Keep up to date with all the latest news happening in school at the moment.
Dear Parents and Carers,
Schools continue to play an important role in contact tracing for those pupils and staff who continue to attend their school. Where pupils or staff still attending their school test positive having developed symptoms within 48 hours of being in school, the school is asked to assist in identifying close contacts and advising self-isolation, as the individual may have been infectious whilst in school.
During half term I will still be checking my emails to ensure we pick up any emails from staff and parents where children who have been attending school have tested positive for Covid-19. If your child develops symptoms please ensure you get them tested swiftly and let me know any positive cases by replying to this email or emailing head.berkeleyprimary@northlincs.gov.uk. I will then take the relevant action. Staff, parents and carers should follow contact tracing instructions provided by NHS Test and Trace.
Please email me if you have any queries.
Best wishes
Anna Cvijetic
Headteacher
Dear Parents and Carers,
The Department for Education has recently announced that it will start a programme of asymptomatic Covid-19 testing for staff (not children) in primary schools. Along with the other protective measures we are taking, testing will allow us to take further measures to help our staff and children to work in as safe an environment as possible.
Up to one in three people who have Covid-19 have the virus without symptoms so could be transmitting the virus unknowingly. Tackling the pandemic requires identifying asymptomatic, infectious individuals. By testing, we will help to reduce the spread in schools.
Lateral Flow Device (LFD) tests have been widely and successfully used to detect COVID-19 in asymptomatic individuals. No test is perfect, but the speed and convenience of LFD tests supports detection of the virus in asymptomatic individuals who would not otherwise be tested. They are clinically approved and are crucial in the fight against the virus. As the tests are more sensitive with higher viral loads, there is a risk of returning a negative result when viral loads are low (e.g. in the early stages of infection). This is why Public Health England recommend two LFD tests 3 to 4 days apart, or regular testing, to enhance detection by picking up any cases which were not detected during the first test and to catch any new infections.
We have received these tests at Berkeley Primary School yesterday and have trained and distributed them to our staff who will begin using these tests next week. We will be testing ourselves at home twice a week.
As we are currently already doing, if there are any positive cases of Covid-19 in school, we will inform anyone who has been in contact with that individual. This may include a year group bubble of children and staff, and they will be informed to self-isolate for a stipulated amount of time.
I would like to remind you that it is very important that if your child or anyone in your household displays Covid-19 symptoms you should all self-isolate, ring 119 or go to www.gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test and book a Covid-19 test for the person with symptoms. The symptoms are:
I wish you all well.
Best wishes
Anna Cvijetic
Headteacher
Morning Everyone,
I have attached this weeks timetable for the BBC programmes. There is some good things on this week so I would recommend you have a look. I really rate the Horrible Histories programmes which are on at 10.15am each day and I've heard really good reviews of the celebrity supply teachers too.
Good luck with the home learning this week. Keep at it and don't forget to do some reading.
Best wishes
Anna Cvijetic
Headteacher
Good morning,
Here are some reading resources you can use at home.
These resources are mainly stories being read aloud online.
Also, Oak Academy has launched a library. Via their website they have an author of the week (this week is Jacqueline Wilson). One of her books has been scanned to read online and there are downloadable activities to accompany the book. It also has an interview with her and her son.
I hope you all have a good week.
Anna Cvijetic
Headteacher
Dear Parents and Carers,
We have a significant number of children accessing in-school provision which is concerning us. The numbers in school are much higher than the last lockdown. The clear Government message is to stay at home if at all possible to reduce the number of contacts. This will help to keep our school families and staff safe. Please seriously consider whether you need to use a school place and only use us when essential around your work pattern.
North Lincolnshire Council have sent the following message out:
To help prevent the spread of Covid-19, schools are closed to most pupils and are providing remote learning instead.
The only children that must be in school are those with a social worker or an 'education, health and care plan'. All other children should remain at home.
It may be possible for your child to have some time in school if you work in health, social care, emergency services or other jobs deemed critical in the response to Covid-19. Even if you are in one of these roles, please think carefully about whether you really need a school place at this time and keep your children at home if you can.
Stay home, protect the NHS, save lives.
