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Dear Parents and Carers,
Almost there ! We hope you all have a safe, restful and calm half term and we will see what happens during and after as I am sure there are more announcements to come. Even if there is a 'circuit break' primary schools will remain open I am sure but we will need people to be extra sensible and safe and be away from school quickly (as you have done for the first half term).
1. Isolating/testing - there has been an increased number of parents/children/relations going for tests or isolating. We are expecting someone to test positive soon and we are prepared for when that happens. You will see from the Hereford Times that a number of schools in Herefordshire have cases. Please keep to our procedures and expectations around school and be mindful of others.
Attendance last week = 97.5% (this is way above the local and national average).
2. Christmas and the next half term - who knows what lies ahead but as we have done with all things we will try to make 'the best of it' and not cancel Christmas ! Forest school Christmas 'parties' are something we have done before, Santa may visit but be socially distanced and Christmas dinner may happen but in their class bubbles. We will find a way to make things work positively.........
3. ICT/safety and Seesaw - Seesaw - this will only be used to post work (from school to home and home to school) for your individual child and will not involve photographs or 'live' work. We do not use platforms that require children to access a web cam as this raises the risk. Seesaw will only be used for children who may be self isolating or in the event of a class needing to isolate. Teachers may set a piece of homework after half term as part of their training. if a child or class isolates we will also continue to use our other resources such as Spelling Shed, TT Rockstars etc as well as practical 'hands on' work so that it isn't all on-line.
During lockdown we used the school website and Parent mail then parents sent work to admin and on to the teacher. When teachers weren't in school (they were working alongside supervising key worker children) this process was easier but, as I am sure you can appreciate, the process and time involved would be unmanageable alongside a daily teaching commitment if people were isolating. Seesaw is used by a number of schools and we have spent time training with Mark Sanderson who works alongside the council on all things to do with school ICT.
www.seesaw.me/privacy-policy - please look at the privacy policy if you require information about safety of data etc. The privacy protocols of the platform are stringent and we will control who sees what.
No personal information except a child's first name is shared and children will only be able to access their own space via a QR code (generated by the teacher) for their class. Each child is also given an avitar and no photographs are shared. If parents wanted to share photographs we would ask this to be done through our e-mail and they may then be used in your child's learning journey.
There will be strict protocols communicated from school about parental messaging if we use the platform.
Should you have any questions please feel free to ask me - I am usually at the front of school at the beginning and end of the day.
Nothing will happen until after half term when your eldest child will bring home a paper copy of the QR code and other information. Teachers will have trained, practised and experimented with the website over the next few weeks. Once we have this in place we will be set to 'go.' If a class needs to self isolate after half term (extremely unlikely as there will have been a break) then we will send out the information via Parentmail.
4. Independence (the on-going challenge) - We expect all children to carry their own lunchboxes/book bags into school and out of school regardless of their age. The small things matter and have a big impact on mindset and good habits.
5. Community growing project (Comet's Meadow) - the response and offers of help have been amazing. A vision for a project that we thought could take 5 years could be 'up and running' in a few months with the offers of help, potential funding streams and resources. Amazing and a real project of 'hope' in a time of uncertainty. Thank you and we will keep you informed.
6. Longtown Outdoor Centre Madley family day - many of your children have enjoyed their Longtown Outdoor Centre experience so we thought we would talk to the centre about a potential family day just for Madley parents/carers. It would all be organised through the centre, not us, and there would be a cost for your family. We are just finalising some ideas then we will get something out to you.
7. Drop off/parking - a number of parents (especially in Year 5 and 6) have started stopping at the gate, dropping off then driving away. The cones are there to stop parking and 'dropping off' so please do not do it, we do not operate a 'drop off' system. You are putting other road users and parents/children at risk.
In the last few days I have personally witnessed a number of near misses and 'close shaves' with drop offs, pulling in and doors being opened into the road.
8. Poppy appeal - poppies, slap bands, rulers, reflector poppies and button hole poppies (they fit around a normal button and hang down) will be available after half term for a minimum donation of £1. Mrs Giles will go to the doorway of each class in the morning and children will put their money in the collecting pot, take their purchase and then bring it home.
