Latest News
Keep up to date with all the latest news happening in school at the moment.
-
Whole School Letter
Thu 08 Jun 2023Thursday 8th June 2023
Dear Parents,
The children have started the final half term of the academic year incredibly positively, enjoying being with one another again following the half term break and throwing themselves into their learning.
We have also now finalised our class and staffing structure. We always aim to share these with our families as soon as we possibly can each year and are pleased to now be in a position to be able to do so. Please see our classroom arrangements detailed below:
Classroom Arrangements for 2023/24
Cats Class: Mrs Raybould will be remaining in her current classroom for next year with Reception & Year 1. Mrs Raybould will be supported by Mrs Annis, Mrs Freeman & Mr Ramus.
Year 2: Miss James will be teaching Year 2, with support from Mrs Harrington. Year 2 will move into the classroom currently occupied by Mrs Oates and her Year 5 class.
Years 3&4: Mrs Hunt will be remaining in her current classroom for next year with Years 3 & 4; with support from Mrs Denney & Mrs Brown.
Year 5: Mrs Oates will again be teaching Year 5 and will be supported throughout the week by Mrs Castle. Year 5 will be moving into the room currently occupied by Miss James & Year 2.
Class teachers will of course be in touch with you directly in due course, with specific information for each class which may be helpful for you to know before the end of term. The children will take part in a ‘Moving Up Day’ where they spend the day with the adults and children they will be working with next year in their new classrooms. This takes place on Wednesday 28th June, which is the same day as our soon to be Year 6 children will spend at their Middle Schools. We will also be welcoming our new Reception cohort on this day as part of their transition up to First School. If your child is moving to a new teacher next year, please do come and say hello!
In the meantime, we all look forward to a fantastic term ahead.
Yours Sincerely,
Rob Bothma
Headteacher
-
Whole School Letter 17.04.23
Mon 17 Apr 2023Monday 17th April 2023
Dear Parents,
It has been great to see the children immediately throw themselves back into their learning following what we hope was a restful and memorable Easter Break. The summer term is always an exciting and busy one so we just wanted to highlight a few important dates for our families for this half term.
PE Day & Forest School
PE Days remain unchanged:
Monday - Miss James’ Class
Tuesday – Mrs Oates’ Class
Thursday – Mrs Hunt’s Class
Friday – Mrs Raybould’s Class
Children should always wear their school PE Kit on their class’s PE Day but may continue to bring general sportswear to get changed into for after school clubs if it is not their PE Day.
Forest School for Mrs Raybould’s and Miss James’ classes will continue to take place each Thursday during this term. Children should attend school in their Forest School clothing on this day, you will continue to be notified if this changes in any given week.
Mrs Hunt’s Class will be continuing their Swimming Lessons for the first two Tuesdays (18th & 25th April) this term, making up for the missed session at the end of last term. Cats class will start swimming on Tuesday 2nd May with more detailed information and permission forms to follow soon.
A Non - Uniform Day will take place this week on Wednesday 19th April – in exchange for tombola prizes suitable for either adults or children.
Clarinet and Musical Instrument Assembly
Year 5 will be treating us to a Clarinet Performance next week on Tuesday 25th April. They will be accompanied by any pupils who learn a musical instrument. If your child learns an instrument outside of school and would like to perform, please let Mrs Evans know at the office. Parents of performing children are warmly invited to attend.
Extra-curricular activity clubs
These will begin from Tuesday 9th May, and again, more details will follow separately in due course. Maypole Club continues on Tuesdays after school for Years 1&2 this week and next.
Bank Holidays
School will be closed on Monday 1st & Monday 8th May for the National Bank Holidays, but the school building will be open for the Walkabout on Monday 1st May, with activities at school and of course the Year 1&2 Traditional Maypole Dance at 1pm.
Sports Day
Sports Day will take place on the afternoon of Thursday 25th May, weather permitting. We hope to invite parents for a picnic lunch which will be followed by the sports events.
