Latest News

Tree planting in Whitehall Park

Tue 23 Mar 2021 Mr. Matthews

Children from Y6 planted 8 fruit trees in a section of Whitehall Park today, which is being turned into an orchard. Although it was hard work at times, it will be fantastic for children to see the tree they actually planted grow in the years ahead. Many thanks to Friends of Whitehall Park Supporters Group who kindly invited us to help.

Comic Relief Day Tomorrow!

Thu 18 Mar 2021 Mr. Matthews

Don't forget it's Comic Relief Day tomorrow!

Come to school in non uniform or dress up as a super hero. Don't forget to bring at least £1 for this brilliant charity.

Due to the current situation, for this year only, please don't let children bring in any red noses you've purchased from supermarkets. As much as we love to see them usually, sadly, they tend to get dropped and mixed up from time to time.

Stay safe and well,

Mr. Matthews

Parent's Evening during the first week back after Easter

Mon 15 Mar 2021 Mr. Matthews

Parent's Evening is due to take place the first week back after Easter. Classes will have different times and days during that week, with at least one evening and an additional afternoon available to book an appointment. We are using the same system as we did during the Autumn term, but have increased the time for each appointment to 10 minutes. The system will go live from this Friday. We will send you a reminder on Friday with details of the website and what you need in order to book a slot.

The end of another first week back!

Fri 12 Mar 2021 Mr. Matthews

We've reached the end of another successful first week back! The children have, as usual, been fantastic! Although many of the systems we have in place to address the current situation are now familiar, many thanks to everyone for persisting with them. Hopefully, in the coming weeks we will be able to dispense with face coverings on pickup and drop off.

As time passes, we will constantly review how we do things, and if there is a better way of doing something, we will make minor changes along the way.

Drop off and collection times for families with multiple children currently at Ashleigh still apply as they did before Christmas.

Parents with more than one child at Ashleigh can either:

1. Drop off and collect at the allotted time, either waiting on the playground with the child who has yet to go in, or indeed, leaving the premises and doing multiple drop offs and pick-ups. This is probably the best solution for children, as it means they are going in and leaving at the same as their classmates. This option is clearly more inconvenient to the adults doing the running around!

2. Drop off all the children at the earliest time which applies to any of their children, and pick up at the latest time which applies. For those families doing this, it is vital that children who are going in early still access the building through their class doors, as we don't want children having to walk through school and potentially having contact with children from other bubbles.

The various doors will close 5 minutes after the allotted times, so if you are late, you may find they have already closed.

Doors open at 8.30, 8.45 and 9.00am. So if you are late and find they have already closed, it may mean you have to wait for the next time they open, and let your child in then. If this happens, please make sure your child doesn’t get too close to the children who are coming in at that point.

No children should be entering school before their allotted times, unless they have a brother or sister who has an earlier time, and then it should be at that time.

We appreciate all the wonderful support you have shown school during the pandemic. Many many thanks for the lots of lovely comments you’ve sent to the office or to individual teachers, they are always really appreciated. We are very lucky to have such wonderful pupils, and to have parents who value education and encourage their children so brilliantly at home. I hope that the support you and your children received during the recent lockdown was just about right. We know that the remote learning can’t have been easy for parents and children at times, and we were blown away by your efforts. I know that the teachers and support staff worked tirelessly to provide remote learning for their children, whilst still teaching the 40-50% of children who were coming to school regularly, even on occasions, when they were poorly themselves and having to isolate. As I have said many times before, it makes me proud to be the headteacher of such dedicated staff, who truly want the very best for their children.

Hopefully, as more and more adults are vaccinated in the coming weeks, we will be able to gradually relax some of the restrictions we have in place currently. As they say, there is light at the end of the tunnel! J

Stay safe and well,

Mr. Matthews

Welcome back to school

Mon 08 Mar 2021 Mr. Matthews

Welcome back to school everyone! We were delighted to see all the children return today. Thank you parents for remembering your face coverings, hopefully in the coming weeks we can dispense with that additional measure.

The staggered start and end to each day is continuing for now, and is likely to be in place until the end of July. Please ensure you get to school on time, as doors will close about 5 minutes after the allotted time, so we can be sure that bubbles don't mix.