If you do send in money for the poppy appeal please reinforce why we do it, we will have assemblies etc in school as well.
Management of slap bands etc - every year the children are told to manage them properly or they will be removed. If chjldren are using them as a distraction in the classroom they will be removed and the children told not to have them in school.
9. School residentials - at the current time residentials are not allowed. In February Year 5 and 6 normally visit Stackpole National Trust Outdoor Centre but we don't know whether that will happen yet and the centre is currently closed. The National Trust are due to make an announcement in early November. Rather than asking parents to start paying (the normal cost is approximately £220) we are holding off to see what happens. Personally I think it is extremely unlikely the residential will happen this year (despite the centre only being for our school in that week). In the event of the residential not happening we will plan some other events in partnership with Longtown Outdoor Centre. More news to follow after half term.
10. Finally a big 'thank you' to all of the staff who have 'gone the extra mile' to keep everyone safe and secure, make school a calm and happy place and to give classes extra opportunities and experiences alongside the 'normal' learning. All of that takes lots of energy, time and creativity and they all deserve a rest before we start again next half term.
Have a good half term Kind regards Mr Batstone
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It is nearly half term and the Reception children have almost completed their first half term at school. Bizarrely it has gone quite quickly although 'everyday has been an adventure !' The children have settled back into school well, they have been given a wide curriculum experience and we have enjoyed using our forest school site most days.
The next half term will have the same challenges as this one and we all need to work together to keep everyone safe. Thank you to everyone for their communication, common sense and awareness this half term, it really is appreciated.
1. Food donations - everyday we are leaving bags on the fence at the front of school (near the Class R/1 entrance and the main gate) for on-going food donations. Each week we will choose a different local charity to donate to. Normally we would have a harvest festival at this time of the year and combine it with food donations for charity (St.Michael's Hospice has been a recipient for the past few years). We will also have our own school food bank as some families may require it.
2. Mrs Delahoy - some of your children have worked with Mrs Delahoy who is our art practitioner in school. She has worked with us for the last few years and is an amazing influence on the adults and children. After lockdown we were the only school that she returned to working with as her own work and studio had really taken off. Mrs Delahoy is leaving us at the end of this week to continue her own work and studio workshops. We will really miss her, her expertise, ideas and her positivity, she has had a huge influence on art in our school. We wish Mrs Delahoy all the best for the future and we are hoping to persuade her to continue to work with us remotely and run some workshops for teachers.
3. Community garden project - Thank you to all those who have offered help, resources and ideas for the project. Please keep them coming. The project is something to look forward to and something to bring our school and wider community together. The next step is to co-ordinate the offers of help, wait for the water to be installed and then start work !
4. Seesaw - this is a really important platform for sharing work and responding in the event of children learning at home. We have looked very carefully at platforms to use and we will always make sure that any platform we use is as safe as possible. This week teachers are receiving training on using Seesaw from Mark Sanderson from Herefordshire Council who is a great advocate of Seesaw.
We have sent work home for some pupils in the last few weeks and it has been a challenge alongside normal class planning and children being in school. Seesaw will help to make the processes easier and for teachers to respond to work posted in the event of self isolation or lockdown. We will publish strict guidelines, expectations and processes later this week.
Why we don't share teachers e-mails - some schools do but we don't. As I am sure you can understand that direct contact would result in e-mails about every subject going or a lost coat etc. Some people would use it carefully whilst others may tell us things everyday and teachers do not have time to respond during the school day or even afterwards as they mark, plan or prepare for the next day. We always expect parents to use the admin@madley.hereford.sch.uk e-mail account and e-mails will be passed on or responded to.
5. Plant pots please !
If you have any small or medium sized plastic plant pots could we have them please. Year 4 and then the rest of the school are planting acorns and watching what happens. Year 4 are currently undertaking their 'Young Foresters Award' run by the Royal Forestry Society and they spent an afternoon collecting acorns and sweet chestnuts at our forest school site for the Duchy foresters. They also visited part of the wider site to see the nursery of new trees.
