Keep up to date with all the latest news happening in school at the moment.
Dear Parent/ Guardian,
As I have previously explained, finer details about the proposed expansion of pupil numbers are being worked on. There will be further details available by the beginning of next week but, for now, there are some things which I am sure it would be useful for parents to have a greater understanding of and a chance to consider.
It is perhaps prudent, at this moment, to reiterate that this is not an ideal situation for anybody and that, currently, we are working hard to find solutions to problems which have not been faced before. Nobody wishes for our normal school life to return more than I, but we must find alternative ways of working for now.
Will my child be in their normal classroom, with their normal teacher?
Unfortunately, there will be no way to guarantee this and, for lots of pupils, it will definitely not be possible. This means that pupils may find themselves with different members of staff and pupils than usual, and in a different part of the building. As I am sure you can appreciate, there is simply no way for all pupils to be able to return to their normal classrooms and members of staff and, whilst I understand that this may be a wish for most parents, it will not be practicable to do this given the restraints that we are currently working to. We have cohorts of up to 35 pupils in each year group, meaning that we require at least five bubbles to cover all EYFS and Year 1 pupils alone. For some pupils, this may make the transition back into school more demanding, for others they may see it as an opportunity to work with someone new. For the time being, although difficult to accept, the concept of the traditional class needs to be shelved by all of us for now.
Why are we doing this?
The Government have asked us to ensure that pupils are re-grouped into bubbles of no more than 15, in order to reduce the risk of infection.
Will the children be kept ‘socially distant’?
We are working to create a system where pupils from different bubbles do not mix. There may be odd occasions when they pass each other in school e.g. on the corridor, but, in the main, they will be kept separate, including during periods of play. Within the bubbles, pupils cannot be expected to keep a two metre gap from one another, although our Junior pupils in particular will be encouraged to think about personal space.
Why?
Government guidelines make clear that ‘early years and primary age children cannot be expected to remain 2 metres apart from each other and staff’. Instead, schools are asked to work through a ‘hierarchy of measures’ to reduce the risk within these groups:
In reality, this means that our reception and year 1 pupils will continue to mingle within their own bubble – pupils at this age naturally wish to interact in close proximity with one another and, to not allow them to do so, would reduce a large amount of the purpose of school at this young age. It is also difficult to envisage how teaching at this age may be achieved if a distant was set between all pupils. Most importantly, experience tells us that young pupils may understand the concept of keeping a distance but are unlikely to stick to it.
Junior pupils will work in ‘spaced out’ settings, but our classrooms do not allow for a distance of two metres between desks. Junior pupils will be encouraged to consider reducing close contact with others but, at playtimes, this is unlikely to be maintained. Any pupils who wish to keep distant at playtimes will be given an area to utilise in order to do so but pupils will, most probably, choose to continue to mingle within their own bubbles. All pupils will be expected to use their own equipment only, and not to share. Ideally this means that children will have their own small pencil case from home, labelled, with some pencils etc to use.
It is really important to consider, within any guidelines, what are realistic expectations that can be achieved. While staying two metres apart sounds fine on paper, experience tells us that children will be unable to maintain this and it will be impossible for staff to police this fully. This, as stated before, is reflected in the Government guidelines.
Will this bubble stay the same at all times?
Our aim is to keep the bubbles the same as much as possible, consisting of maximum 12 pupils and no more than two staff at once (some bubbles may have staff on a rota due to contracted hours). Children cannot be in more than one bubble, meaning that pupils of key workers from other year groups will be kept separate in order to guard against those children needing to mix with more pupils than is necessary.
Why? As much as possible, we want to restrict the potential for transmission of the virus. This means keeping the same pupils and staff working together in a bubble as much as possible and, at this stage, staff not working with different bubbles unless it is absolutely necessary (such as due to illness). There, of course, may be occasions when small adaptations that may need to be made to this.
Will the curriculum be the same as before when the children return?
The school curriculum is likely to be different for a whole variety of reasons and the guidance makes clear that schools have the flexibility to take the best approach they consider fit. Creating a clearer idea of what can be taught, given the circumstances, is part of the ongoing staff discussions. We are also eager to continue to support those pupils who are not in school (of all ages) with home learning as much as we can, which has been a big part of our thinking.
Why? There are multiple reasons why the curriculum is likely to be very different:
As has been previously stated, the decision to send any eligible pupils back to school rests with parents. It is important that, where the details and implications of this choice are available, they are considered carefully by parents so that you are comfortable with them. This is why as a school, we are trying to come to a point where we can be as open as possible before we re-open to more children. That said, I am sure you can appreciate, some elements will be fine-tuned as we move through the next few weeks.
I will continue to support parents in making the right call for their child. If at any point you decide that you would prefer to keep your child at home, the government have made it clear that there will be no fines, and we as a school would completely support your decision. You need to do what is right for you and your family. Further details will be released as they become available.
Thank you for your continued support.
Stay safe,
Mr. Matthews
Dear Parents,
I write to you as a follow up to my APP post from Friday. As you will be aware, the Government has made announcements about the need for schools to begin to prepare for a phased reintroduction of pupils from the beginning of June. The full details of how this will work are gradually becoming available, but it is vital that you, as parents, understand the position that we are now in as a school and the reasons why. Ultimately, at whatever point the Government and the local authority deem it wise for your child to return to school, it will be for our whole school community to work out whether that is in the best interests of every individual. You will have noted that I have continually said that, as a school, we will support the decisions of parents during these times and that has not changed. Outlined below is what we currently know:
Who has been asked to return?