Reception, 9.00am – 3.30pm

R/ 1, 8.45am – 3.15pm

Y1/2, 8.30am – 3.00pm

Y3, 9.00am – 3.30pm

Y4, 8.45am – 3.15pm

Y5, 8.30am- 3.00pm

Y6, 8.45- 3.15pm

All the arrangements are very similar to how they were before Christmas.

Stay safe and well,

Mr. Matthews

Seeking a test reminder

Wed 03 Mar 2021 Mr. Matthews

Dear Parent,

This is a reminder about seeking a test if your child or anyone in your family have ANY of the 11 symptoms of COVID19.

The following was shared with families a few weeks ago.

A NEW warning about the need for a coronavirus test even if you don’t have the three classic symptoms of the disease has been issued.

Blackburn with Darwen’s director of public health Professor Dominic Harrison had said there are 11 other milder signs of Covid-19 infection.

They include a runny nose, a persistent headache, shortness of breath and vomiting.

The classic three symptoms which the NHS advises people to look out for are a high temperature, a new persistent cough and a loss of smell or taste.

Prof Harrison issued his alert following new guidance from the World Health Organisation.

He is advising people who display any of the raft of milder symptoms to get a coronavirus test as soon as possible.

Prof Harrison said: “At the moment, national instruction is for people to get tested if they are showing the three main symptoms: a high temperature, a persistent cough or a loss of smell or taste.

“However, many other countries advise residents to seek a test if they have any one of 11 known principal symptoms.

“They include: diarrhoea, a persistent headache, fever and chills, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, and nausea or vomiting. Across Lancashire we’ve seen reports of residents who have only experienced, for example, diarrhoea or a persistent and unusual headache lasting more than 24 hours who later turn out to have a confirmed Covid-19 case.

Please note, when you seek a test on the gov.uk website, you can still book a test, even if you or your child do not have one of the 3 main symptoms:

Temperature
Cough
loss of taste/smell

Even if you have any of the other symptoms, you can still book a test:

Vomiting
Fatigue
shortness of breath
body aches
headache
congestion
chills
runny nose
sore throat
congestion

There is a page further on when on the gov.uk test site, which asks you if your local authority has asked you to seek a test, it is on that page that you can click yes. You don’t have to pretend to have one of the 3 main symptoms to get tested, our local authority are keen for people to be tested if they have ANY of the symptoms highlighted in red above.

I hope that helps a little.

As ever, stay safe and well,

We are really looking forward to seeing you all next week.

Mr. Matthews

Reopening of school on Monday 8th March 2021

Tue 02 Mar 2021 Mr. Matthews

Purpose
The objective of this plan is to share with parents and stakeholders, how Ashleigh Primary will manage the full reopening of school on Monday 8^th March 2021

Back to School Summary
We are looking forward to welcoming all pupils back again, full time, from Monday 8^th March. Over the last couple of weeks, we have been reviewing what we did in the Autumn term and we are now pleased to share with you the following details of how school will function on your child’s return. Please do take time to read the document carefully.

A reminder of the staggered school times

Groups of children	Location	School Day	Entry into school	Exit at end of the day	Markings on playground
Reception	Reception Classroom	9.00am – 3.30pm	Reception class door	Reception class door	Yellow dots
Year R/ 1	Year R/ 1 Classroom	8.45am – 3.15pm	Staffroom ramp	Staffroom ramp	Blue dots down side of school
Year 1/2	Year 1/2 Classroom	8.30am – 3.00pm	Junior door	Junior door	Blue dots on playground
Year 3	Year 3 Classroom	9.00am – 3.30pm	Junior door	Junior door	Blue dots on playground
Year 4	Year 4 Classroom	8.45am – 3.15pm	Kitchen door	Kitchen door	Blue dots on playground
Y5	Year 5 Classroom	8.30am- 3.00pm	Staffroom ramp	Staffroom ramp	Blue dots down side of school
Y6	Year 6 Classroom	8.45- 3.15pm	Junior door	Junior door	Blue dots on playground

The main gate will be the only way on to the grounds, the infant end gate will be the exit. Parents should follow the arrows and not cross any do not enter points. In order to maintain social distancing, only one adult may come on to the playground to leave or collect their child, keeping any other children off the premises wherever possible. They should stand on one of the coloured dots on the playground as indicated in the table above. Adults must wear a mask at all times on the school grounds.