Please leave any donated pots near the front entrance of school and we will move them to the polytunnel.
Have a good week
Regards
Mr BatstoneDear all,
We hope you are all well and keeping safe. School feels a bit like an oasis in a world of change ! That oasis doesn't happen by accident and a big 'thank you' must go to all of the staff for their flexibility, dedication, professionalism and energy, everyday has immense challenges but we overcome them together and the children and you probably don't even notice (well hopefully not). Staff are supervising children almost the entire day (we can't share duties) so lunch/refreshments are often on the 'hoof' as we balance breaktimes/lunchtimes/learning etc. No-one moans or complains and everybody deals with it admirably, energy levels for all are running low and we look forward to half term.
Life is not 'normal' at the moment - changing books, managing everyday and ensuring the children are still learning is a massive challenge. Thank you for your patience and understanding with all of these aspects of school.
It does make the need for independence really important especially after half term, if we need children to get waterproofs on and off for breaktimes/lunchtimes (we don't want to spend our day getting wellies and waterproofs on and off but to make breaktimes/lunchtimes work the children will need them in wet weather). That independence starts with the small things - carry your own book bag to school, be responsible for your lunchbox and coat, helping out with things and raising their awareness (at home that might be a responsibility that is small but significant).
1. Staff illness -
Staff are human beings and get illnesses like everyone else (tummy bugs this week), especially when they are tired. Our normal practice is for me to 'double up' with another class or cover it or we use other staff members (we don't often use supply as we want children to have consistency and familiarity). At the moment we cannot 'mix' staff or children too much so we have to manage the classes carefully and we have to make the 'best of it' - we don't inform you if classes have other adults as they will be school staff anyway.
2. NSPCC -
Every two years the NSPCC come and work with all of the children focussing on safety. Under the current climate they cannot work directly with school but have an on-line resource hosted by Ant and Dec !
During the week of November 9th every class will engage with an age appropriate presentation about safety and well being, they will then have follow up work with their teachers. We also raise money for the NSPCC so we will invite you to make a donation for this worthwhile charity (we won't hold a sponsored event but the children will be undertaking some challenges at forest school).
3. Forest school/using the outdoors -
Leaf challenge - at school lots of children have been involved in a 100 leaf challenge. Find 100 leaves that are on the floor (different types, shapes and colours) then use them to create a piece of artwork based on colour, shape and using space (it is not a picture). The attached picture gives inspiration from a professional artist.
Parachute - a 'massive thank you' to our very kind parent who assisted by putting our parachute up at forest school. Not just a Sunday afternoon but an evening doing it for us. You know who you are and we are really thankful.
Comet's Meadow - we have had lots of offers of help from labour to groundworks. Keep the offers coming as we will take all the details then engage all the help when we have the materials etc. We need help applying for grants, securing donations and seeing if we can get a polytunnel/raised beds (or the wood) and soil. Any assistance would be greatly received - please e-mail admin@madley.hereford.sch.uk
Twitter - @MadleyPrimarySch - this is the most 'up to date' and fastest way to see what we are doing. Have a look at some of the forest school experiences children have had recently.
4. Break and lunchtimes =
'Mud and knees' - there is no reason why children should be coming out of school covered in mud. They are told very clearly to stay on their feet and not to dive on the floor. We are doing a daily knee check and we expect children who use the field to behave properly (the very occasional 'accidental fall over' is expected. We only put waterproofs on when the weather is wet or we would spend our day putting them on and off !
We don't buy into the 'boys will be boys' thinking as all children have the same expected of them and there is no 'slack' in our high expectations.
5. Jewellery
Children should only have plain studs in their ears and no other jewellery. They may wear a watch but if it gets lost or broken then it is the responsibility of the child/parent. Very rarely do things get 'stolen' but it is often the first excuse for losing something, I wouldn't let them wear a watch as we have plenty of clocks around school to tell the time.
We don't allow any make up or nail varnish.
Have a good rest of the week
.
Regards
Mr Batstone
Hello all,
1. Layer up - the temperature will be colder this week with a cold wind so please allow your child to wear an extra layer if necessary. Advice is still for air circulation so we have windows and doors slightly open. Our heating is not on yet but when it is it will be kept at 20 c.