Plans are being created for pupils in Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 only, to begin to return from June 8th.
Places will still be available for children of key workers in the same way that they have been since the end of March. Any clinically extremely vulnerable pupils will still not attend school as the shielding advice is still in place for these children.
Why Reception, Y1 and Y6?
These are the year groups and guidelines stipulated by the Government. The beginning of June date will only be confirmed once the Government’s ‘Five tests’ have been met, which is why we have currently been asked to prepare for the possible eventuality but cannot yet confirm all of the details.
When will these pupils return?
Our local authority have indicated that schools in Blackburn with Darwen should aim for an 8th June start, for Reception class only. This is dependent on the 5 indicators the government are using to determine whether it is safe enough for children, staff and all of their families.
Government proposals require pupils to be kept in groups of no more than 15 (plus staff, most likely one teacher and one TA). We will endeavour to keep those staff members the same at all times, to reduce the risk of spreading infection. We envisage this as being known as their ‘bubble’, in which we will try to keep them away from all other groups in school at all times. In order to accommodate all pupils in the suggested year groups at one time, we would be at full capacity for staffing and school space. This means that, should the number of childcare requests increase, we would be unable to continue to provide full time education. It is also a part of the Government ‘Road Map’ for all year groups to return by the end of term. Without further clarification about how this can be managed, it is difficult to envisage how this could be achieved full time without a significant change to the guidelines.
We therefore do not want to create a system in which some pupils return full time for a few weeks, only to need to reduce this amount of time at a later point. We feel that this will disadvantage all parents unduly and, most importantly, would harm any transition work that is done to support the reintegration of pupils. A system at ‘full capacity’ from the off would also be damaging as, any staffing issues (such as a non-COVID19 illness), would immediately mean whole groups could not attend school. Further to this, it would be detrimental to our efforts to maintain a Home Learning programme, as staff would have limited time to develop this further with a full time teaching commitment and the planning and preparation this involves; when we have all (staff, pupils and parents) worked so hard to make this system effective, it would be a real shame for this to stop (although there will likely need to be modifications to this after June 8th in some format). We do not, in any way, wish to disadvantage pupils who are not attending school and want to ensure that we can provide the best provision possible for all within the limitations we find ourselves in.
Whatever system is settled upon, a carefully managed transition should hopefully allow this arrangement to be maintained for a longer period of time (certainly through to the end of term).
If my child is eligible, is it compulsory for them to attend school?
The Government is encouraging pupils to attend but it is the choice of parents. There will be no fines for non-attendance and we will support parents, whatever decision is made.
The Government has relaxed the attendance regulations. The full information is contained within the Government guidance for parents and carers, which I would encourage you to read and outlines some of the guidance that we are working to.
What are the next steps?
Further details around how the ‘bubble’ system will work will be discussed over the next few days between staff and governors. In order to plan more efficiently, it would be really useful to gain a better understanding of which pupils in EYFS, year 1 and year 6 are likely to return before the end of term. These answers are not a commitment to returning, but any parents who answer ‘no’ will be regarded as definitively not sending pupils and will therefore be unable to send their child for the first two weeks at least. The same question will be asked again in mid-June. Please complete the relevant survey for every eligible child in your house (please do not complete if your child is in any other year groups).
Reception
Year 1
Year 6
There are no definitive right answers at the moment. As a school, we are working hard to interpret the complexities of the Government advice in the context of our school. I would like to reiterate my commitment to supporting you in making the best decisions for your child. We are a school of educational professionals, who are not privy to any further scientific information or understanding than is publically available, but we are working to understand this to make our school environment as safe as we can for pupils, staff and parents. I will be in contact when further details about how the school week will look have been developed and a detailed risk assessment has been completed.
Education will look very different (certainly in the short term) to that which we are all used to. Children may not be with their own teacher or with all of their friends.
Nobody knows more than the staff and I that the social and emotional impact of the past few months, for lots of pupils, has been significant and we need to address this before returning to our full academic curriculum.
I am frustrated that I cannot give you more details at present but the vagaries of some of the guidelines are still being developed, by the Government, Local Authority and unions, and, as I have stated, we are still trying to plan for implementing them at Ashleigh. I know that you will understand this and I thank you all again for the support and consideration that so many families have shown throughout this – it is a privilege to be the headteacher of our school and I assure you that I will keep you informed every step of the way. Getting this right, for every individual, is what matters.
Kind regards,
Mr. Matthews
Headteacher
Please email the school office office@ashleigh.blackburn.sch.uk, by Friday 22nd May, noon, at the latest. To indicate your intentions. Only email if your child is in Reception, Y1 or Y6.
Please note, if your R, Y1 or Y6 child has siblings in other classes, unfortunately, they will not be able to return at the same time.
Please include in your email the following:
The name of your child and year group
Either:
Yes, I would like my child to return to school before the end of term
Or
No, I would prefer to keep my child at home and continue with home learning.
I hope you're all staying safe and well. Following the news from Boris Johnson tonight, we all have lots of questions about the weeks ahead. We are working with our Local Authority and once we have had advice and guidance from them, we will let you know what may happen going forward. Until then, things will stay the same and school will only be open to key workers children that have been in school over the last few weeks, and then only when absolutely necessary. Thank you for your continued support of school.
Mr. Matthews 🌈😁