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Home Learning
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Mrs Stafford Coronavirus Update - 22nd June 2020
Dear Parents/Carers,
I hope you are all continuing to keep well. It was lovely to see some of our Reception children back in school last week looking so happy and grown up – the children were so sensible about handwashing, keeping their distance and generally making sure that they stay safe and healthy. We all felt very proud! This morning we have welcomed back some of our Year 6 children and I think I had to wipe away a tear or two at one point. Many of our Year 6s have been at Reignhead for almost 8 years and it is so wonderful to see so many of them again - those of you who aren’t returning at this moment in time must promise to visit us in September!
I am also pleased to confirm that we are able to open to children in Year 1 on 29th June as planned; however, please be aware that places are currently limited to those who have already replied and clearly stated that their child will be returning. We do have a very small number of places remaining in some of our Bubbles but it really is a very small number – if you are a critical worker or your child is in Reception, Year 1 or Year 6 and you require one of these places, please contact us via email.
For those children who are at home, please remember that our Home Learning Packs are available from the school office and can be collected any day of the week between the hours of 10am and 2pm. Please do not arrive before or after these times. We also have some new Home Learning Packs especially designed for our children in Nursery and Reception – they have been created by Mrs Hodgkinson and are based on the book ‘The Gruffalo’ by Julia Donaldson. The ideas and resources are superb and can be found here https://www.reignhead.sheffield.sch.uk/eyfs-weekly-activities.html.
I know from speaking to many of you that your children are already starting to think about September and are desperate to know who their new teachers are going to be and which classroom they will be in! I will be sending a letter this week confirming staffing arrangements for next year and there will also be lots of photographs on the school website. At the beginning of July we will contact parents to let you know which class your child will be in and you will also receive a phone call from your child’s new class teacher. Children moving into Reception and children moving into Year 3 will also be contacted regarding a ‘Meet the Teacher’ session. We hope that these arrangements will go some way to helping children feel reassured and happy about their return to school in September but please contact us by telephone or email if you have any specific concerns and we will always do our best to help.
In the meantime, please take very good care and we look forward to seeing everyone again before very long.
Warmest wishes,
Carole Stafford
CLICK HERE to download the Full Letter
I hope you are all continuing to keep well. It was lovely to see some of our Reception children back in school last week looking so happy and grown up – the children were so sensible about handwashing, keeping their distance and generally making sure that they stay safe and healthy. We all felt very proud! This morning we have welcomed back some of our Year 6 children and I think I had to wipe away a tear or two at one point. Many of our Year 6s have been at Reignhead for almost 8 years and it is so wonderful to see so many of them again - those of you who aren’t returning at this moment in time must promise to visit us in September!
I am also pleased to confirm that we are able to open to children in Year 1 on 29th June as planned; however, please be aware that places are currently limited to those who have already replied and clearly stated that their child will be returning. We do have a very small number of places remaining in some of our Bubbles but it really is a very small number – if you are a critical worker or your child is in Reception, Year 1 or Year 6 and you require one of these places, please contact us via email.
For those children who are at home, please remember that our Home Learning Packs are available from the school office and can be collected any day of the week between the hours of 10am and 2pm. Please do not arrive before or after these times. We also have some new Home Learning Packs especially designed for our children in Nursery and Reception – they have been created by Mrs Hodgkinson and are based on the book ‘The Gruffalo’ by Julia Donaldson. The ideas and resources are superb and can be found here https://www.reignhead.sheffield.sch.uk/eyfs-weekly-activities.html.
I know from speaking to many of you that your children are already starting to think about September and are desperate to know who their new teachers are going to be and which classroom they will be in! I will be sending a letter this week confirming staffing arrangements for next year and there will also be lots of photographs on the school website. At the beginning of July we will contact parents to let you know which class your child will be in and you will also receive a phone call from your child’s new class teacher. Children moving into Reception and children moving into Year 3 will also be contacted regarding a ‘Meet the Teacher’ session. We hope that these arrangements will go some way to helping children feel reassured and happy about their return to school in September but please contact us by telephone or email if you have any specific concerns and we will always do our best to help.
In the meantime, please take very good care and we look forward to seeing everyone again before very long.
Warmest wishes,
Carole Stafford
CLICK HERE to download the Full Letter
Mrs Stafford Wider Reopening Letter - 10th June 2020
Dear Parents/Carers,
I hope you are all continuing to keep well. We really do miss you and I know from your messages and speaking to so many of you that you’re missing us too! I am pleased to let you know, therefore, that we have now been advised by Sheffield City Council that schools can open more widely from 15th June as long as this is done in a planned and measured way. We are being told to increase numbers slowly and carefully and I would like to thank parents of children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 for responding to our previous letter regarding whether you will require a school place for your child this half term. We do appreciate what a difficult decision this has been.