2. Thank you one and all for making everything work so far. Please keep the awareness of others, social distancing, speed of 'drop off and pick up' going ('flow and go'), park safely and sensibly and be aware as it makes everything much easier.
3. Outdoor learning/forest school - it is working really well and we have a very kind parent who is putting our parachute up for extra shelter and we have an 9 litre kettle on the way so we can warm us with hot drinks when the temperature dips. Forest school helps the children to relax whilst still learning and adds to their 'mental wealth' (the ability to think positively about situations, find solutions and know yourself a bit better). Attached is a document that exemplifies the benefits of outdoor learning.
Last week lots of classes were working on a '100 leaf challenge' to find (and name if you were Year 4) a variety of leaves (colour, shape, texture etc) then use them to create a piece of work based on shape and pattern. The artwork was the photograph as the leaves will disappear over time. Attached is an example photograph if you wanted to try something at home (this was a professional artists work though the children did some amazing work as well).
Forest school clothing - layers, change of shoes for indoors and no hoodies. Hat and gloves can be worn or come in their bag. 'Function not fashion' is the thinking please.
Mon = Year R pm
Tue = Year 5 pm (packed lunch needed)
Wed = Year 2 am (back for lunch) and Year 3 pm (packed lunch needed)
Thurs = Year 1 pm
Fri = Year 4 (packed lunch needed)
Year 6 work theirs slightly differently in groups. They will be using the site soon for some mysterious curriculum work ! Mrs Lacey will give you the details soon........
4. Green Flag Eco award - we are aiming for our 6th Green Flag Award (the highest accolade, it used to be that you became an 'Ambassador School' if you achieved 5 in a row and you never had to apply again but that changed a few years ago) this year and I have attached our 'map' of how it works and connects in school and beyond.' A few older children will be participating in a virtual carbon neutral conference this week. All the eco schools work is part of our curriculum, culture and 'legacy' for the future.
Thank you to the parents who have offered assistance with Comets Meadow, much appreciated and we will be in touch. Anyone know anyone who might help us out with raised beds, a polytunnel or two and a container to keep materials in ?! (if you don't ask you don't get !!).
5. Platinum School Games Award - we have been awarded the Platinum Award for the past 3 years and there has been lots of talk in the press and social media about a reduction of PE in schools. We haven't reduced our PE time as we see it as vital to well being, mental wealth and our culture. This morning the whole school virtual assembly focussed on 'fairness' and 'happiness' and used the weekends All Blacks v Australia highlights to think about sport, enjoyment, fairness and happiness. Everything is connected !
The only aspect of PE/sport we have lost for a while are clubs as they would mix bubbles and our field has to be used for breaks/lunchtimes and it would make it a mud bath so we are holding off for a while.
Have a good week everyone.
Kind regards
Mr Batstone
Overall = 96.4% (one class had 100% and 4 classes were 96% or above).
Be prepared
Yesterday I was in a virtual meeting with headteachers from all over the West Midlands and people were updating on their local situations, we are fortunate to live in such a rural county as Birmingham has 13,000 children isolating at home at the moment !
Statistically we will have cases with either staff, parents or children at some point and we need to make sure we don't panic, we have and follow the correct procedures and we all apply 'common sense.' School has nothing to hide and will communicate with you when we have the correct information, are advised on the correct procedures and we can be clear on what is expected. We will then communicate home learning and expectations etc.
We have already started our home learning commitment for some families who are isolating. As I have stated before it will not be 'live' lessons or a camera in the classroom but we do expect children to follow the same work as in school remembering that it will be more intense and you will probably get through it quicker than in school. Home learning has to be manageable for school if a class is still operating but we will do our best.
Don't take anything for granted
- Please ensure you social distance when collecting/dropping off.
- Leave the area around school as quickly as possible.
- Keep school up to date with any information (if your child is given Calpol we need to know).
- Do not send your child to school if they have a high temperature, continuous cough and/or a loss of taste/smell.
Communication is key !