Punctuality
Thank you so much to the vast majority of our parents who ensure that children arrive in school by 8.50am every day. We understand that everyone can run late occasionally but please be aware that regularly arriving at school after this time can be disruptive to other children who are already organised for the day ahead and are ready to learn. Thank you for your cooperation with this matter.
Weekly Class Letters
The Summer Term is always an extremely busy one with lots of events taking place throughout the school. Class specific events are detailed on our weekly class letters which are available on the school website on our class pages: https://www.cropthorneschool.org/class-pages/
You will also find regular updates of activities children have recently taken part in here too.
Thank you for your continued support.
Yours Sincerely,
Rob Bothma
Headteacher
-
'Robin and the Sherwood Hoodies' Production Dates and Times
Thu 16 Mar 2023Tuesday 14th March 2023
Dear Parents,
‘ROBIN AND THE SHERWOOD HOODIES’ PRODUCTION DATES & TIMES
Rehearsals for ‘Robin and the Sherwood Hoodies’ are now in full swing as we rapidly approach the dates of our performances. Thank you to all of you who have worked with the children to help them learn their lines and prepare for the production, including arranging costumes. We are sure you are aware the shows will take place on Thursday 23rd March at 1pm & Friday 24th March at 6pm at Number 8. The children are extremely excited and over the last few weeks they have danced, sang and rehearsed with superb enthusiasm and huge smiles on their faces. The children have been working extremely hard on their parts and I know as always here at Cropthorne they will enjoy amazing support from all of our families.
Please make a note of the important information outlined below;
On Tuesday 21st March all of Years 3,4 & 5 will travel to No 8 during the school day for our Technical Rehearsal. Children will return to school to eat lunch as normal.
On Wednesday the 22nd March all the children will be rehearsing in the morning at No 8. We have arranged a coach to transport them to and from No 8. Children will return to school to eat lunch as normal.
On Thursday 23rd March all the children will be transported to No 8 after lunch, by coach, in time for the afternoon performance. All children will need to bring a packed lunch from home unless a hot dinner has been ordered from Pershore High and if this is the case they will supply a packed lunch. All children will need to be collected at 3.00pm from the rear exit of No 8, as we are not permitted to dismiss from the stage area inside the auditorium for safety reasons. In order to avoid the area from becoming overcrowded we request that families please send only one adult to collect children if possible, thank you in advance for your co-operation. There will be no Afterschool Care on this day.
On Friday 24th March all children will need to be brought to the rear of No 8 at 5.45pm and collected at 8.00pm. Again, all children will need to be collected from the rear exit of No 8, where we again ask that only one adult is sent to collect where possible.
We will as ever be recording the performance and further information regarding this will follow. The children have really enjoyed preparing their performance for you and we hope you will enjoy it as much as they have!
Yours sincerely,
Rob Bothma
Head Teacher
-
Whole School Welcome Back Letter 03.01.23
Tue 03 Jan 2023Tuesday 3rd January 2023
Dear Parents,
Welcome back & Happy New Year! It has been fantastic to see everyone back in school today and it already feels like the spring term is very much up and running! We hope that everyone enjoyed the festive period and had the valuable opportunity to spend some family time together. Please see the information outlined below regarding timetabling this term.
Forest School for Mrs Raybould’s and Miss James’ classes will take place each Thursday during this term. Children should attend school in their Forest School clothing on this day.
PE Days – children should attend school in their school PE Kit on the following days:
Monday - Miss James’ Class
Tuesday – Mrs Oates’ Class
Thursday – Mrs Hunt’s Class (starting 12th January)
Friday – Mrs Raybould’s Class
Mrs Hunt’s Class will be having their Swimming Lessons on Tuesdays this term, starting on 17th January with more detailed information to follow soon.
Extra-curricular activity clubs will begin on Monday 23rd January, and again, more details will follow separately in due course.
