Keep up to date with all the latest news happening in school at the moment.

• Rag Bag Scheme- Money for School

  Fri 28 Feb 2020

  Our school currently takes part in the 'Rag Bag' scheme.

  If you have any unwanted clothes then please bag these up and put them in our 'Rag Bag' bin, which is situated at the corner of our car park near the Infant entrance. This scheme pays our school for every Kg that is donated. 

   

  The following items are accepted:

  •  Wearable Clothing
  •  Paired Shoes
  •  Handbags
  •  Belts

   

  Please take a look at the certificate below from the previous collection.

  

• Coronavirus (Covid 19) concerns

  Thu 27 Feb 2020 Anna Cvijetic

  Dear Parents and Carers,

   

  Re: Coronavirus (Covid 19) concerns

   

  You’re likely aware of the outbreak of novel coronavirus and the subsequent confirmed cases in the UK. At Berkeley Primary School, we take the health and safety of our students and staff very seriously, so we’re sharing guidance from Public Health England and North Lincolnshire Council on steps you should be taking.

  https://www.gov.uk/guidance/wuhan-novel-coronavirusinformation-for-the-public

   

  We will keep you informed about any developments and want to reassure you that we’re keeping the school clean to prevent the spread of any virus. All children have recently been taught a refresher lesson about hand washing and we will continue to encourage children to do this. 

   

  Prevent the spread of infection

  Make sure you and your children follow these general principles to prevent spreading any respiratory virus:

   Wash your hands often – with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, or an alcohol-based sanitiser if soap and water aren’t available – we have taught the younger children to sing the ‘happy birthday’ song which takes about 20 seconds

   Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands

   Avoid close contact with people who are sick

   Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in a bin

   Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces in the home

   If you’re worried about your symptoms, please call NHS 111 – don’t go directly to your GP or other healthcare environment

   

  If you or your children have returned from a category 1 country or area in the past 14 days

  This includes:

   

   Wuhan city and Hubei province, China

   Iran*

   Daegu or Cheongdo, South Korea*

   Any Italian town under containment measures*

   

  *Only if you’ve returned on or after 19 February 2020

   

  Contact NHS 111 for advice, and:

   Self-isolate for 14 days after leaving the country or area (see the home isolation advice sheet for help with this - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/wuhan-novelcoronavirus-self-isolation-for-patients-undergoing-testing/advice-sheet-home-isolation )

   If you become unwell, call NHS 111 immediately for an assessment (or 999 if you require emergency medical attention) – see below for the symptoms to look out for

   

   

  If you or your children have returned from a Category 2 country or area in last 14 days

  This includes:

   

   Cambodia

   China (other than Wuhan city or Hubei province)

   Hong Kong

   Italy: North*

   Japan

   Laos

   Macau

   Malaysia

   Myanmar

   Singapore

   South Korea (other than Daegu or Cheongdo)

   Taiwan

   Thailand

   Vietnam

   

  *Only if you’ve returned on or after 19 February 2020

   

  If you or your children are well:

   You don’t need to avoid contact with other people

   Your other family members don’t need to take any precautions or make any changes to their own activities

   

  If you become unwell (see below for a list of symptoms):

   Stay indoors and avoid contact with other people as you would with other flu viruses (see the home isolation advice sheet for help with this - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/wuhan-novel-coronavirus-self-isolation-forpatients-undergoing-testing/advice-sheet-home-isolation )

   Call NHS 111 immediately for an assessment (or 999 if you require emergency medical attention)

   

  Symptoms to look out for

  If you’ve returned from any of the Category 1 or 2 areas or countries, look out for the following symptoms:

   Cough

   Difficulty in breathing

   Fever (a temperature of 38 degrees C or higher)

   

  According to other official guidance, while you wait for further advice:

   Avoid contact with others

   Stay at home – don’t go to work or school

   Don’t travel while sick

   Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve (not your hands) when coughing or sneezing, throwing tissues in the bin

   Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds (or an alcohol-based sanitiser if soap and water aren’t available)

   

  We will keep you updated on any developments to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our children, families and staff.

   

  Best wishes

  Anna Cvijetic         (Headteacher)

• Festival of Learning for Parents

  Fri 14 Feb 2020
  Free English and Maths courses are available for parents who would like a formal qualification. These are taking place during March. Please take a look at the flyer below for more details.

  

• Football Course- February Half Term 2020

  Fri 14 Feb 2020

  Bottesford Town Football Club are running a football course during February Half Term. Please take a look at the flyer below for more details.

  Thank you

  

• Free taster sessions in February 2020 Half Term

  Fri 14 Feb 2020

  There are free taster sessions such as lego club, bike maintenance and parkour (obstacle course) taking place for children in the half term holidays. Please take a look at the flyers below for more details including venues and dates/ times.

  Thank you

  

• Fundraising event for Lindsey Lodge on 15th February 2020

  Thu 13 Feb 2020

  Some pupils from our school have worked really hard to organise a fundraising event for Lindsey Lodge Hospice. This will be taking place on Saturday 15th February 12.30pm-3.00pm at Frodingham Community Centre.

   

  If you are wanting to attend then please take a look at the flyer below for more information. 