Independence challenge (all children)
- Carry your own bag in and out of school (most children do).
- Be able to organise your own clothes/kit in school. Be responsible for your own belongings.
- Eat with a knife and fork (some children are still learning to do that and we have some special cutlery for Year R and 1).
- Sit at a table properly to eat - face the right way, use an indoor voice to talk to the people around you and only talk when your mouth is empty of food.
All of the above are very small but very important parts of a bigger picture.
Contacting parents/carers
- Teachers have now contacted most parents/carers for a 'catch up' about the first few weeks. There are still a few parents that teachers have left messages for and have tried to contact a number of times, there may be a variety of reasons with work patterns/school times etc but it is now the responsibility of the parent to contact us to discuss their child please.
Food in school
As you may or may not know the government provides free fruit for children in Years R,1 and 2 only. There was talk of the scheme ending and it was suspended during lockdown but restarted a few weeks ago.
Madley Primary School has always had an expectation that parents provide a healthy snack (NOT Dairylea Dunkers, Pepparami, chocolate bars etc) for breaktimes or children from the relevant year groups can access the free fruit. The contents of your child's lunchbox are your responsibility and we do not dictate what is in there (except NO SWEETS). Over recent years water bottles are being filled with a variety of juice etc which is harder for the body to absorb (water is always better) and some lunchboxes are containing more processed food. Some children do have specific dietary requirements and may have slightly different food (but this would have been communicated with school by parents/carers).
We are a very strict nut free school as we do have children with significant allergies.
Everybody likes the odd treat (personal favourite is a Dairylea Dunker occasionally) but food/drink has an significant impact on learning, both good and bad.
In the past we have run workshops for parents/carers on food content but this is something for the future. It is not our job to tell you what to feed your children but there is a need to raise awareness and think carefully about what your child eats and drinks.
Our amazing PTA
Over the years the PTA at Madley Primary has had a significant impact on benefitting all of the children, they purchased two of the mini-buses, bought waterproofs for every child, bought the forest school welfare unit, contributed to the library and funded the 40 reads scheme as well as many, many other things. Alongside that we have a number of parents/carers who have contributed time or money (a very generous parent funds all of the mini-bus repairs) without reward or wanting their name associated with it. What a lucky school we are !
The PTA would normally run a few discos this term (they raise about £500 a disco), have a Christmas Fayre (raises about £1500) and run other events to generate funding, none of these events will be happening for a while and the only source of funding at the moment is the clothes bank (which was emptied again this morning and gives an average of about £50 a visit).
The PTA are thinking about other ways to generate some much needed funds and their ideas will be published soon.
Community garden project (Comet's Meadow)
The school has rented (for a very small amount) Comet's Meadow from the Madley Charity. Our aim before lockdown was to start to develop it but that was put on hold (it was going to be Year 6s Legacy for last year). Recently we took the current Year 6 to visit a community garden project in Ross (as part of their business and enterprise theme) and it exemplified our long term aim for the meadow. We want to develop a community growing space for families who can work and grow food together (spare food being gifted to the food bank in the church). We also plan to have some animals (sheep will be going on the land at the far end soon). Madley Charities have kindly funded a mains water source to the field.
I have attached some photos of the project we visited as it typifies our own ambitions, the project in question has taken 7 years to reach it's current state so it is a long term plan and ambition that fits with our curriculum, eco thinking and values. Does anyone know anyone who could assist us with polytunnels, sleepers or other relevant materials. When we can we will have our normal working parties up and running again.
Forest School
The children have been developing areas at forest school as we believe that they need to have 'ownership' of some of the spaces and to develop them, in our experience they then take more responsibility as there is a better connection. We have a volunteer who will help to put up the huge parachute that we have for shelter from the wind and rain. We are really fortunate to have such an amazing, private space to use.
@MadleyPrimSc
We do not use Facebook, Instagram or other social media platforms.
Have a good rest of the week.
Kind regards
Mr Batstone
A few things on the update today. All in school is running relatively smoothly but we are not taking anything for granted and 'keeping our eye on the ball.' Every day is a new adventure !