Please note that clubs will not run during the week commencing 27th February due to our Parent Consultations taking place that week, on Tuesday 28th February and Thursday 1st March. Further information on booking a slot and timings will be issued nearer the time.
We all look forward to an excellent term ahead.
Yours sincerely,
Rob Bothma
Head teacher
-
Whole School Letter 5th September 2022
Fri 09 Sep 2022Monday 5th September 2022
Dear Parents,
We are very much looking forward to welcoming all of the children and families back tomorrow with the wonderful excitement the start of a new school year brings. School looks fantastic, staff have done an amazing job over the summer making each classroom a welcoming and happy place for our children to learn at their best.
We just wanted to share with you some updates about the new school year which we hope will be of use.
Term starts tomorrow, Tuesday 6th September – the school gates open at 8.40am and close at 8.50am for the start of the school day.
The end of the day is at 3pm. Wraparound care can be booked here and runs from 8am until 4.15pm, with the exception of Fridays when it is only open before school. Information on after school Activity Clubs will be distributed in due course.
We will be welcoming parents back into our Friday Achievement Assemblies! This will be by invitation only in the first instance and you will receive a text message notifying you that your child has been chosen as ‘Star Worker’. We’ve always asked that parents please not to share this immediately with their child so they can be surprised in the assembly itself. We will review wider attendance as the year goes on. The first Achievement Assembly will take place, slightly later this year, on Friday 23th September due to maintenance work being carried out on the Hall floor at the start of term. Please note that during the hall refurbishment, week commencing the 12th September, Pershore High will only be able to supply packed lunches. If you wish to cancel your choices for this week please click here.
Over the summer holiday Mrs Hunt and Miss James have effectively swapped classrooms from the information previously stated. This means that Mrs Hunt’s class will now be the one occupied by Year 4 last year with Miss James in the classroom previously occupied by Years 2&3. Class teachers will of course be on hand first thing in the morning to talk the children through any changes so that they settle in as quickly as possible.
PE Days – Each class have been allocated their PE Day, where children should continue coming to school in their school PE Kit. These are arranged as follows: Year 5 – Tuesday, Year 2 – Wednesday, Cats Class (Reception and Year 1) – Thursday and Years 3&4 on Friday. Forest School will continue to take place on Fridays for Reception, Year 1 & Year 2. Should these change due to sports coaches visiting then you will of course be notified. Please note, children do not need to wear their PE Kit at all this week. Information on classes who are going swimming this term will be distributed to those classes in due course.
We will be starting the school year building on our children’s excellent knowledge of online safety right across the school. We will be reinforcing the messages of what to do if you are worried, keeping personal information safe, responsible use of technology and the importance of being kind to one another to create a better online world.
Finally, a reminder that class letters and the school newsletter are normally distributed together each Friday afternoon. We know that everyone is constantly bombarded with information, alerts and notifications from various sources these days and as a school are very mindful of this. We endeavour as much as possible to put everything families need to know in these weekly bulletins, only making changes to arrangements when absolutely necessary so everyone has the information they need about the week or term ahead.
We can’t wait to welcome the children back tomorrow and look forward to hearing about how everyone has got on over the summer break and are looking forward to a great term ahead!
Yours sincerely,
Rob Bothma
Head teacher
-
Whole School Newsletter 21st July 2022
Thu 21 Jul 2022Thursday 21st July 2022
Dear Parents,
As we come to the end of the academic year I know that our entire school community is extremely proud of the children and everything they have achieved. It has also been a wonderful final half term in school with many events running for the first time in almost three years. Sports Day in particular this year had an extremely special feel to it. Thank you for all of the positive comments and thank you once again to Mrs Hunt for organising the event. We were also delighted that Years 4&5 were able to attend a Residential Visit to Condover Hall, and are very grateful to the staff members who attended for ensuring the children had such an amazing time. Please click here for some highlights of their time away. Many other visits and experiences have been organised by our staff team for all of the children over this half term which have been brilliant at expanding the children’s knowledge and skills. Thank you also to everyone who has supported our superb PTFA this year too, the children were treated to an unforgettable ‘Colour Run’ in light of the excellent support we receive. Please see highlights here.
