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Newsletter 16- Thursday 21st May
Dear Parents/ Carers and CHILDREN of Tudor Primary,
First of all, I hope you are all well. Whilst some reports in the press indicate that there is (more) light visible at the end of the tunnel, there is little doubt that this is a period of high importance if we are to make further strides forward in responding to the health crisis. I was chatting to a parent the other day and I recalled how many children felt quite excited that they were going to have an extended period of learning at home but I think it is fair to say that we all would prefer more normality to return to our lives. A big part of returning to how things usually are would be the reopening of schools to children and this newsletter will share how Tudor Primary will address this transitional period.
You will be aware that schools have been asked to reopen to a number of year groups from June 1st. This has been a rather delicate topic in the media and there is little doubt that there will many different views on how this should be managed. At Tudor we have been extremely proud of how we have engaged the vast majority of children and families with home learning and our actions throughout the health crisis have demonstrated our commitment to you all (and in a number of ways). Going forward, we are able to meet government expectations but we also want to provide a ‘solution’ that meets a number of needs- from keeping things safe in school to providing ongoing support for those families who want to keep their children at home. Compromise is a key word in such times!
Nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 6
Our blended offer will be a provision of 2 days of learning in school and 3 days of home learning activities. Each learning space will have a significantly reduced number of children. With the staff team planned for each area, children will be able to benefit from the increased safety of small group sizes. We are obviously unable to guarantee consistent 2m social distancing for children and we are keen to ensure the learning environments will remain as inviting as possible. Whilst some families have contacted the school to say that their children will not be returning at present, we will ensure that we have a sustainable capacity of 15 children per class even if all children do return. Do refer to the information below for which 2 days your child is able to come to school. Please understand that not all classes have an equal ‘spread’ of surnames. Those families that have children in different year groups who may ‘need’ to come in on different days will be contacted by the office. We will not be able to meet requests from parents to adjust their allocated days.
Class Cohort 1 Surnames Cohort 2 Surnames
Nursery- A- K = Monday/ Tuesday L-Z= Wednesday/ Thursday
Red Class- A-J= Monday/Tuesday K-Z- Wednesday/ Thursday
Yellow Class- A- He= Monday/ Tuesday Ho-Z= Wednesday/ Thursday
1O A-L= Monday/ Tuesday M-Z= Wednesday/ Thursday
1P A-M= Monday/ Tuesday N-Z= Wednesday/ Thursday
6Y A-F= Monday/ Tuesday G-Z= Wednesday/ Thursday
6Z A-K= Monday/ Tuesday L-Z= Wednesday/ Thursday
Do also refer to the ‘School Reopening June 1st‘ section of the website for further info.
Year 2, Year 3, Year 4, Year 5
Children in the remaining year groups can still expect the high quality of the Tudor Home Leaning that they have been engaging with so far. However, due to the fact that teachers will be teaching classes in school (in their own year groups or our high number of key worker children), we will be unable to sustain the amount of personalised interaction and bespoke support. For example, whilst Miss Houston may be teaching a key worker group, Miss Manzie will be managing the home learning for ALL of year 3. This reduced capacity will mean that feedback will not be as detailed but please be assured the activities and opportunities will remain Tudor-tastic! We continue to set the standard…
Key Worker Children
Since March, Tudor has offered high quality provision to those who meet additional criteria set by government. Whilst numbers have remained very low in many schools, we have been proud to support a large number of these children and families. We have remained open from the outset of the crisis including the Easter holidays and the staff have shown phenomenal application throughout.
From June 1st, we will continue to be open to key worker children and those that meet those criteria as set by government. If your child is in one of the year groups that is reopening your child will attend school in their year group (on the set days) but you will STILL be able to access key worker support on the other days. We are unable to meet further applications at present for this provision but, if required, do contact the school and we will continue to monitor the capacity and reallocate when we are able to. In fact, do contact us about any school related issues (including children who are finding it hard to engage at home). We pledge to help you in any way we can!
Going forward
By using our 2:3 day blended offer, Tudor remains ready to (further) welcome back children in other year groups if the government increases the expectations. We also are able to provide ongoing support to those families who do not feel ready to send their children back to school. Please be assured we stand alongside ALL of you and we aim to keep meeting (and exceeding) your expectations.
Extensive and detailed risk assessments have been written and clear directives and protocols have been shared with staff. We continue to provide clear and updated guidance on our website and we have complete sections on home learning as well as the school reopening. Communication is vital and I am thrilled with your feedback on this. I remain, though, unable to ever guarantee that everything will be perfect (just like ANY school day!) and partnership between home and school remains our biggest strength. The government expectations change regularly and we continue to try our best for you all.
Do enjoy the half term break. This will be the first time that school has been shut since February and, despite what certain troublesome (and ill-informed) members of the press and/ or voices on social media say, the staff of Tudor Primary deserve a well-earned rest in advance of an important final half term of the academic year.
Stay safe everybody- and stay #TeamTudor!
Mr Weightman