1. Parking and the community
- we are receiving reports from concerned and upset members of the local community as a small number of parents are parking across drives, in the pub car park and other inappropriate places. Please 'be aware and care' and park safely and where you are allowed to !
Please do not park in the Parish Hall car park at anytime.
- Responsibility for parking sits with parents/carers and we will report any dangerous parking/driving that we observe but we also encourage the local community to do the same. There is plenty of safe parking a short walk from school. Thankfully the majority of people are parking sensibly and with consideration.
- The roads around school are extremely busy with tractors at the moment so please be really aware of where you park and turn.
2. Your child's online life
- A recent national survey shared some interesting data that is thought provoking - the average child spends approximately 450 hours a year or more in front of a screen and only an average of 157 hours outdoors. Does that match with your child or do you 'buck' the trend ?
- If you have Netflix then a really thought provoking documentary entitled 'The Social Dilemma' is good to watch (adults not children although elements may be suitable for older children - it has a 12 rating) regarding social media and it's use. It has input from the original developers of many social media platforms.
- Increasingly we are dealing with incidents of inappropriate use of social media, texting and internet use yet we teach children how to use it correctly and it's benefits. Technology is amazing and a real benefit to life (we all Google everything now) but children need to be taught how to use it properly and how to manage it both at home as well as school.
3. 'Remote learning'
Remote learning does not mean 'online' it just means remote from the normal place that you learn e.g school. We are ready to launch home learning if we need it (as we did before with a mix of on-line and physical resources) but we also need to be able to manage any children who are still in school and we only have a limited capacity with human beings !
4. Forest school clothes for all
'Function over fashion' is the order of the day and children need to be warm and dry. The PTA updated our waterproofs last year and we have a lot of kit. Our drying room was also linked to the electricity at the start of lockdown (some pictures are attached) which means we can dry kit fairly quickly over a day (we also have solar panels all over the roof which helps with our environmental commitment , we are due to apply for our 6th Green Flag Eco award this year).
Our forest school site has a toilet, kitchen and drying space now. We also have a range of sheltered areas and a very kind parent has volunteered to help put our giant parachute up next weekend (the parachute can fit 65 people under it).
We are extremely fortunate to have such an amazing forest school space for our exclusive use, our eternal thanks go to the Duchy Of Cornwall for their kindness and commitment.
5. Attendance and lateness
Incidents of being late are really rare (we close the gates on the final bell of the church clock at 9am). We open the gates at just after 8:45am and close them at 9am which allows plenty of time and helps the 'flow and go.'
At the end of the day we open the gates at 3:25am to allow a greater flow of people going.
You are making it work well, with minimal queues and people leaving the area quickly. Thank you.
6. Independence
- One of our biggest challenges at the moment is the independence of the children. Fear, anxiety and being together for months has led to children being less confident in doing things for themselves and home had a different routine to school. This is something we all need to work on and build up again as the weeks go by. Curriculum updates will give ideas and challenges for families to develop children's independence and resilience. Even carrying your own bag/lunch to school and home is really important. We are also reminding children of manner and eating correctly.
As always we 'take each day as it comes' and hope for another good week.
regards
Mr Batstone
Quite a lot of information is contained in this update. As always, ask if you need anything clarified.
1. 'Life is not normal' but we are making the best of it - we have been back at school for nearly a month now and things in school are running smoothly and safely but life is not 'normal' and children are acutely aware of that which can cause anxiety, concerns and lots of questions. Children are in their own 'bubbles' in school and don't mix like we normally do and they have breaktimes/lunchtimes in separate spaces and then leave school by different exits and everyone politely avoids each other. They then see people in masks in supermarkets/shops and lots of signage about safety, they pick up on everything (children are good at that) and it is all very different.
The combination of all of these things can lead to worry, lack of sleep, anxiety etc or your child may 'take it in their stride' (or appear to) - all of this can impact on friendships, relationships, concentration and behaviour. We all need to make sure we give the children opportunities to talk about what is happening, what they perceive and what they feel, as a school we try to do this in lots of ways and forest school is a great place to have talk and relax whilst still learning. Children need routine and stability to thrive and to feel secure.