Of course, today we say farewell and good luck to our amazing Year 5 pupils who depart Cropthorne-with-Charlton CE First before moving on to pastures new. They are a fantastic group of children who are well prepared for the next step in their education and we are all very proud of them and all of the incredible things they have achieved during their time here. Good Luck Year 5!
Mrs Frances Jones departs us this year as she begins her very well-deserved retirement. Mrs Jones has been an integral part of the school for the past seventeen years, touching the lives of so many children and families over that time and her calmness and creativity will be fondly remembered not only by the children, parents and staff who are at Cropthorne now but by former colleagues and families of children who have previously left us and some of whom are now all grown up. Mrs Jones will be very much missed by us all and I know everyone wishes her the happiest of future years. Thank you so much, Mrs Jones.
As ever the support we have received from our families has been as superb as ever, we really are a community to be proud of! Thank you for all of your kind words, encouragement and commitment to the children’s schooling over this past year. Thank you also on behalf of all of the staff for your extremely kind and generous end of year gifts and wishes.
Lastly, I would like to thank all of the staff team for their truly exceptional hard work this academic year. There have been some significant challenges once again but with the positive and valued support we have received from our families we have been able to keep all classes open, keep the children in a place they love and are loved, and helped create some amazing experiences and treasured memories. The staff’s hard work and commitment to our children is outstanding and they are already preparing to, and will continue to prepare to make September the best it can possibly be. I am hopeful that everyone has a restful summer and has the opportunity to reflect and recharge.
School will reopen for all children on Tuesday 6th September at 8.40am. Until then, on behalf of everyone here at Cropthorne with Charlton CE First School I would like to wish every single member of our brilliant school community a wonderful, very special summer holiday.
Yours sincerely,
Rob Bothma
Head teacher
-
Whole School Letter 09.06.22
Thu 09 Jun 2022Thursday 10th June 2022
Dear Parents,
We have been delighted that the children have started the term in excellent fashion after a really memorable and very special end to the last half term, and some busy half term Jubilee celebrations for many! The final half term of the last academic year is an exciting one here at Cropthorne, and we look forward to running many events as we haven’t been able to do since all the way back in Summer 2019! This week, Year 5 led an outstanding Assembly on Honesty for the rest of the school, Cats Class are visiting the Black Country Living Museum to help bring to life their theme of Transport, and Year 5 have also been lucky enough to be invited to Richmond Village at Wood Norton for a fun filled day of activities. Year 2 have been busy working extremely hard through their end of key stage assessments, Year 1 have been taking part in their Phonics Screening and Year 4 are in the process of completing their online Multiplication Check too. The eagerly anticipated Year 4&5 Residential to Condover is approaching soon, Cats class will be visiting Sandfield Farm and the ‘History Man’ will be visiting Years 2&3 to expand their learning on Egyptians. Sports Day is scheduled for the afternoon of Thursday 30th June. All in all, school is very busy and exciting place to be at the moment!
We have also now finalised our class and staffing structure. We always aim to share these with our families as soon as we possibly can each year and are pleased to now be in a position to be able to do so. We firstly wished to inform you that Mrs Jones will be leaving us at the end of term after seventeen years at the school. We are very grateful for her contribution to our school over these many years and wish her the very best for her retirement. This means that along with Mrs Komor’s impending move to pastures new, and that following a rigorous and extremely intensive recruitment process, we have appointed two new members to our teaching team. We look forward to welcoming both Miss James and Mrs Oates to Cropthorne after the summer break, they are both extremely excited to be joining such a fantastic school and are very much looking forward to September.