The link below gives more information about alternative childcare by making a childcare bubble:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/making-a-childcare-bubble-with-another-household
BERKELEY PRIMARY SCHOOL Arrangements for partial school opening Effective Wednesday 6th January 2021 |
I hope that you and your family are well and thank you once again for your continued support over this very challenging period. As you read this newsletter, with the changes and adjustments, please be assured that the safety of children, families and staff is our priority and is always at the forefront of our decisions. The school’s leadership team, including governors, recognise the importance and the seriousness of the decision to close schools once again to the majority of pupils. At all times, we will continue to be guided by Government and Local Authority advice and our overriding focus will be on ensuring that school is as safe as we possibly can make it for those who continue to attend.
To ensure that we are fully prepared to receive your children kindly support us with the arrangements and expectations cited in this letter. As we once again try this out, there may be changes along the way and we must be flexible to adapt. This newsletter is to be as transparent as possible, with our community, in our procedures during this period. We ask that you read it carefully and discuss this with your children in a child friendly way so they understand what the expectations of them and their behaviour will be and to prepare them to come back to school. These procedures will be in place until further notice.
Home Learning
For the children that will not be attending school we will be using remote learning to provide education for children. This will be done using Tapestry for Nursery and Reception. For Years 1 to 6 this will be done using Google classroom, using the links the children had previously. Support for this will be on the school website on the Home Learning page, we are just setting this up and plan on the first lessons being ready tomorrow. Next week, Monday to Thursday, we will begin ‘live’ lessons each day. Y1 and Y2 will be story-telling, show and tell, checking in with any queries on work, etc. Y3 to Y6 will be more formal input for Maths and English. Maths will be on a Monday and Wednesday, English will be on a Tuesday and Thursday. The times for these are:
|
Oak |
Holly |
Beech |
Y1 |
2pm |
2pm |
2pm |
Y2 |
2pm |
2pm |
2pm |
Y3 |
9.30am |
10.15am |
11.00am |
Y4 |
1.10pm |
1.50pm |
2.30pm |
Y5 |
9.30am |
10.15am |
11.00am |
Y6 |
1.10pm |
1.50pm |
2.30pm |
We have tried to stagger times to allow siblings to access the live lessons. It may be you have siblings at the same time, if this is the case please contact us so we can see if we can solve this issue. If you cannot access the live lesson at this time, the recording of it will be available afterwards for you to look at. We will be setting three lessons every day (English, maths and a foundation subject) which should take at least 3 hours a day. We will provide feedback at least weekly for English and maths activities.
Government essential measures include:
Please do support the decisions that we make, even if they negatively affect your own arrangements. The logistics have been very difficult to pull together, taking various factors into consideration. Sincere gratitude, once again, for all your support and patience at this time. Take care and continue to stay safe; you are all in our thoughts.
Anna Cvijetic (Headteacher)
Kindly adhere to any markings/signs around the school – thank you!
Critical Workers and Vulnerable Children attending school |
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Children’s Groups |
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Office/Communication/Contact with Staff |
Start and End of the Day |
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Health and Hygiene |
Entrance for the start and end of the day |
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In the Classroom |
Lunchtime |
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Lates and Early Pick-ups |
Behaviour |
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Around School |
Activities |
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Uniform |
PE / Outdoors |
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Tuesday – Year 2 and 3 Wednesday – Year 6 Thursday – Year 1 and 5 Friday – Year 4
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Display of Symptoms |
First Aid and Medication |
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Dear Parents and Carers,
Key workers
I received the Government guidance just before 11pm and having had a few productive working hours planning arrangements, I can confirm that we will be able to open on Wednesday 6th January 2021 for key workers and vulnerable children of Nursery to Year 6. We will be offering child care between the hours of 9am and 3.15pm, our normal school hours. Nursery will be able to attend during our normal nursery hours (Monday and Tuesday 9-3.15, Wednesday 9.00-11.30am. We will not be able to offer breakfast club during the lockdown period.
A google form will be sent out during the morning for parents of key workers to complete, applying for a place if they need one. I ask that you complete this as quickly as possible and you will be contacted later in the day to confirm your place. Please do not telephone school as we will need to keep the lines clear to make outgoing calls and staff will be busy helping with this.