   

  Thank you

  

• Safer Internet Day 2020

  Tue 11 Feb 2020 Iain Dalgleish

  Dear Parents/Carers,

  Today we have joined schools and youth settings across the UK in celebrating Safer Internet Day 2020. Safer Internet Day is a global campaign to promote the safe and responsible use of technology, which calls on young people, parents, carers, teachers, social workers, law enforcement, companies, policymakers, and wider, to join together in helping to create a better internet.

   

  Using the internet safely and positively is a key message that we promote at Berkeley Primary School and celebrating Safer Internet Day is a great opportunity for us to re-emphasise the online safety messages we deliver throughout the year.

   

  We’d be delighted if you could join us in celebrating the day by continuing the conversation at home. To help you with this you may be interested in downloading the free Safer Internet Day resource pack for parents and carers which is available here: saferinternet.org.uk/sid-parents.

  There are also top tips, a quiz and films which you can use at home with your child.

  Some other resources which you may find helpful in supporting your child online are:

  • Advice for parents and carers from Childnet
  • Tips, advice and guides for parents and carers from the UK Safer Internet Centre
  • Guides on popular apps and games from NetAware
  • Reviews and information about games, apps, TV shows and websites from Common Sense Media
  • Help on using parental controls and privacy settings from Internet Matters
  • Information and reporting of online grooming or abuse from CEOP

   

  Online safety is an important issue which as a school we’re committed to teaching our children about.

   

  If you have any concerns or questions about keeping your child safe online, please do get in touch with your child’s class teacher or myself.

   

  Thank you for your support,

  Mr Dalgleish

  Computing Coordinator

• A new way of teaching reading in the Juniors

  Fri 07 Feb 2020 Anna Cvijetic

  Dear Junior Parents,

   

  Why read?

  Reading skills are important to your child’s success as an adult and allow them to access the breadth of the curriculum in school.  Reading is fun and an imaginative time for children which opens doors to all kinds of new worlds for them.  Evidence informs us that children who read for enjoyment every day not only perform better in tests, but also develop a broader vocabulary, increased general knowledge and better understanding of other cultures. 

   

  What is going well?

  We have been reviewing how we teach reading in our school and researching how children best learn reading.  Our reading session as part of the ‘English’ lesson and phonics lessons are working well and children are making good progress in these lessons.  Children and staff really love the DEAR (Drop Everything And Read) sessions that are the last 20 minutes of every day to read for enjoyment.  Our children really like the new ‘Bug Club’ online reading books.

   

  New – ‘Book Club’

  We have decided to make some changes to improve our ‘Guided Reading Sessions’.  After February half term all the junior children will start ‘Book Club’.  The children will be in a group of up to 8 other children with an adult (teacher or TA) and they will meet to read every day for about 20 minutes.  Because the children are reading in an intense session every day and discussing the book, the flow of the book will be much better and we are hoping to get through lengthier books, stretching the children.

   

  Each child will have their own copy of the book.  At the end of the session the children will be set some pages to read independently, this can be done in the evening at home or at morning playtime in school.  The children will also have a reading notebook to make any notes that has interested them, any vocab they are unsure of or any phrases they want to discuss.  The next session will start with a discussion of what the children have read so it is essential you support us to ensure they are reading their pages.

   

  The children may continue taking books home from school to read, and they will select these from their classrooms.  In the Juniors, because the children will be reading every day, we will no longer be counting the ‘at least 3 reads’ at home and will not be using the blue reading records.

   

  The staff are all very excited about starting the new ‘Book Club’.  We have had several training opportunities to ensure we get the best from the children in the sessions.  We have also been busy purchasing new sets of books that we hope the children will enjoy.  We have been ensuring the children have a mixture of fiction and non-fiction.  The non-fiction will support our wider curriculum so children will be able to enjoy books about history, geography, science, etc, that we hope will be another opportunity for children to learn their ‘sticky’ knowledge.  The fiction books we have chosen include poetry, classics, famous authors, science fiction, sports themed, etc.  The staff have put requests in for some of their favourite books.  As we get going the children will be able to let us know books that they would like to read in their Book Club and we will continue to build the stock. 

   

  Parents reading with their children

  Just because we are no longer checking the three reads at home this does not mean we don’t want you to read with your children.  Research has shown that children need parents to be their reading role model.  We need our parents to support us with reading on a regular basis to ensure that our children develop their reading skills.  Daily is best practice.  You can read the pages your child has been set with them or we encourage you to read books you have at home, the ‘Bug Club’ online books or select books from your child’s classroom. 

   

  Remember:

   "It's one of the most pleasurable activities that you do with your child - there's physical closeness but it's probably the most unhurried time that children have with their parent and it is focused on them."

  Zuckerman Feb 2016

   

  We appreciate your support in ensuring your child has read their set pages, bringing their book back to school each day and keeping their book in a good condition. 

   

  If you would like to discuss this new approach further, please do so next week with your child’s class teacher at parent consultations.  Miss Howlett and I will also be in the junior hall to discuss it. 