Please see our classroom arrangements detailed below:
Classroom Arrangements for 2022/23
Cats Class: Mrs Raybould will be remaining in her current classroom for next year with Reception & Year 1. Mrs Raybould will be supported by Mrs Annis, Mrs Freeman & Mr Ramus.
Year 2: Miss James will be teaching Year 2. Miss James will be supported by Mrs Castle. Year 2 will move into the classroom currently occupied by Mrs Jones and her Year 4 class.
Years 3&4: Mrs Hunt will be teaching Years 3 & 4 this year and will be supported by Mrs Denney & Mrs Brown. These children will remain in the classroom they currently occupy with Mrs Komor.
Year 5: Mrs Oates will be teaching Year 5 and will be supported by Mrs Harrington. Year 5 will be moving into the room currently occupied by Mrs Hunt and our current Year 5s.
Class teachers will of course be directly in touch, in due course, as normal, with specific information for each class which may be helpful for you to know before the end of term. The children will (as in previous restriction free years) take part in a ‘Moving Up Day’ where they spend the day with the adults and children they will be working with next year in their new classrooms. This takes place on Wednesday 29th June, which is the same day as our soon to be Year 6 children will spend at their Middle Schools. We will also be welcoming our new Reception cohort on this day as part of their transition up to First School.
In the meantime, we all look forward to a fantastic term ahead.
Yours Sincerely,
Rob Bothma
Headteacher
-
Whole School Information Letter 17th March 2022
Fri 18 Mar 2022Thursday 17th March 2022 Dear Parents, It continues to be a challenging time for our pupils, families and staff due to the prevalence of positive cases of COVID-19 recently. We have been in regular contact with the Local Outbreak Response Team regarding the situation and for the moment school can continue to run as closely to normal as possible in line with our Risk Assessments. We will also continue to inform families when there are cases identified in school. Thank you to all of our families who continue to adopt a cautious approach to COVID-19 and illness generally and who are doing all they can to prevent the spread of infection amongst children, their families and staff. We will continue to do everything we possibly can to keep every class open, every day. Sometimes however, our efforts to do this can impact on some aspects of school operations, so thank you for continuing to bear with us if things do not run as smoothly as normal at times due to higher than normal levels of staff absence, it is our priority to ensure classes remain open. The staff team continue to be very flexible and are going to great lengths to cover each other’s classes, duties or working in different year groups when other staff are not able to be in school. Again in line with our Risk Assessments, under no circumstances should any individual who is testing positive for COVID-19 enter the school premises. If you need alternative arrangements to help support collection and drop off (for example if your child is testing negative, but you are positive and unable to come into school) we have been working with families on this and will continue to put these measures in place, please just let us know, and if we can help, we will. We know many of you are helping each other in this regard also. This has been the case right through the pandemic here at Cropthorne and we know everyone will continue to support each other through this latest challenging period. The latest government guidance is available for individuals who have tested positive is available here. Hopefully things will improve quickly and we are hoping the terms ahead will run smoothly, so we wanted to share with you with some provisional upcoming dates for the remainder of the academic year: Tel: 01386 860 246 www.cropthorneschool.ik.org office@cropthorne.worcs.sch.uk Cropthorne with Charlton C of E First School, Main Street, Cropthorne, Pershore, Worcestershire, WR10 3NB. Tuesday 22nd March: Final swimming session for Years 2&3 Thursday 31st March & Friday 1 st April: School Production at Number 8 Theatre, Pershore Monday 11th April – Friday 22nd April: Easter Break Bank Holiday Monday 2 nd May: Day 2 of Cropthorne Walkabout – attractions at school (TBC) & Y1/2 Maypole Dance at 1pm Tuesday 3 rd May: Swimming Lessons start for Year 1 pupils Monday 9 th– Friday 15th May: ‘Bikeability’ Week Monday 9 th May: Summer Term after school activity clubs begin Thursday 19th May: Parents Information Meeting for the Y4&5 Residential Visit Wednesday 25th May: Years 4&5 Bellboating Monday 30th May – Friday 3 rd June: Half Term Monday 13th – Wednesday 15th June: Years 4&5 Residential to Condover Hall Wednesday 29th June: ‘Moving Up Day’ – Children spend time in their classes for next year and Year 5 attend their Middle Schools Thursday 30th June: Sports Day (Reserve Day 7 th July) Please note this list is not exhaustive as the arrangements for some events still need to be finalised and further information on all of these will of course be issued nearer to the time. Tel: 01386 860 246 www.cropthorneschool.ik.org office@cropthorne.worcs.sch.uk Cropthorne with Charlton C of E First School, Main Street, Cropthorne, Pershore, Worcestershire, WR10 3NB. Thank you for your continuing support, Rob Bothma Headteacher
-
Whole School Letter Friday 7th January 2022
Fri 07 Jan 2022Friday 7th January 2022
Dear Parents,
It has been great to welcome our children back to school this week following the Christmas break, and although it is still a concerning and disrupted time for so many of us, it is an incomparably better situation than this time last year in terms of our children’s schooling.
