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Dear Parents, I would like to update you with latest advice and for some parents your child/ren returning to school.

School is still receiving key worker pupils, pre-agreed and those who are vulnerable, nothing has changed again in this area. Please provide proof /shift patterns for this to go ahead.

The next survey will be on the 24^th June for the week beginning Monday 29th June, so if you would like your Y6 child to attend you must in advance fill in the survey, ongoing every week including children who are already attending. If you don’t the school will assume you will not be sending your child/ren.

Some of our Y6 pupils have been invited to a transition day at their secondary school. This understandably is a very important event and in most cases your child will attend. Unfortunately, due to current advice and the date of the transition day, if they do attend they will not be able to return to their Y6 bubble.

The pupils who are in school are moving around the school and conducting themselves in a safe and sensible way, I would like to thank them all.

Numbers in school are steadily increasing so please continue to make sure you drop off and collect promptly so as to avoid ‘pinch points’ with other parents and the Infant School parents.

If your child shows symptoms they will be isolated in a designated room or space and you will be contacted to collect, you will be advised to organise a test urgently and then let the school know, current guidance is the child isolates for 7 days and others in the household for 14 days.

Please remember to book your time slot to collect children’s belongings, such as exercise books / P.E. kit. This will be unfortunately disposed of if not collected by the 12^th July.

Next week parents will be notified about classes / and class teachers for the academic year 20/21, but at this time we do not know the government’s plans for September.

Once again, we will keep you updated with any changes.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation and your understanding. And thank you to those parents  / carers for your kind comments of support.

Keep well and safe.

Kindest regards, 

Mr. Pearson

Dear Parents, I would like to update you on the ongoing transitional times regarding re-opening of schools and introducing more pupils back to school.

It is my belief that it is still controversial and understandably leaves parents / carers with mixed feelings.

School is still receiving key worker pupils, pre-agreed and those who are vulnerable, nothing has changed again in this area. School will need to see key worker proof /shift patterns for this to go ahead.

The next survey will be on the 17th June for the week beginning Monday 22nd June, so if you would like your Y6 child to attend you must in advance fill in the survey, ongoing every week including children who are already attending.

The way staff and pupils are moving around the school and conduct themselves socially in a significantly different way, in most cases is working well. The one-way system which may be inconvenient for some but important for these times is has also been efficient due to the punctuality of parents/ carers and the adherence to the time slots allocated. Please continue to make sure you drop off and collect promptly so as to avoid congestion with other Year 6 parents and the Infant School. This is important as we introduce more pupils.

If your child shows symptoms they will be isolated in a designated room or space and you will be contacted to collect, you will be advised to organise a test urgently and then let the school know, current guidance is the child isolates for 7 days and others in the household for 14 days.

Do not send your child to school if they or anyone in your house shows symptoms. Symptoms have been changing so be safe and get it checked out.

If you believe your child falls into a clinically vulnerable group, then please seek medical advice before sending them to school. Please remember to avoid children socially mixing with other children from different bubbles within school, if they do it will increase the risk of infection.

Please remember to book your time slot to collect children’s belongings, such as exercise books / P.E. kit. This will be unfortunately disposed of if not collected by the 12th July. Due to circumstances children will not be receiving the traditional summer paper report. This is something the school will hopefully resume in the Autumn Term.

Shortly parents will be notified about classes / and class teachers for the academic year 20/21, but at this time we do not know the government’s plans for September.

Once again, we will keep you updated with any changes.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation and your understanding. And thank you to those parents / carers for your kind comments of support.

Keep well and safe.

Kindest regards,

Mr. Pearson

Dear Parents, I would like to update you on the Prime Minister’s latest update indicating that the government believes it may be in a position to implement a phased re-opening of schools from 1 June, starting with pupils in reception, year one and in our case year six.

This plan is highly controversial and has attracted many differing opinions and is still under constant regular review.

As always, the first priority has to be the safety of everyone in the school community, with that in mind, the school staff, myself and governors have drawn up a plan which I would like to share with you.

School will still receive key worker pupils, pre-agreed and those who are vulnerable, nothing has changed in this area.

On Tuesday 2nd of June school will be receiving a small number of year six pupils where parents have made the choice to send their children to school. These pupils were booked into school before the 22nd May so we could manage the logistics. If you have not done this using the easy to use survey, then do not send your child in. The next survey will be for the following week, 8th June so if you would like your Y6 child to attend you must in advance fill in the survey, every week including children who are already attending.