   

  Best wishes

   

   

  Anna Cvijetic

  Headteacher

  

• Attendance update

  Thu 06 Feb 2020 Anna Cvijetic

  Dear Parents and Carers

   

  Attendance News

   

  Many thanks for the support of the vast majority of parents and carers in the school for ensuring good attendance for our children.  Our attendance figure for the last academic year was 96.13% and so far this year it has gone down to 94.52%.  We are striving to improve this – we want every child to be 100%.  Good attendance is essential for a successful future for your child.  Research shows that some young people who regularly miss school can be drawn into anti-social behaviour or crime.  We want all our children to be happy and achieve, we want them to have a good education so they have choices and opportunities in adult life.

   

  We monitor attendance very carefully so that we can support families.  The Government have defined the ‘persistent absence threshold’ as 90%.  We write and speak to parents on a regular basis if their attendance or punctuality is causing a concern and put in place measures to try to improve this.

   

  Holidays / Leave of absence in term time

  I would like to take this opportunity to remind you that in September 2013, the Department for Education made amendments to the leave request regulations.  We had to revise our school policy based upon this new government regulation.  In summary, the new legislation states that:

  • the current law does not give parents any entitlement to take their children out of school for a holiday during term time;
  • any application for leave must only be in ‘exceptional’ circumstances and the Headteacher must be satisfied that the circumstances are ‘exceptional’;
  • in ‘exceptional circumstances’ a request for absence must be made in advance to the Headteacher, who will inform you of his/her decision prior to booking the leave;
  • if a request for leave is not authorised by the Headteacher and the pupil does not attend school, the absence will be recorded as unauthorised, which then stays on a child’s permanent record.

   

  We are required by law to report unauthorised absences to the Local Authority, who may issue a Fixed Penalty Notice, which means a parent may be fined by the Education Inclusion Service (EIS).  I must also make parents aware that due to equalities legislation, fixed penalty notices will now be issued to all parents who have parental responsibility and whom can be traced.  Please be aware that the proceeds from fixed penalty fines DO NOT go to the school. 

   

  Should parents make the choice to take their child out of school on an unauthorised holiday they should not then declare this as a sickness absence.  We do ring to check, particularly when children inform us of the holiday or when they return from a sickness absence with a suspiciously deep sun tan!  As already stated, it is the Headteacher’s decision whether or not to authorise any absence and the mark given.

   

  Leave of absence during term time is not an entitlement and will not be granted for the sole purpose of a family holiday.  Leave of absence during term time interrupts continuity of teaching and learning and can disrupt the educational progress of individual children, creating disruption in schools.  Promoting regular school attendance is a key component in the Government’s strategy to raise educational standards. In order for children to reach their full potential and access the learning opportunities available to them, children must attend school regularly.  As a parent or carer you are required by law to ensure that your child attends school regularly.

   

  Absence for illness

  We would ask that parents and carers do not arrange for medical and dental appointments in school time wherever possible.  When this is unavoidable, then your child should return to school or come to school first before being collected for the appointment.  Please be aware that the school register is taken twice a day, so your child will receive an attendance mark in the morning and the afternoon.

   

  If your child is ill, you must phone the school each day they are absent.  Messages can be left on the phone system if there is no-one in the office to take your call.  Minor ailments, such as a headache or slight cold, are not acceptable reasons for failing to attend school.  Repeated absences may require the school to request that you obtain medical evidence from your doctor’s surgery or local pharmacy as recommended by the Government.

   

  Punctuality

  The school day starts at 9am, so your children should be in the school playground before this.  We open the doors at 8.50am to let the children in to school.  If your child arrives after 9am, they must go through the main office and sign in, as they will have missed registration in their class.  The school and EIS monitor this closely and will contact families if this occurs frequently.  If your child is late they are missing out on valuable school time and settling in time.  We start teaching immediately, they may also miss things like interventions and marking review time.

   

  If you have any questions about the school attendance procedures, please do not hesitate to contact the school.  Please accept my thanks for your full support in attendance and punctuality matters.

   

  Best wishes

   

  Anna Cvijetic

  Headteacher

   

• Coronavirus update from the Department for Education - Government

  Tue 04 Feb 2020 Anna Cvijetic

  All schools have received an email today from the Department for Education with advice about the Coronavirus.  I have included the contents below:

   

  Coronavirus – Advice for all early years providers, schools and further education providers

  The government is closely monitoring the spread of the Coronavirus and is taking action at home and abroad.

  The overall risk of Coronavirus to the UK remains moderate. However we understand that people may be concerned where there are children, students or staff returning from or visiting China.

  Public Health England and the Foreign Office have issued advice for anyone travelling to the area. This can be found at:

  https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/china https://www.gov.uk/government/news/wuhan-novel-coronavirus-and-avian-flu-advice-for-travel-to-china

  Latest information and advice can also be found at:

  https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus

  Please share this advice with your staff and cascade as appropriate.

  Advice for parents/guardians

  You should not be unduly worried about the possibility of your children catching the Coronavirus.

  There is no reason why your children should not continue to attend their early years, school or further education setting as normal.

  We recognise that some families or children may be planning to travel to China during the forthcoming half term period. If so, please refer to the FCO’s latest travel advice via the link above.