Siblings to be dropped off with the earliest time child and collected with the latest time child, unless a prior arrangement has been made with the SLT.

There will be a 5 minute window to drop off and collect your children. This must be adhered to, to ensure that Bubbles of children do not mix upon entry/exit. If you are late collecting your child, children may have to wait in the classroom until all other pupils/classes have exited and it is safe to allow them to leave.
If you are late dropping pupils to school, you will need to inform the office who will arrange for staff to let your child in through their entry point door, once all other pupils using that door have come through in to school.
No pupils will be able to come through the main reception unless for exceptional circumstances, such as being collected due to a medical appointment.

Please can we ask parents to continue to stick to social distancing guidelines while waiting outside to drop off or collect children. The coloured spots on the playground should be used whilst waiting to drop off or collect. Again, please wear a face covering at all times.

It is deemed preferable that Year 6 are also escorted to school, to discourage them from congregating, but we understand that this may not always be possible.

Parents are encouraged to walk to school, rather than drive, by the Government during this period.

Why? Congestion at the start and end of the day is one of the main areas of concern for transmission as numbers on the site will be at their highest. It will need everybody to take responsibility and think about how to protect pupils, staff and other parents by staying away from one another. It also means that staff will not be available for conversations at the beginning and end of the day and hand overs must be extremely brief.

Breakfast club

We are delighted to be able to run our Breakfast Club again. Due to the current situation, the following still applies:

First drop off no earlier than 7.30am (£4 per session from 7.30am, £3 from 8am)
Last drop off no later than 8.30am
Children can still have breakfast, as long as they are in Breakfast Club by 8.15am. Breakfasts will be limited as the bubbles in Breakfast Club will not be able to use the kitchen hatch.
Pre-bookings only. Parents will need to email breakfastclub@ashleigh.blackburn.sch.uk by 12 noon the week before. The Breakfast Club manager will then email a confirmation later that day to confirm your place for that week. Children do not need to attend every day, but we must know the days you are sending them the week before. Anyone turning up who has not pre-booked, will not able to stop.
Payment will be in a sealed envelop, which has the name of your child, class and which dates it is payment for. The correct money will need to be included. We are looking into whether using Parent Pay is an option, but at the moment it would seem not. Please make payment before the date, or at the very latest, the start of the week you are paying for.

For the rest of the Spring term we will not be running any after school-clubs. This will be reviewed for the Summer Term.

Kidsland will resume their usual operations, please contact them direct for bookings.

Bubbles (class groups)
Children and staff will stay fixed to a class bubble so that the transmission of germs is reduced to solely that group. They will have no/extremely limited contact with other children in other bubbles in school. The bubble will stay together for the entirety of the day and there will be no physical whole school events (such as assemblies or super singing).

Children will come straight into their bubble space in the morning, using sanitiser as they enter. Once the children are all in are all in, staff will check to make sure the basins are not being used, and then will supervise hand washing for children in their bubble. Sanitiser will be used frequently through the day, with supervised hand washing after they arrive, after playtime, before and after lunch.

Toilets and sinks will be cleaned throughout the day.

Bubble pupils will play together at break and dinner but stay separate from other bubbles. They will eat dinner in their own classes, apart from Reception (Rabbits) and Reception/Y1 (Bears), which will eat in the hall. Lunchtime sessions will be staggered.

Within the bubbles, pupils cannot and will not 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.

This means that pupils will continue to mingle within their own bubbles – 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 age. The government have recognised that schools would not be able to open to all pupils if a distance of 2 metres was to be maintained between all pupils. Also, experience tells us that young pupils may understand the concept of keeping a distance but are unlikely to stick to it. However, staff should/must try to keep a reasonable distance from pupils, and how they interact with children will be different. E,g, when helping a child, they should not get down to the same level, rather, they should stay stood up, so that the child and adult are not breathing in each others faces.

Adults will need to keep to social distancing guidance when possible, and will still be asked to limit close contact with the children. Staff are expected to wear face coverings at all times outside of their classroom bubble space.