I can now confirm that with current staffing and taking into account predicted numbers of children attending school, we will reopen to children in Reception on 15th June and children in Year 6 on 22nd June. It is probable that we will be able to open to children in Year 1 on 29th June although I am not able to definitely confirm this at present. Please note that places are currently limited to those who have replied and clearly stated that their child will be returning.
Children of critical workers and vulnerable children will continue to be offered a school place regardless of which year group they are in. :: CLICK HERE to read the full letter ::
:: Click Here for a letter from Sheffield City Council :: CLICK HERE for a letter from Gregg Fell ::
I hope you are all continuing to keep well. We really do miss you and I know from your messages and speaking to so many of you that you’re missing us too! I am pleased to let you know, therefore, that we have now been advised by Sheffield City Council that schools can open more widely from 15th June as long as this is done in a planned and measured way. We are being told to increase numbers slowly and carefully and I would like to thank parents of children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 for responding to our previous letter regarding whether you will require a school place for your child this half term. We do appreciate what a difficult decision this has been.
I can now confirm that with current staffing and taking into account predicted numbers of children attending school, we will reopen to children in Reception on 15th June and children in Year 6 on 22nd June. It is probable that we will be able to open to children in Year 1 on 29th June although I am not able to definitely confirm this at present. Please note that places are currently limited to those who have replied and clearly stated that their child will be returning.
Children of critical workers and vulnerable children will continue to be offered a school place regardless of which year group they are in. :: CLICK HERE to read the full letter ::
:: Click Here for a letter from Sheffield City Council :: CLICK HERE for a letter from Gregg Fell ::
Mrs Stafford Letter - 01st June 2020
Dear Parents/Carers,
I hope you are continuing to keep well and managed to enjoy something resembling a half term holiday last week! I know that there will be mixed feelings for many of you following Friday’s announcement – I think most of us are craving a return to some form of normality but equally we understand that the risks are just too great at the moment. I would like to thank all our parents/carers and children for the patience you are showing at this time and also for your kind comments about the school. It really is very much appreciated. I anticipate that I will receive more information from the Local Authority over the next week regarding revised dates for the wider opening of the school and I will share this information with you when it becomes available.
Today is, of course, officially the start of our new half term. It’s usually an extremely busy half term with Sports Day, the Sponsored Walk, Move Up Day, transition visits for our new Nursery and Reception children as well as lots of important events for our Year 6 children. Sadly, these events either won’t be taking place in 2020 or will happen in a revised form. Many of you, rightly, have concerns and questions about September and how new classes will be organised; we are currently working on this and please rest assured that this information will be shared over the next month – each child will definitely know who their new teachers are and where their classroom is by July. Children will also be contacted by their new teacher so that transition is as smooth as it possibly can be at this difficult time. We know how important this is for both parents/carers and children and we know we have to get this right.
We are continuing to update our Home Learning each week and it has been great to see so many of you collecting your Home Learning Packs from school; it really is lovely to catch up and hear about what you have been doing. New packs are issued each Monday and are available throughout the week. Please remind your children to email their teachers too – we love hearing from them! We have two brand new links in the Home Learning section on the website especially for parents of children under the age of 5 – ‘Tiny Happy People’ and ‘Hungry Little Minds’. There are lots of brilliant ideas on both sites as well as some useful tips for parents
As you will be aware, we continue to use the OurSchoolsAPP as our main form of communication during the school closure – it’s very simple to use so please make sure you have it on your phone. If you need to contact the school directly, then please call us during usual school hours or contact us via email at enquiries@reignhead.sheffield.sch.uk and we’ll reply as soon as we can.
In the meantime, please keep on taking very good care of yourselves and those close to you. I hope to see you all again soon.
Warmest wishes,
Carole Stafford
Headteacher, Reignhead Primary School
I hope you are continuing to keep well and managed to enjoy something resembling a half term holiday last week! I know that there will be mixed feelings for many of you following Friday’s announcement – I think most of us are craving a return to some form of normality but equally we understand that the risks are just too great at the moment. I would like to thank all our parents/carers and children for the patience you are showing at this time and also for your kind comments about the school. It really is very much appreciated. I anticipate that I will receive more information from the Local Authority over the next week regarding revised dates for the wider opening of the school and I will share this information with you when it becomes available.