We hope that everyone managed to have an enjoyable Christmas and New Year, and that our families’ plans were able to go ahead without being impacted too much by illness or self-isolation. Thank you again on behalf of all of the staff team for your kind gifts and wishes we all received at the end of last term. The children have returned to school extremely focused upon their learning and have quickly got back into familiar routines, which has been brilliant to see. It seems likely of course that pupils, staff and families at Cropthorne will continue to be impacted by COVID-19 in the coming weeks, and everyone can help play their part in limiting any potential disruption through continuing to follow the most recent guidance as we have done since the onset of the pandemic. Please take a moment to read through the latest guidance and advice here which we all will need to continue to follow, especially the advice around testing of ‘close contacts’ and when pupils can return to school following a positive test.
At school, staff will continue to test regularly, socially distance where we are able and keep handwashing (at key points during the day), and cleaning etc. as we did last term. Staff will continue to wear masks in communal areas and at the start and end of the day. Doors and windows will be kept open as much as possible for ventilation, whilst ensuring room temperatures remain comfortable. We have C02 monitors set up around school to identify where air is circulating poorly, and doors and windows are opened when they exceed the advised levels. We will continue to limit the length and frequency of whole school assemblies but children will be able to still play with other year groups outdoors. We will only move back to bubbles, separate entrances etc. as outlined in our contingency plan, if advised to by the Local Outbreak Response Team in response to increasing case numbers in school (you may recall we had to partially enact these measures prior to the October half term break) or if the DFE instructs schools to.
As in other sectors nationally, we along with other schools expect to be impacted by staff absence, either due to staff self-isolating themselves or caring for their own family members who are isolating. We will though do everything we possibly can to keep every class open, every day, so children can continue to attend school. Our efforts to do this may however impact on some aspects of school operations so please bear with us if things do not run as smoothly as normal at times due to staff absence. If faced with extremely high numbers of staff absence, with relief staff difficult to source due to high demand across the educational sector, and we find we are unable to operate safely, we may have no option to but to enact a short term closure of one or more year groups/classes or in extreme circumstances the whole school. As you would expect, these measures would be a very last resort. Staff have been, and I know will continue to be, very flexible in order to ensure children’s experiences at school are not disrupted through covering each other’s classes, duties or working in different year groups when other staff are not able to be in school. Therefore, we ask that everyone please understand that we never take cancellations, postponements or changes to arrangements lightly, but the next few weeks may be very challenging indeed in our attempts to operate as normally as possible. We are resolved to doing so however and hope that we can navigate this period with as little disruption as possible. It is again still extremely important that everyone continues to follow the latest guidance to provide us with the best chance of ensuring school remains fully open to everyone and children can access the fantastic educational experiences which they deserve every single day.