Please only ask for a place if it is a necessity. The Government have been clear that they need to use every lever at their disposal to reduce all contacts outside households wherever possible. Limiting attendance is about reducing the number of contacts that all of us have with people in other households. If there is another adult in your household that can care for your child, this should be your first option. Childcare bubbles are also still allowed in this lockdown (If you live in a household with anyone aged under 14, you can form a childcare bubble. This allows friends or family from one other household to provide informal childcare). A current list of key workers is listed at the bottom of this email.
Children attending school will be accessing and completing the online learning that is planned for the whole class in school with the support of school staff. As last time, we will be flexible with hours and you should only use us on the days and for the hours that you are working.
Free School Meals
During the period of national lockdown, we will continue to provide meal options for all children who are in school. Meals will be available free of charge to all infant pupils and pupils who are eligible for benefits-related free school meals who are in school. Those parents who normally pay will be expected to do so as normal. Children attending school will also have the option to bring a packed lunch.
The Government have also instructed that we will continue to provide food parcels for pupils who are eligible for benefits related free school meals who are not attending school. Guidance on free school meals has been produced by the Lead Association for Catering in Education, Public Health England and the Department for Education. It sets out some general principles for putting together a food parcel which will allow parents and carers to prepare simple and healthy lunches for their children at home across the week. Food parcels must be distributed in line with guidance on social distancing at all times. As soon as the kitchen have the bags ready we will inform families and make arrangements for them to collect their parcels ensuring social distancing measures are in place. The Government have not made arrangements for vouchers this time.
Remote Learning
There is an expectation by the Government that children that are at home should continue their learning using remote education. Our staff are now well prepared for this, having had training and we have systems in place to facilitate this. We will begin this on Wednesday. The Government expects schools to:
We need every parents' support in making the home learning a success and ensuring our children engage with this. We will be contacting those parents who may need resources to help them access the online learning.
We understand this is a very concerning time and you will have many questions. We ask that you bear with us while we put the necessary plans in place. I thank you again for your continued support that we receive through these difficult times. We at Berkeley Primary are still here to support our children, families and wider community.
Best wishes
Anna Cvijetic (Headteacher)
List of Critical workers
Parents whose work is critical to the coronavirus (COVID-19) and EU transition response include those who work in health and social care and in other key sectors outlined in the following sections.
Health and social care
This includes, but is not limited to, doctors, nurses, midwives, paramedics, social workers, care workers, and other frontline health and social care staff including volunteers; the support and specialist staff required to maintain the UK’s health and social care sector; those working as part of the health and social care supply chain, including producers and distributors of medicines and medical and personal protective equipment.
Education and childcare
This includes:
Key public services
This includes:
Local and national government
This only includes those administrative occupations essential to the effective delivery of:
Food and other necessary goods
This includes those involved in food:
Public safety and national security
This includes:
Transport and border
This includes those who will keep the air, water, road and rail passenger and freight transport modes operating during the coronavirus (COVID-19) response and EU transition, including those working on transport systems through which supply chains pass and those constructing or supporting the operation of critical transport and border infrastructure through which supply chains pass.
Utilities, communication and financial services
This includes:
Dear Parents and Carers,
Most of you will be aware that tonight the Prime Minister has announced a new lockdown for England. This includes closing schools for children except those that are vulnerable and children of key workers.
Our school will be closed for all pupils tomorrow whilst we make our arrangements and receive the Government guidance (Tuesday 5th January 2021). We will be ready and able to open on Wednesday 6th January 2021 ready to take in key worker and vulnerable children.
Tomorrow we will be sending out a form for you to apply for key worker places if you are eligible. We will contact vulnerable families tomorrow to offer places. Please do not email or phone school to apply for a place as it will need to be done this way to ensure no applications get lost. We will work as swiftly as we can to ensure good communication over the next few days.
We are deeply disappointed that we shall not be seeing most of you for a while. Look after yourselves, stay safe and thank you for your continued support.
Anna Cvijetic (Headteacher)