Falkland Primary School

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Newsletter and arrangements

As the year draws to a close, it is with a great sense of pride that I write this, my last newsletter for this year. I truly believe that it is from this year's challenges we have grown ... grown as a school ... grown as a community ... and grown as our Falkland Family. Our autumn term brought the usual start of the year challenges, finishing with a mini-flu epidemic. A Good Ofsted inspection brightened our January. We were one of the first schools to be inspected under a far more challenging framework and we sailed through with flying colours! I could not have been prouder of our children, the staff and again our Falkland Family. It was a superb report. 

However, this year we have faced the greatest challenge, I feel, in all my years of teaching and being a Headteacher. A global pandemic which has impacted us all across all aspects of our lives. But we kept going and rose to the challenge. At the end of this academic year, may I thank you again for all your support during lockdown and for supporting your child with their home learning. 

I would like to say, on a positive note, the happiness noted on the children's faces as they began their return to school, playing with their friends on the field and playgrounds in their bubbles, was a sight to behold. 

As the country is moving towards a wider reopening, we are preparing for the full reopening of the school in September to all pupils. We really are all, as a staff, looking forward to welcoming all our children back to school in September.

As we have already made you aware, we are having a large amount of work done to the school site and buildings over the summer holidays. This includes new boilers, roof cladding, ceilings, toilets, fire alarms and lighting. Classrooms and communal areas have been arranged very differently over the last few months in order to follow the COVID-19 government guidelines.  We will also have to move furniture from rooms on Friday to allow for the work to be carried out. This will involve emptying the whole of the main buildings of furniture. Due to the nature of the work and the fact every area of the school is affected in some way and social distancing restrictions, staff will not be allowed on site at all during the holidays. This means that we will need time to ‘put the school back together’ at the very end of the holidays so that it is ready for the children to return. Therefore, we have been given permission by the local authority to have an extra closure day which we will use to get school pupil friendly and ready to go. So instead of returning on 2^nd September, school will now begin again for children on Thursday 3^rd September. 

When we do come back in September, we will be working in bubbles across a year group so interventions, setting, ELSA, PE, etc. can still take place and to ensure everyone is able to take breaks and lunches at a sensible time.   

To avoid over sharing of resources, could we please ask that all children in Years 1-6 have a small, named pencil case that contains a pencil, rubber, ruler, colouring pencils and a glue stick. For Years 3-6 a black handwriting pen as well.  We ask that this is left in school.  

We will be operating staggered arrivals and departures in September continuing to use both the back and front gates. Please come as a family at the older child’s start time. In order to avoid too many adults on site (the risk of adults spreading the virus is far higher than children) we will be asking that the older child in the family takes their sibling(s) to their classrooms. If this is not possible then we ask that you wait until the younger child is met by their teacher at the right gate. 

Please note - although school is now restarting on 3^rd September, the four new EYFS groups that were set to start on 2^nd September will still start on 2nd September as per our previous e-mails. 

If you have a * Year 2 child and an EYFS or Year 1 child as well then you can either drop your Year 2 child off at the back gate and then walk round to the front with your younger child/ren or you can bring all your children to the front gate at the EYFS/Year 1 drop off time. We are happy for you to find an option that works for you as a family as Year 2 are the youngest year group to come in the back gate.

Year 6 may bring a mobile phone into school – it will be handed in to the class teacher and returned at the end of the day. While we will take all due care of them in school we cannot be held responsible for any damage. 

If your child is in the Den please either come at their sibling’s start time or their year group’s start time. This will be the same for the end of the day. Please note Homework Club will be a self-lead period of study with an adult in the room – it will not be an extra teaching session.
If your child is attending SCL wraparound care at Falkland or Busykids before or after school, arrangements are being made with these providers but are not yet confirmed. SCL children will be able to come through the main gate at drop off and pick up times. Please use the SCL website to book a place.
Childminders are free to adapt these arrangements to suit the ages of children in their care – if possible in September, could we have a list of the children you are collecting for the office so we are able to release the right child at the right time.
We regret that because of the current guidance on bubbles we will not be running after school clubs in the autumn term unless the advice changes.
Many thanks for your cooperation with this change – if there are any further changes needed before September I will email you on a FRIDAY to inform you and put on the web site and on our Twitter account.
The school will now be out of bounds until 1st September but the office email will still be accessed throughout the summer.
Please can we remind parents to follow the government guidance when going on holiday or days out over the summer holidays. If you are going to another country, please ensure you follow any quarantine guidelines. We have worked extremely hard to ensure the safety of all the staff and pupils who have been in school and we would like this to continue in the autumn term.
Thank you for all the lovely gifts we have received, you are very generous.
Stay safe.
Kind regards,
Mrs Wood