Years 2&3 are scheduled to restart their swimming lessons next week and I know Years 4&5 are very excited to have received their letters detailing their residential trip planned for later this year. Things are of course still far from ‘normal’ but the children have been brilliant throughout and we hope that the next few months will see a return of more familiar events, such as our Nativity Performances and Carol Service which took place last term and those outlined here, which we know mean so much to all of us.
Thank you for your continuing support,
Rob Bothma
Headteacher
-
Whole School Letter 16th December 2021
Fri 17 Dec 2021Thursday 16th December 2021
Dear Parents,
Incredibly, despite the challenges that families and schools continue to face, we find ourselves at the end of a very successful term here at Cropthorne with Charlton CE First. Recent weeks have seen a flurry of festive activity, I am sure one of the highlights for many of us was the thoroughly enjoyable performance of the Nativity story at Fladbury Church. The children performed and sang superbly and it was wonderful to be able to have our families back in attendance to watch them shine, the joy they took in putting on such an amazing show for everyone was fantastic to see. I know all the staff are very proud of all of the children, and particularly of Cats class and from all of the lovely comments from audience members it is clear we are not the only ones! I would like to thank everybody involved in putting on such a great show!
Last week we also enjoyed a visit from a very special someone who is very busy at the moment and managed to find time to stop and deliver presents to all our pupils at Cropthorne, we really appreciated his visit and all of the hard work put in by his many elves to make sure everyone received a gift. Thank you Elves! Pershore High also delivered us a lovely Whole School Christmas dinner, all the children and staff looked great in their Christmas Jumpers. We are also very thankful to all the parents who came to help serve the children’s dinner, it was quite the undertaking but lots of fun!
A selection of other recent events which have been taking place have included a brilliant Christmas Disco & Grotto last week, thank you to all the parents and staff who volunteered to make the event such a success. Years 4 & 5 were this week treated to a visit to Cheltenham Everyman Theatre to watch Jack and the Beanstalk, whilst Years 2 & 3 loved their Magic Show, which took place at the Village Hall. Cats Class have enthusiastically headed off to Smart Trees today for some festive magic too! These events were made possible through the excellent support for the PTFA by parents and staff, thank you.
Of course all of this has taken place despite the continuing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the emergence of a new variant. In response to this all schools have been asked to revisit their contingency plans and you will have noticed that staff and visitors are required to wear face coverings once again. As outlined previously our contingency plans here at Cropthorne would likely mean a return to consistent groupings (often referred to as bubbles), the use of separate entrances to avoid staggered starts at collection and drop off, requesting the use of face coverings and social distancing at these times, and the suspension of school gatherings such as in person assemblies. These routines of course will be familiar to many of you as this is very similar to how we were required to operate last year. Of course we all hope these measures are not necessary, and that we can start next year, in school, in the same way in which we have finished this one. We will of course let you know in January if any changes to our operations are required.
We were informed by the Department of Education that one change which has now come into effect this week, is that if children, staff or visitors have been identified as close contacts of a positive case of COVID-19 (for example as part of their household) then they will need to send school confirmation of a negative Lateral Flow Test, each day, for a period of 7 days, prior to attending. Confirmation of this result should be sent to office@cropthorne.worcs.sch.uk. We know many families are testing frequently in any case, alongside all staff who test at least twice weekly.
We conclude our term with a traditional Carol Service on the school playground starting at 11.15am, where we will take time to pause and reflect on this wonderfully special time of year. Families are warmly invited to attend, although if there are large numbers in attendance please be aware seating is limited, so we kindly ask that it is provided to those who may need it most. There will be plenty of standing room available. Children will very briefly return to their classes before dismissal onto the playground in the normal manner at 12pm.
School will reopen for children on Wednesday 5th January. Until then, I truly hope that all of our families plans for the festive season remain able to be fulfilled and on behalf of everyone here at Cropthorne with Charlton CE First I would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and an extremely Happy New Year.
Yours sincerely,
Rob Bothma
Head teacher