We understand that transition for Year 6 is important at this stage and you may opt for your child to attend transition days at their Secondary School if offered, however, if your child attends any transition event at another school, they will not understandably be able to return back to New Invention Junior, as their protective bubble will be breeched.

The way the school will operate and in particular the way staff and pupils move around the school and conduct themselves socially will be significantly different.

· Children will enter school through the bottom gate (alley) only and walk through the playground where they will be guided by staff into school, 8.30 Mr Jeavons’ bubble, 8.35 Mr Shea’s bubble, 8.40 Mrs Dorricot’s bubble, 8.45 Mrs Rowley’s bubble. Parents escorting their children, (only one adult,) will walk through the playground and out of the school via the staff car park, guided by staff onto Cannock Road.

· We will inform you on 1.6.20 which bubble your child is in via email. At the end of the day children in Mr Jeavons’s bubble will be walked outside at 2.45pm to be collected, Mr Shea’s bubble at 2.50pm, Mrs Dorricot’s bubble at 2.55pm and Mrs Rowley’s bubble at 3:00pm to limit congestion.

· Please make sure you collect promptly so as to avoid congestion with other Year 6 parents and the Infant School.

· If children can walk home, as you have stated on the survey on their own they will be released on the times stated above. If parents are collecting it will be the same procedure as in the morning, walk up the ramp via the alley gate through the playground and staff will guide you. This will create a one-way system which may be inconvenient for some but important for these times.

· Children will need to bring their usual PE kit but this will need to go home if used to be washed, fresh uniform everyday will be needed or something very similar, as stated the smaller the bag the better to be stored under the child’s chair, healthy snack, drinks and lunch in the smallest bag possible along with their own personal stationary for strictly their own use. If they have personal hand sanitiser that would be most useful too.

· Children will receive a variety of tasks which will include their usual SEESAW work. They will stay within their ‘bubble’, with the same teacher and same pupils constantly / everyday. Please note teacher’s will not be able to maintain their high standard and involvement with the home learning via ICT if they have a class based commitment, I’m sure you will understand. Children will not be allowed to mix with other ‘bubbles’ and may not be with their friends or usual teacher.

· Children including siblings from other year groups will not be able to attend school at this time.

· Parents not to come to the office unless necessary. If you do so, only one person to be in the office area at one time. If you need to contact school, please try to email or ring instead.

· Please make sure that your contact details/phone numbers are up to date.

· If your child shows symptoms they will be isolated in a designated room or space and you will be contacted to collect, you will be advised to organise a test urgently and then let the school know, current guidance is the child isolates for 7 days and others in the household for 14 days. Do not send your child to school if they or anyone in your house shows symptoms. If you believe your child falls into a clinically vulnerable groups, then please seek medical advice before sending them to school.

· No reading books will be sent home.

· There will be no before or after school clubs.

· All school events between now and the end of term will not go ahead as planned.

Of course we will keep you updated with any changes.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation and your understanding

Keep well and safe

Kindest regards,

Mr. Pearson

 Following on from my letter to you dated Friday 15th May I can now update you further regarding the potential partial reopening of school proposed by the government after meeting with key school governors.

At the moment there is a possibility that schools will be asked to open for a wider number of pupils from 1st June at the earliest. This date is dependent on the passing of a number of well publicised tests. For New Invention Junior School this would involve Year 6 pupils only, being invited to re-attend on a voluntary basis from Tuesday 2nd June onwards if parents wish to send them to school. (Monday 1st June is an INSET day)

Year 6 parents will be sent a link to complete an online survey to inform school if they wish to send their children to school from Tuesday 2nd June to Friday 5th June. The deadline to complete this survey will be noon this Friday (22nd May).

Parents who have indicated that their pupils will not be attending school will not be able to send them to school during that week. If they wish to change their mind about pupils attending school, then they will have to wait until the following week to send them to school. This will allow for adequate planning for staff to supervise the small social bubbles that children will be required to stay within, in short to keep all safe.

Here is some additional information that parents have requested:

I have a child in Year 6 and a child in another Year Group, will they both be able to attend school when it reopens?
No, unfortunately the initial reopening of school will be for Year 6 pupils only.