Today is, of course, officially the start of our new half term. It’s usually an extremely busy half term with Sports Day, the Sponsored Walk, Move Up Day, transition visits for our new Nursery and Reception children as well as lots of important events for our Year 6 children. Sadly, these events either won’t be taking place in 2020 or will happen in a revised form. Many of you, rightly, have concerns and questions about September and how new classes will be organised; we are currently working on this and please rest assured that this information will be shared over the next month – each child will definitely know who their new teachers are and where their classroom is by July. Children will also be contacted by their new teacher so that transition is as smooth as it possibly can be at this difficult time. We know how important this is for both parents/carers and children and we know we have to get this right.
We are continuing to update our Home Learning each week and it has been great to see so many of you collecting your Home Learning Packs from school; it really is lovely to catch up and hear about what you have been doing. New packs are issued each Monday and are available throughout the week. Please remind your children to email their teachers too – we love hearing from them! We have two brand new links in the Home Learning section on the website especially for parents of children under the age of 5 – ‘Tiny Happy People’ and ‘Hungry Little Minds’. There are lots of brilliant ideas on both sites as well as some useful tips for parents
As you will be aware, we continue to use the OurSchoolsAPP as our main form of communication during the school closure – it’s very simple to use so please make sure you have it on your phone. If you need to contact the school directly, then please call us during usual school hours or contact us via email at enquiries@reignhead.sheffield.sch.uk and we’ll reply as soon as we can.
In the meantime, please keep on taking very good care of yourselves and those close to you. I hope to see you all again soon.
Warmest wishes,
Carole Stafford
Headteacher, Reignhead Primary School
| Click Here to download the Letter |
Mrs Stafford Letter - 29th May 2020
Dear Parents/Carers,
I am writing to inform you that this morning I received the following statement from Sheffield City Council regarding the possible wider opening of schools and childcare settings in Sheffield from 1st June.
Sheffield City Council understands that this is an extremely challenging time for all living in our city. Following last night’s announcement, relating to the review of the current national lockdown arrangements, we have taken time to consider our position.
We stated previously that in order to support the increase of children in nurseries and school settings, as a Council we need to be confident of our position against the Government’s 5 tests outlined on the 19th April 2020. A critical element to those tests included an effective national test and trace system being in place.
We have been advised by the Sheffield Director of Public Health, Greg Fell who has reviewed the local position and he does not feel assured that the recently announced ‘Test and Trace’ programme will be sufficiently well established and robust enough to be in place for 1st June. He has advised that the Test and Trace system should be in place and working effectively for 14 days before schools and nurseries begin increasing their numbers.
Whilst nationally the Government is requesting that schools and nurseries start to increase the number of pupils attending over the coming weeks, in light of the Sheffield Public Health advice we do not yet feel assured that it is the right time and are advising our schools and nurseries to delay increasing numbers until the 15th June 2020.
We are acutely aware that many schools may have already put systems in place for increasing numbers of children prior to this date. However, our priority must always be ensuring the safety of our staff and the children is not compromised when the numbers are increased. All settings will continue to remain open for children of key workers and vulnerable children as they have been since the start of the national lock down.
For maintained schools, where the Council is the employer, we are instructing schools not to increase the number of children attending more widely. For all other schools, academies, and nurseries in Sheffield, we are strongly advising that they also delay their wider reopening to the 15th June.
The above statement is clear. Reignhead Primary School is a maintained school and as such we are being instructed, on the grounds of public health, not to open more widely except for those children who are vulnerable or are the children of critical workers. This is on the grounds of public health.
I apologise for any inconvenience this will undoubtedly cause and I know that many of your children were really excited about returning to school over the next couple of weeks. We were looking forward to seeing them again too. However, I am sure that we all recognise that the health and safety of everyone in our community has to be the priority at this difficult time. I will send updated information regarding the wider opening of school when it is available.
Thank you for your continued support and please keep on taking very good care of yourselves and those close to you.
Warmest wishes,
Carole Stafford
Headteacher, Reignhead Primary School
I am writing to inform you that this morning I received the following statement from Sheffield City Council regarding the possible wider opening of schools and childcare settings in Sheffield from 1st June.
Sheffield City Council understands that this is an extremely challenging time for all living in our city. Following last night’s announcement, relating to the review of the current national lockdown arrangements, we have taken time to consider our position.
