friday, 12:00-12:15. If you would like to request a packed lunch for your child, please e-mail admin@hurstdrive.herts.sch.uk with the subject: Free School Meals. If you are unsure whether your child qualifies for free school meals, please feel free to e-mail to ask.

We know many of our families with children eligible for free school meals are waiting for further information regarding supermarket vouchers. You can read the guidance given to schools here. You will read that the Department for Education have stated they plan to set up a national approach to providing these families with supermarket vouchers. Once that system is up and running, we will e-mail and telephone those parents/carers who qualify to share more information. In the meantime, the offer of collecting a packed lunch from school is available.

Easter Holidays - w/c 06/04/20 & 13/04/20

For the children of key workers and vulnerable children, our school continues to be open next week (w/c 30/03/20) and in the weeks of the Easter Holidays (w/c 06/04/20 & w/c 13/04/20) from 8:30am to 3:15pm. In line with guidance from Hertfordshire County Council, school will not be open on Friday 10th April 2020 (Good Friday) or Monday 13th April 2020 (Easter Monday).

Please remember, despite schools being open for the children of key workers and vulnerable children, the government advice remains the same, parents/carers should keep their child/ren at home, particularly if they are working from home, and only send their child/ren to school if there is no other alternative for childcare. This helps to stop the spread of infection.

Allocation Day - Thursday 16th April 2020

Thursday 16th April 2020 is Allocation Day - this is when parents/carers of children due to start Reception in September 2020 will find out which school their child has been given. Of course, we hope that all parents/carers get their first choice. If you (or a friend) want Hurst Drive Primary School but are given a different primary school, please follow the instructions to place yourself on the waiting list. We are a state maintained primary school; this means we do not decide our admission rules. If you have a question about school admissions, please click here and contact Hertfordshire County Council directly.

We still do not know how long schools will be closed. However, we will still make arrangements to support the children's transition from home or nursery school to primary school. Please be patient and bear with us as we will contact those parents/carers who accept their child's place with more information in May and June.

Coronavirus

It is hard to escape news stories about coronavirus and these are just as frightening for us adults as they are for the children.

The government advice regarding stopping the spread of infection remains the same and is listed below:

wash your hands often – with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, or an alcohol-based sanitiser if soap and water aren’t available;
avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands;
avoid close contact with people who are sick;
if you feel unwell, stay at home and don’t attend work or school;
cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in a bin;
clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces in the home; and,
if you’re worried about your symptoms, please call NHS 111 – don’t go directly to your GP.

We very much hope you are all safe and well. Please feel free to e-mail admin@hurstdrive.herts.sch.uk if you need any support and we will try our best to support you and your children.

Emergency School Provision

If you are a key worker and may need Emergency School Provision, please ensure you book your child's place/s via the SchoolGateway app. Please note, if no child is booked to attend on a day, the school will be closed. For this reason it is vital you book to avoid you turning up to school, only to find it is closed with no member/s of staff present.

Kind regards,

Mr D Short

Headteacher