What size group will my child be working in?
At this stage it is not possible to answer this question as it is unclear how many parents will choose to send their child school, the maximum in a class will be approximately 9 pupils.

Will I be fined/get in trouble for not sending my child to school when school reopens?
No, the government have stated that parents will not be fined for not sending their children to school when they reopen. I understand that parents are being asked to make difficult decisions at a time when many people have unfortunately lost loved ones or friends and family to Covid-19. School will understand and respect whichever decision you make about when your child returns to school.

Which teacher/adult will my child be working with?
This will depend on the number of children who attend and the availability of staffing but is likely that they will not be with their normal teacher.
Will you try to make sure that my child is with their friends?
This will not be possible when pupils are split into groups with the primary focus being the safety of pupils and staff.

Children who do attend school will be asked to bring their own personal stationary, tissues and hand sanitiser if possible.

The school will be introducing some new measures to limit risks:
Entry only from the bottom alley gate and into school via the playground, parents/ carers choosing to walk up the ramp, (less will be better) will need to carry on walking over the playground through the car park and leave the premises where the barrier is at the front of the school. There will be staff to assist and guide.
Something similar will happen for picking children up at the end of the school day, more details to follow, (depending on numbers)
Outside time / breaks will be staggered and playground / grass areas will be zoned so children can stay in their protected bubbles
We will continually be monitoring the situation and making changes when needed, and parents and carers will be updated with any revisions.

Please keep safe and well
Thank you for your continued support

Mr Pearson

 
I am writing to update you on recent developments regarding the proposed reopening of schools.As you are aware the government have announced their intention to reopen primary schools for Year 6 pupils at a date not earlier than 1st June 2020. The Department for Education have now published guidance for schools regarding how they might go about accommodating more pupils in school.
As a school we are now considering this guidance and how we might try to implement in order to work towards more pupils attending school. My number one priority, as always is the safety of pupils, staff, parents and other members of our school community, I'm sure you will agree. I know that many parents are anxious about a possible reopening and that some members of the school community including staff, pupils, siblings and parents fall into the clinically vulnerable or extremely vulnerable groups.
On a personal level, I share some of these anxieties, I have school aged children myself and my wife is a teacher too. You will have many varied opinions; it is important not to be judgemental towards any decision you have to make.

I will be providing parents of Year 6 pupils more information regarding a possible reopening next week after further discussions/guidance from governors, staff, trade unions and the local authority and stringent risk assessments have been conducted.

In the meantime, I am able to provide general information that some parents have requested when contacting school this week:

Will you be able to make sure that my child socially distances at school?
No, the DFE guidance states ‘We know that, unlike older children and adults, primary age children cannot be expected to remain 2 metres apart from each other and staff.’

I have a child in Year 6 and a child in another Year Group, will they both be able to attend school when it reopens?
No, unfortunately the initial reopening of school will be for Year 6 pupils only.

Will my pupil be working with their usual friends/classmates and with their normal teacher?
Children will be working in a smaller group which is likely to be in a different classroom, with a different member of staff.

Will they be able to spend time with their friends from their class or from another Year 6 class?
No, they will only be able to spend time with the pupils in their smaller group and will not be able to mix or socialise with children or staff from another group including at lunchtime or break-times.

Will children be learning as normal in school?
Children will study a reduced curriculum with a focus on activities or tasks that they can complete within their group. They may not study the full range of subjects covered in the National Curriculum.

How will you ensure that parents socially distance when dropping off or picking up pupils at school?
This is something that school are currently considering and will be a challenge particularly combined with the number of parents who also drop off and pick up children at New Invention Infant School. The DFE guidance suggests staggered drop off and pick up times which could be assigned to different children and the use of a one-way system.

Can you guarantee that my children will not contract Covid-19 if they come back to school?
Unfortunately, nobody would ever be able to guarantee this. However, when schools reopen the DFE have stated that children and their families will be eligible for testing. The current advice is that if a child tests positive for Covid-19 then the other pupils in their group and member of staff would need to self-isolate for 14 days. Whilst the DFE have stated that schools cannot expect children to socially distance they have provided schools with other advice to reduce the rate of infection including asking children to wash their hands more often than usual, reminding them to ‘catch it, bin it, kill it and cleaning frequently touched surfaces more often.