We stated previously that in order to support the increase of children in nurseries and school settings, as a Council we need to be confident of our position against the Government’s 5 tests outlined on the 19th April 2020. A critical element to those tests included an effective national test and trace system being in place.
We have been advised by the Sheffield Director of Public Health, Greg Fell who has reviewed the local position and he does not feel assured that the recently announced ‘Test and Trace’ programme will be sufficiently well established and robust enough to be in place for 1st June. He has advised that the Test and Trace system should be in place and working effectively for 14 days before schools and nurseries begin increasing their numbers.
Whilst nationally the Government is requesting that schools and nurseries start to increase the number of pupils attending over the coming weeks, in light of the Sheffield Public Health advice we do not yet feel assured that it is the right time and are advising our schools and nurseries to delay increasing numbers until the 15th June 2020.
We are acutely aware that many schools may have already put systems in place for increasing numbers of children prior to this date. However, our priority must always be ensuring the safety of our staff and the children is not compromised when the numbers are increased. All settings will continue to remain open for children of key workers and vulnerable children as they have been since the start of the national lock down.
For maintained schools, where the Council is the employer, we are instructing schools not to increase the number of children attending more widely. For all other schools, academies, and nurseries in Sheffield, we are strongly advising that they also delay their wider reopening to the 15th June.
The above statement is clear. Reignhead Primary School is a maintained school and as such we are being instructed, on the grounds of public health, not to open more widely except for those children who are vulnerable or are the children of critical workers. This is on the grounds of public health.
I apologise for any inconvenience this will undoubtedly cause and I know that many of your children were really excited about returning to school over the next couple of weeks. We were looking forward to seeing them again too. However, I am sure that we all recognise that the health and safety of everyone in our community has to be the priority at this difficult time. I will send updated information regarding the wider opening of school when it is available.
Thank you for your continued support and please keep on taking very good care of yourselves and those close to you.
Warmest wishes,
Carole Stafford
Headteacher, Reignhead Primary School
| CLICK HERE to download a letter from Sheffield City Council. |
Mrs Stafford Letter - 18th May 2020
Dear Parents/Carers,
Most of you will have been following the news over the past week regarding the proposed wider opening of schools from the week beginning 1st June. Many of you will be worried and I am sure you will all have questions which are, as yet, unanswered. I would firstly like to thank you for the patience you are showing at this time.
In summary, the Government’s proposals are as follows:
*Children of critical workers and vulnerable children will continue to be offered a school place regardless of which year group they are in.
*Schools should extend their opening to include all pupils in Nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 from the week beginning 1st June.
*Eligible children should be offered a full-time place (i.e. rota systems are not to be used)
As you can imagine, this is a very complex and demanding situation to manage and we are still in the very early stages of planning what the re-opening of school will look like for our community.
My primary focus at the current time is ensuring that Reignhead Primary School is as safe as it can possibly be for children, staff, parents and extended families. I need to make sure that clear systems are in place and that staff feel confident in these systems. For that reason, any potential re-opening will be managed in a slow, planned way. We will need to start with small groups of children in order to ensure that all the procedures we have put in place are effective.
The plan below will give you an indication of our current thinking. Please be aware, however, that these arrangements are absolutely not set in stone – they may well have to change. We will, of course, continually review our provision in line with current guidance; risk assessments; pupil numbers and available staff.
Monday 1st June – INSET Day
It has been agreed that all schools in the Westfield Family of Schools will continue with plans to have an INSET (staff training day) on 1st June; the day will be used to prepare the school and train the staff in managing a safe return. This will focus on Health and Safety, routines, procedures and ensuring the school environment is ready in line with the most up-to-date guidance available. In short, we will be making sure every single person in school knows exactly how to make our school as safe as possible for each and every child.
School will remain open to children of critical workers. If you are a critical worker and will need your child to be in school from June, then please contact the school via the enquiries email. I recognise that many critical workers have been managing their own childcare arrangements until now but that your requirements may have now changed.
Tuesday 2nd June - Reception
*If judged safe to do so, school will open to all children in either of our Reception classes who would like a place.
Monday 8th June – Year 6
*If judged safe to do so, school will be open to all children in either of our Year 6 classes who would like a place.
Monday 15th June – Year 1
*If judged safe to do so, school will be open to all Year 1 children who would like a place.
I am not yet in a position to plan for the safe return of our Nursery children but our Nursery children would, theoretically, be the next priority group. The Government have also stated that they would like all children to return to school in July. This currently looks unlikely if the requirement to teach in groups of 15 continues.