If you are worried or have concerns please contact us (via phone or e-mail) or use other resources like the one below (there are others and we can also help as a school):
The Department for Education coronavirus (COVID-19) helpline remains available to answer questions about coronavirus (COVID-19) relating to education and children’s social care. Please listen carefully to the available options and select the most appropriate to your nursery, school, or college’s current situation.
Staff, parents and young people can contact this helpline by calling:
Phone: 0800 046 8687
Opening hours: Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm
Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 4pm
2. Home learning -
In the event of the need to self isolate or for a 'bubble' to be at home we will revert to the strategy of home learning that we used before with a combination of on-line and physical resources (not everything can be in front of a screen), the vast majority of parents/carers gave positive feedback about the work, resources and contact that teachers provided. It is a complex situation with lots of questions (what if the class teacher is ill and can't provide the work ? We are a large family with one device ? We don't have a printer ? (it turns out not many people do).
In the event of children being at home we will be quite directed in what we ask you to do -
We also give Curriculum Updates with projects related to your child's theme with paper based ideas. We will need to offer a range of learning and experiences as we did before but more direc ted.
Contact - teachers would keep in touch by phone and we are in the process of securing a secure platform to share work and get feedback (more news to follow soon).
All of the above is subject to change depending on the class, situation and if the teacher is ill. We will do our best to make sure learning continues as best we all can.
3. Uniform/forest school clothes
- Children should have plain hair accessories, no jewellery except plain studs and no wrist bands etc.
- Forest school clothes - need to be 'function not fashion' so children are warm and dry. All children need a change of footwear for indoors (PE trainers are good) as the weather may be wet. School provides all children with waterproofs but they need 'proper' layers underneath. Year 4 had a 'perfect' class approach to their forest school clothing last week.
4. Curriculum updates - teachers send out updates as appropriate and dependent on your child's age (Miss Paton sends more for Reception) and Year R and 1 do an update on Madley TV, not all teachers need to do that. Parents/carers have a huge amount of information and we always do what is appropriate for different ages, Year 5 and 6 have diaries as the children are given some responsibility for sharing information in preparation for high school.
5. Values for October - 'Happiness' and 'Fairness' - how do these values show themselves at home ? What does your family do together which makes them happy ? Is life 'fair' at the moment ? What is 'fairness' ? (what would you see, hear, feel if things were fair ?). We sometimes use a photograph or headline to stimulate a discussion.
6. 'Catch up' and 'knowing where we are' - Some schools may of launched straight in with assessments and testing to see where the children are but we have taken a more 'gentle' approach with settling people back in and gradually assessing where the children are. We have a very professional, experienced team of teachers and adults who know what they are doing and what they are looking for. Children need to re-adjust to new expectations, working times and 'getting back into school' and we are unpicking what needs to be done next. We cannot go back to 'fill' the time we missed and we need to be mindful of the whole curriculum as well as things they may have forgotten, there is also a change from 1:1 or small family group to being back in a whole class (independence is something we are working on as well).
After half term (November 17th) you will receive a '3 stars and a wish' report (as we normally do for parents' evening) and this will be followed up with a phone call to discuss your child.
Teachers are still working their way through the children in their class for the initial calls. If you have any immediate questions please phone (01981 250241) or e-mail (admin@madley.hereford.sch.uk) and someone will get back to you as soon as possible (it may not be the same day).
7. Twitter feed - we have had Twitter for a while and we only share learning, we don't allow comments or feedback. We do not use Facebook or Instagram. Our Twitter feed is @MadleyPrimSc if you are interested in having a look but it is now linked to our school website as well.
8. Internet/social media safety - in school we teach the children to use all aspects of the internet and social media safely. Do you know what your child is doing ? Do you know what they are on ? We have incidents where children use social media inappropriately and then the issue comes into school, please make sure you know what your child is doing and they fully understand the consequences of any negative actions both on someone else and with external agencies (lots of people disconnect between 'real' life and their online persona). We expect children to behave, treat others with respect and be aware of their impact (both good and bad).
Kind regards
Mr Batstone