Will school be able to provide personal protective equipment (PPE) for children who attend school?
No, the DFE guidance states: ‘Face coverings may be beneficial for short periods indoors where there is a risk of close social contact with people you do not usually meet and where social distancing and other measures cannot be maintained, for example on public transport or in some shops. This does not apply to schools or other education settings. Schools and other education or childcare settings should therefore not require staff, children and learners to wear face coverings.’

Will I be fined/get in trouble for not sending my child to school when school reopens?
No, the government have stated that parents will not be fined for not sending their children to school when they reopen. I understand that parents are being asked to make difficult decisions at a time when many people have unfortunately lost loved ones or friends and family to Covid-19. School will understand and respect whichever decision you make about when your child returns to school.

Will Year 6 be able to have a leavers disco/spend time with friends who may be going to a different secondary school/take part in a leavers assembly?
No, I understand that this will be disappointing to many pupils and family but I am sure will understand that under the current circumstances it would be impossible to have a leavers disco or assembly. When school reopens there will not be any assemblies in the hall and pupils will remain in their smaller group with a member of staff. They will of course be able to socialise and talk to the other children in their group at break-time or lunchtime but this may well not include their usual friends/class members who they will not be able to have contact with at school.

This letter has been composed with the latest government advice and could well change with any new or updated advice given.

So, for now, please keep safe and well
Thank you in advance for your cooperation
Best wishes
Mr Pearson

 You may have heard the Prime Minister’s latest update indicating that the government believes it may be in a position to implement a phased re-opening of schools from 1 June, starting with pupils in reception, year one and year six. This is part of the government’s conditional plan which it says will remain under regular review.
Let’s be very clear, all of us want to get more pupils back into school as soon as it is safe to do so. My staff have devoted their lives and careers to the care and education of pupils – they do not want to see classrooms empty for a day longer than they need to be.

However, as any Head teacher will tell you, the first priority has to be the safety of everyone in the school community.

Like you, we have only just seen the above announcement and at this stage we do not have all the answers to all your questions. We are looking forward to receiving more information from the government about what this means for our school.
It is worth reminding you that in the short-term, nothing has changed and we hope to provide further information in the coming days and weeks once we are able to do so.
In the meantime, please keep safe and well,

Kindest regards,
Mr. Pearson

I write to you at this difficult time to thank you for your ongoing support and understanding during this unprecedented time of upheaval and uncertainty, my staff have much appreciated your kind and supportive comments.

As you are already aware New Invention Junior School is closed to pupils, apart from a very small number of key worker children, the staff have worked incredibly hard to try to continue to provide education for your children via online learning platforms. On Monday 20th April we will again be open for a very small number of children.

I am very pleased with the quality of work that pupils are completing when at home and again I appreciate the support, help and encouragement that parents are giving their children at home.

School leaders have been faced with the difficult task of attempting to provide education for the vast majority of pupils who are at home but also opening school to provide childcare for a very small number of pupils whose parents are working on the frontline in the government's fight against covid-19. The school can only do this if there are a small number of children onsite. When children of critical keyworkers come into school they are required to maintain social distancing keeping a distance of 2m from staff and other children. As you can imagine this is very difficult in school with small narrow corridors classrooms and other areas. It is also difficult for children who naturally want to talk or interact with other children but must socially distance.

Some parents have recently contacted school to request that their children receive childcare due to:

they (children) are bored at home, they have fallen out with siblings or are being a pain.

I sympathise and understand that this is a difficult time for all families living in lockdown but I must also echo the guidance from the Department for Education which is that the safest place for children is at home and that they should not attend school if there is any other alternative.

Every day that I ask staff to attend school to supervise childcare I am doing so understanding that they are putting their and their families health at risk and I must ask parents to bear this in mind. I’m sure you will agree that children being at home for a short period will be a long term gain.

Please do not send your child to school unless it has been pre-agreed with the school.

I hope that you are all safe and well and I look forward to seeing you in person when it is safe to do so and government guidance changes, like you at this point I do not know when this might be.

Thanks in advance for your support

Keep safe and well

Mr Pearson

Dear Parents / Carers

Virus update

I would like to share the latest information we have from the DfE:

We will obviously keep parents updated with any new information, we are currently meeting and planning and hope to send another email tomorrow with regards to the reduced amount of children who the school will be open for and the services we can continue with should parents require.

Can I also thank you for your support and kind comments regarding the services we are trying to deliver.

Best wishes

Mr Pearson

Headteacher