To help us further with our planning, we now need to know how many children we may be expecting in each year group and whether you would be happy to send your child back to school. In order to inform your decision I would like to draw your attention to the following points:
Child’s Name:
Class/Year Group:
I am intending to send my child back once school reopens / I am NOT intending to send my child back to school (please delete as applicable.)
Thank you for your continued support and please keep on taking very good care of yourselves and those close to you.
Warmest wishes,
Carole Stafford
Headteacher, Reignhead Primary School
Most of you will have been following the news over the past week regarding the proposed wider opening of schools from the week beginning 1st June. Many of you will be worried and I am sure you will all have questions which are, as yet, unanswered. I would firstly like to thank you for the patience you are showing at this time.
In summary, the Government’s proposals are as follows:
*Children of critical workers and vulnerable children will continue to be offered a school place regardless of which year group they are in.
*Schools should extend their opening to include all pupils in Nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 from the week beginning 1st June.
*Eligible children should be offered a full-time place (i.e. rota systems are not to be used)
As you can imagine, this is a very complex and demanding situation to manage and we are still in the very early stages of planning what the re-opening of school will look like for our community.
My primary focus at the current time is ensuring that Reignhead Primary School is as safe as it can possibly be for children, staff, parents and extended families. I need to make sure that clear systems are in place and that staff feel confident in these systems. For that reason, any potential re-opening will be managed in a slow, planned way. We will need to start with small groups of children in order to ensure that all the procedures we have put in place are effective.
The plan below will give you an indication of our current thinking. Please be aware, however, that these arrangements are absolutely not set in stone – they may well have to change. We will, of course, continually review our provision in line with current guidance; risk assessments; pupil numbers and available staff.
Monday 1st June – INSET Day
It has been agreed that all schools in the Westfield Family of Schools will continue with plans to have an INSET (staff training day) on 1st June; the day will be used to prepare the school and train the staff in managing a safe return. This will focus on Health and Safety, routines, procedures and ensuring the school environment is ready in line with the most up-to-date guidance available. In short, we will be making sure every single person in school knows exactly how to make our school as safe as possible for each and every child.
School will remain open to children of critical workers. If you are a critical worker and will need your child to be in school from June, then please contact the school via the enquiries email. I recognise that many critical workers have been managing their own childcare arrangements until now but that your requirements may have now changed.
Tuesday 2nd June - Reception
*If judged safe to do so, school will open to all children in either of our Reception classes who would like a place.
Monday 8th June – Year 6
*If judged safe to do so, school will be open to all children in either of our Year 6 classes who would like a place.
Monday 15th June – Year 1
*If judged safe to do so, school will be open to all Year 1 children who would like a place.
I am not yet in a position to plan for the safe return of our Nursery children but our Nursery children would, theoretically, be the next priority group. The Government have also stated that they would like all children to return to school in July. This currently looks unlikely if the requirement to teach in groups of 15 continues.
To help us further with our planning, we now need to know how many children we may be expecting in each year group and whether you would be happy to send your child back to school. In order to inform your decision I would like to draw your attention to the following points:
- Social distancing measures will be put in place with staggered start times, one-way systems and split playtimes and lunchtimes. We can only do our best with social distancing and we anticipate that the children will find this very challenging, particularly the younger children.
- The Government advice is that children are taught in ‘bubbles’ – small groups of 10- 15 children that consist of the same children and the same adults at all times. It is very possible that your child will NOT be taught by their class teacher, although we will do our best to ensure all children have a familiar adult within their ‘bubble’. These ‘bubbles’ of children would then eat their dinner together and socialise together on the playground. This means that the children would not be able to mix widely with their friends in school. While numbers remain low, each ‘bubble’ would have their own classroom with its own entrance, toilets and handwashing facilities.
- The classrooms will look quite different. We are removing furniture and equipment to ensure that there is enough space for children to work independently.
- We will not be able to offer Breakfast Club or any after school clubs.
- A cleaning regime will be in place for each area in line with Government guidelines.
- If you choose NOT to send your child to school, we will respect this decision. Home Learning will continue in its current form and the decision on whether or not you choose to send your children back lies ultimately with you. There will be no pressure from me or anyone else at Reignhead Primary School.
Child’s Name:
Class/Year Group:
I am intending to send my child back once school reopens / I am NOT intending to send my child back to school (please delete as applicable.)
Thank you for your continued support and please keep on taking very good care of yourselves and those close to you.
Warmest wishes,
Carole Stafford
Headteacher, Reignhead Primary School
| Letter dated 18th May |
