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

• Have a wonderful Christmas!

  Fri 18 Dec 2020 Mr. Matthews

  Well, we've reached the end of what has turned out to be a pretty fantastic term! Before we reopened for all children on the 1st September, it was hard to envisage how life in school would be. Our priority for children coming back to school was for things to be as 'normal' as possible and there to be at least a small part of their lives which looked similar to pre lockdown. What I didn't appreciate back then, was just how resilient children can be. They have come back almost as if nothing has happened over the last 9 months. That is testament to the brilliant support they have received from their parents and the efforts of our caring, dedicated staff.

  I know I've said this many times in recent months, but I really am privileged to be the headteacher of a school with amazing children, supportive parents and talented, committed staff.

  Thank you to you all.

  Have a lovely Christmas, and here's to a healthy and safe New Year.

  Mr. Matthews

   

  ps. see you all on Monday 4th January 2021!

• Mrs Huggill's retirement

  Thu 17 Dec 2020 Mr. Matthews

  Today, is a sad day for everyone in school. Mrs Huggill retires today after 22 years of dedicated service. The skills and expertise she has given Ashleigh will be extremely difficult to replace. She has taught and helped shaped the lives of many hundreds of children during her time with us. I know that without her, their experiences would have been a great deal harder and less enjoyable. On behalf of all those children, I thank you.

  Once life gets back to normal, we hope to continue to see a great deal of her, when her busy retirement schedule allows! In fact, although today is Mrs Huggill's last day officially, she loves school so much, that she's coming back on her very first day of retirement tomorrow!

  Thank you on behalf of all the staff, children, governors and parents for everything you have done for school over the years. I am sure that you would all want to join me in wishing Mrs Huggill, a long and very happy retirement.

  

• Last day of term arrangements and reporting of positive cases over Christmas

  Tue 15 Dec 2020 Mr. Matthews

  Class	Pickup time on Friday 18th December
  Reception-Rabbits	1pm
  R/1 - Bears	12.45pm
  Y1/2 - Peacocks	12.30pm
  Y3 - Frogs	1pm
  Y4 - Elephants	12.45pm
  Y5 - Dolphins	12.30pm
  Y6 - Giraffes	12.45pm

   

   

  It would seem opportune to clarify the arrangements should there be any positive cases of children or staff identified, once school has closed on Friday 18th December.
  Parents should contact school if a pupil tests positive, following symptoms that emerged within 48 hours of pupils being in school (anything up until 1pm on Sunday 20th December). If symptoms occur after that time, NHS Test and Trace will be the only point of contact.
  If there are any positive test results that follow symptoms within the 48 hour window, please email     office@ashleigh.blackburn.sch.uk.

  This email address will be monitored daily, only for reports of positive cases.

  
  If a positive case is identified within a bubble, parents will be informed via email. All pupils within that bubble, who have attended school in the 48 hours before any symptoms, would still be required to self isolate for 10 days. The rest of their household can continue as normal. This follows the Public Health
  England procedure that has been in place since schools returned in September. Up to and including 24th December, school will conduct the contact tracing on behalf of Public Health England. After this point, school is not expected to be on call, and NHS Test and Trace will deal with any positive cases (as these should not affect school directly)

   

  Stay safe and look after each other,

  Mr. Matthews

• Father Christmas visit to school

  Mon 14 Dec 2020
  Father Christmas made a flying visit to school this morning. It was quite rainy, so hopefully by Christmas the weather will be a little more wintery than today.

  

• Start and end times for school

  Mon 14 Dec 2020 Mr. Matthews
  Good morning. We have noticed that there are a few children regularly arriving at school after the class start time. It is vitally important that we keep children from different bubbles apart, which means that children must arrive at the allotted time and go in with their class, unless a separate arrangement has been agreed due to siblings. Children arriving at school more than 5 minutes late and then having no option but to come through the main entrance, increases their chances of coming across other children/adults from other bubbles, putting them at increased risk. As a school community we have done so well in keeping each other as safe as possible, with only a few days lost due to the isolation of classes so far. A lot of this can be attributed to the great efforts parents are making to do the right thing on a daily basis. Please help us to continue to keep children and families safe, by adhering to the class drop off and pick up times. Many thanks, Mr. Matthews

• Get ready for our fantastic festive showcase!

  Fri 11 Dec 2020

  Our Christmas song videos will go live on Monday 14th December. They will be uploaded to the website on a dedicated page. Click on the links in the table to take you to each class song.

  Rabbits

  Bears

  Peacocks

  Frogs

  Elephants

  Dolphins

  Giraffes

   

• Change from 14 days to 10 days isolation period

  Fri 11 Dec 2020 Mr. Matthews

  Please read this update from Public Health England. You will now only need to isolate for 10 days following contact with a confirmed case.

  UK Chief Medical Officers' statement on the self-isolation period: 11 December 2020 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)