Monday 8^th March 2021

Dear Parents,

Monday 8^th March. A date which has indelibly been imprinted upon our minds, for what feels like a very long time indeed, has finally arrived. It is overwhelmingly wonderful to have all of the children able to return to school and thank you for your cooperation with all of the continuing safety measures. Thank you also for all of the kind words and positive feedback about our provision since the start of the year, they are all very much appreciated by the staff team who have adapted so well and steadfastly applied themselves to the task at hand. We have all been learning as time has gone by and the participation and support we have received from our families has been absolutely incredible. The teaching team are also extremely grateful for the unwavering commitment of the support staff in maintaining on-site provision, which in turn has allowed the teaching team to provide the best remote learning possible to all of our pupils. We know not everything worked perfectly for everyone all of the time, but the efforts of children, parents and staff has been extraordinary under the challenging circumstances.

The children have returned very positively indeed this morning and have enjoyed being with their friends again, smiling, learning, laughing and having fun. We know this period is one of transition, and have prepared for it as such. Our primary goal is to support all pupils back into full time face to face education so they can once again thrive and achieve their best. We will continue to provide children with the very best opportunities for their development, despite the restrictions placed upon us all and our experienced team will draw upon all our expertise to ensure that school can be the best place it can possibly be.  We have already adapted our curriculum to respond to the impact of the events of not just this year but the last too. We will continue to do so, as we learn more, both as a school and as an education sector, about how children have responded to the disruption to all of our lives. We will continue to work with other schools to achieve this. It will not yet be ‘business as usual’ but our core ethos, values and sense of purpose with be the same as ever.

We also know that this continues to be a very tough time for everyone, we are still in the grip of the pandemic, not able to see loved ones and things still feel uncertain. We know people are struggling, it may be with mental health, family finances or worrying about what the future holds for our children. We are here, please reach out to us and if we can help we will. We may not have a magic wand or a quick fix to help with these complex issues, but we will do everything we are able to. Sometimes just sharing can help. There are positive signs ahead but we’ll all need to continue to draw on all our patience and resolve in the weeks and months to come as we gradually begin to address the continuing impact of the pandemic. For now, we all appreciate every single day we have a full school more than ever, and all very much look forward to the rest of the school term.

We also wished to remind you that we have postponed our staff training day scheduled for later this term. School will now be open to all pupils on Thursday 1^st April, and instead, closed on Tuesday 4^th May.

Finally, some exciting news from Cats Class, today our youngest children have been outside into their revamped outdoor area for the first time following the installation of a new canopy. The new canopy will provide them with a lighter more spacious area to learn and play in, and I must thank the team in Cats Class who came into school this weekend to make sure it was ready to use as soon as possible. We are also grateful for the work underway on our ‘Wild Flower’ garden – which we originally hoped to plant at around this time last year- (before other events got in the way!) We hope that it will increase the children’s awareness of biodiversity and it was an idea originally suggested by our Eco Club.

I wish everyone continuing success for the remainder of this term.

Yours sincerely,

 

Rob Bothma

Headteacher