The Local Authority have clarified that there are three key protective measures that schools must take. Where one measure cannot be adhered to strictly, then one or both other measures should. These measures are:

Bubbles – keep groups of children separate/not mixing
Hygiene – extra hand washing, cleaning, sanitizers, catch it-kill it-bin it
Distancing – 1m+ wherever possible. Staggered starts/end of day and break times.

Online Learning
If a Class Bubble has to isolate then these children will go back to learning online. This will also be the case for any pupil who is shielding.

Curriculum
During the first few weeks of the return, teachers will look at what pupils have learned whilst in school this term, and what has been achieved at home.

The focus must be returning to school in a calm, safe manner. We will continue with our emphasis on rebuilding relationships and supporting the wellbeing of all pupils and staff. There is little evidence as yet of the impact on mental health due to the coronavirus - the missed time from work, education and loved ones. So at Ashleigh we will continue to allow space within our school week to explore any concerns and give necessary support. After all, without emotional well-being pupils are unable to work to the best of their academic ability.
It is now more than ever, that Ashleigh’s nurturing community (inside and outside of school) need to demonstrate strength and compassion in order to help pupils thrive once more.

Uniform
Children are expected to wear normal school uniform.
Although we no longer need to request that the children wear clean uniform each day, we do advise that personal hygiene be strictly monitored to prevent cross contamination of germs.

PE
Children will be asked to come in to school in their PE kits, on their PE days.

Equipment
Children must limit what they bring to school. No toys will be permitted. A pencil case to leave in school is required. A coat and water bottle should be the only items to come back and forth from school. Small book bags/back packs are permitted but large ruck sacks are not. Cloakroom space will be limited.
Lunchboxes made of washable fabric or plastic are also advised.

Behaviour
Our behaviour policy is still applicable. However, there is one important alteration specific to the Covid-19 response and the need for social distancing:

In the event that a child refuses to adhere to social distancing guidelines, staff will make every effort to educate the child about safety in order to change their behaviour.

If this behaviour continues and the child shows disregard for the health and safety of others in their classroom, the teacher will ask a member of SLT to remove the child from the classroom to another room. The parent will be contacted to collect the child.

We appreciate that the younger pupils will find it extremely hard to observe the social distancing rules and we will give them lots of praise and encouragement to be as socially distant as is reasonable. The above sanction will only be used in the event that a child is refusing to follow the rules.

Attendance
DFE guidance states:
School attendance will be mandatory again from the beginning of the autumn term. This means from the 8^th March 2021, the usual rules on school attendance will apply:
· parents’ duty to secure that their child attends regularly at school where the child is a registered pupil at school and they are of compulsory school age;
· schools’ responsibilities to record attendance and follow up absence
· the availability to issue sanctions, including fixed penalty notices in line with local authorities’ codes of conduct
·Where a pupil is unable to attend school because they are complying with clinical and/or public health advice, schools are expected to immediately offer them access to remote education. Schools should monitor engagement with this activity.
·Where a pupil is unable to attend school because parents are following clinical and/or public health advice, absence will not be penalised.
·All other pupils must attend school.

First Aid

Blackburn with Darwen’s director of public health Professor Dominic Harrison had said there are 11 other milder signs of Covid-19 infection.

They include diarrhoea, a persistent headache, fever and chills, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, and nausea or vomiting.

The classic three symptoms which the NHS advises people to look out for are a high temperature, a new persistent cough and a loss of smell or taste.

DO NOT SEND YOUR CHILD INTO SCHOOL IF THEY HAVE ANY OF THE ABOVE 11 SYMPTOMS! Seek a test (not a lateral flow test) immediately, and isolate.

In the event of your child becoming unwell at school, they will be taken to the Sunshine room and will wait there until they can be collected. They will need collecting as quickly as possible. The supervising adult is required to wear a disposable apron, gloves and facemask.

If a child cuts themselves or has an injury, we will administer first aid as usual but will take the additional precautions of:

Adults will need to wear disposable gloves, apron & mask if a wound needs attending.
If possible, we shall ask pupils to clean and dress their own wounds (put on a plaster).
For bumps, a disposable ice pack will be given.

Staff will obviously continue to be kind and nurturing towards children, but will be less able to offer physical reassurance or comfort.

Covid -19 Suspected case
If a pupil or adult is ill and they display symptoms similar to Covid-19,
Schools must:

wear PPE when dealing with the pupil/staff
isolate the pupil/staff to a dedicated space (Sunshine room)
contact home for staff/ pupil to be collected.
Staff and pupils must not come into the school if they have symptoms, and must be sent home to self-isolate if they develop them in school
parent/ individual – book a test: online via NHS testing system or Call NHS 119.

All children can be tested, including children under 5, but children aged 11 and under will need to be helped by their parents/carers if using a home testing kit.

Test returns as negative:

inform the school immediately
if the test is negative and if pupil/staff member feels well and no longer have symptoms similar to coronavirus (COVID-19) then they can stop self isolating
they could still have another virus, such as a cold or flu – in which case it is still best to avoid contact with other people until they are better
other members of their household can stop self-isolating.

Test returns as positive:

inform school immediately
individual must isolate for at least 10 days from the onset of their symptoms

They can return to school only if they do not have symptoms other than cough or loss of sense of smell/taste. These symptoms can last for several weeks after the infection has gone.

The 10-day period starts from the day when they first became ill, that is day zero. If they still have a high temperature, they should keep self-isolating until their temperature returns to normal. Their household should self-isolate for the full 10 days from when the symptomatic person first had symptoms, following ‘stay at home: guidance for households with possible or confirmed coronavirus (COVID-19) infection’.
Any positive result will be shared with the child/adults Bubble who will all be asked to self-isolate and seek testing. The Bubble will only return to school once the period of 10 days self-isolation (from the last date they were in contact with the infected person) has ended, or a negative test result has been given.

Links to Government Guidance

Title of Guidance	Link
School attendance: guidance for schools	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school attendance
Guidance for full opening: schools	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/guidance-for-full opening-schools
Government launches NHS Test and Trace service	https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government launches-nhs-test-and-trace-service
COVID-19: guidance for households with possible coronavirus infection	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19- stay-at-home-guidance
What parents and carers need to know about early years providers, schools and colleges during the coronavirus (COVID- 19) outbreak	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/what parents-and-carers-need-to-know-about-early-years providers-schools-and-colleges-during-the-coronavirus covid-19-outbreak
Supporting your children's education during coronavirus (COVID-19)	https://www.gov.uk/guidance/supporting-your-childrens education-during-coronavirus-covid-19
Guidance for parents and carers on supporting children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19- guidance-on-supporting-children-and-young-peoples mental-health-and-wellbeing/guidance-for-parents-and carers-on-supporting-children-and-young-peoples-mental health-and-wellbeing-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19- outbreak
Staying alert and safe (social distancing)	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/staying alert-and-safe-social-distancing
COVID-19: guidance on shielding and protecting people defined on medical grounds as extremely vulnerable	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance on-shielding-and-protecting-extremely-vulnerable-persons from-covid-19
Coronavirus outbreak FAQs: what you can and can’t do	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus outbreak-faqs-what-you-can-and-cant-do

We can’t wait to see all the children back at school. I think we are all craving some ‘normality’, and this appears to be the first step in that process.

Again, many thanks for all your kind words over the last few months, they have been very much appreciated.

Please stay safe and well,

Mr. Matthews

Ashleigh update 1st March 2021

Mon 01 Mar 2021 Mr. Matthews

Dear Parent,

As you will have heard during the Prime Minister's announcement last Monday, all schools are reopening fully on Monday 8^th March.

We will be going back to the same arrangements we had from September to December, before the latest lockdown. I will send you a longer email tomorrow with a reminder of all of those details.

From Monday 8^th, Breakfast Club and Kidsland after school club will also resume. So please make any bookings for those clubs in the usual way.

We are really excited to see all of the children back at school, although we understand some of you may have concerns around the complete reopening of schools. If you need to speak to me before next Monday, please don’t hesitate to make contact via the school office.

Many thanks for all your kind words over the last couple of months about the provision both at school and at home, it is very much appreciated by all the staff here at Ashleigh. As I have said so many times before, we are so lucky to have such dedicated staff, wonderful children and supportive parents.

We will continue to communicate via email and the school app, but once the school is back fully from Monday, we will resume using Facebook to share with you what’s happening at school.

Look out for the email tomorrow, but in the meantime…

Stay safe and well,

Mr. Matthews

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