Autumn 2020 Information

Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Spot Check. 23.11.20

Feedback - we have had a spot-check from the HSE this morning.   They spent an hour in the school reviewing our COVID risk assessment and all the procedures we have in place.   The children were polite going about their usual routines and the visitor was very impressed with everything we have in place.   In fact she did comment that she could not give us any further advice because everything was in place and working well. 

I would like to say thank you to you all for supporting our school systems, remaining socially distant and adapting to change.   I would also like to thank the children and staff for all they do every day to keep each other safe. Another positive for Cockshutt!

TogetherAll is a new digital mental health and wellbeing support service offer for any resident aged 16 years and above within the Shropshire Council area, who would like to improve their mental wellbeing.  TogetherAll is available online, 24/7.  The TogetherAll Community is completely anonymous so people can express themselves freely and openly. 

I have included some additional details about the platform below as well as the attached flyers which provide an overview of what the offer includes, how to register and the range of free resources and self-guided courses that can be accessed.  TogetherAll is already being used by Chester Uni Shrewsbury Campus and by many Local Authorities, NHS organisations and Universities across England.

TogetherAll is part of our wider response to protect residents mental health and wellbeing during the pandemic.  Additional mental health and wellbeing information, resources and links to local support can be found on the Shropshire Council webpage at www.shropshire.gov.uk/coronavirus/information-for-the-public/mental-health-and-wellbeing/.

Features of TogetherAll

• Professionally trained Wall Guides monitor the community to ensure the safety and anonymity of all members.
• Togetherall offers a range of activities that allow you to work through what's troubling you.
• Share your thoughts and join a Talkabout alongside fellow members to share and discuss what's on your mind, gain support and advice. You can do this with the whole community or form your   own groups or one-to-one chats.
• Alternatively, make a Brick to express yourself and your feelings creatively through drawing or by uploading your own images.
• In addition to Togetherall's online community, you will have access to a wealth of useful resources.
• Join our Self-guided support courses covering topics such as anxiety, sleep, and depression to problem solving and Assertiveness training.
• Take self-assessments to help you understand more about yourself.
• Find a library of information within Resources which can help you understand more about yourself, how you are feeling, set goals and track your progress.
• To join Togetherall’s supportive online community, simply visit Togetherall’s website and ‘Register’ with your postal code.
• You can then choose an anonymous username and access the Togetherall Support Network for free.

Please see below information from Blue Peter at CBBC:

We would like to inform you that we have launched Blue Peter on YouTube at CBBC and we were wondering if your pupils and parents would be interested in this.

Blue Peter is the longest running kids TV show in the world and we are uploading videos to it that are suitable for 5-11 year olds. We have world record breaking challenges, arts and crafts, environmental videos, cooking and baking how tos, inspirational films, gaming, celebrity appearances, dance routines and music performances. We also feature ways of getting a Blue Peter badge, behind the scenes footage and extra content about our incredible presenters Adam, Lindsey, Mwaksy, Richie and Henry the Blue Peter dog.

If you think your pupils would be interested in this, please do send this out to your parents and ask them to subscribe to https://www.youtube.com/bluepeter - (it’s obviously completely free to subscribe!) and don’t forget to watch the live programme on CBBC at 5.30pm every week, or on BBC iPlayer.

Thanks so much for your time,

The Blue Peter Team!

As the recession deepens, more people are losing their jobs and facing hardship. It is vital that people in Shropshire know where to get help. 

The Shropshire Food Poverty Alliance has created resources for people and organizations in Shropshire to find advice and support: 

Shropshire Larder (shropshirelarder.org.uk) - is the most comprehensive directory of services for people living in Shropshire on a low budget. It has information on how to access a foodbank or community food project, and how to eat well on a budget. It also covers how to get support with benefits, housing, and debt.  

Notification 5.10.20

In the interests of keeping everyone safe we would advise that you all begin to wear masks at drop off and pick up.   Our border county of Wrexham is on a local lockdown and there have been a few cases locally, so we would be grateful if you could wear a mask to approach staff and around the playground where there are other parents.  Thank you all for your cooperation. 

We are delighted to be welcoming all children back to full time education this term.   As it states in the Government Guidance "School attendance will be mandatory from the beginning of the new academic year. This means that it is your legal duty as a parent to send your child (if they are of compulsory school age) to school regularly."

All children in Years 1-6 and Nursery will return to school on Wednesday 2nd September and they should be wearing full school uniform.

Children in Reception will start half days on Monday 7th September and full time from Monday 14th September. 

The school gates will be open from 8.40am and we would ask that:

Chestnut Class should enter via the green gate and through the back of the classroom. 

Little Chestnut (Nursery) should enter school via the library. 

Ash Class should enter via the classroom door by the main reception. 

Oak Class should enter via the front door. 

These arrangements are subject to change and are to ease congestion at different points around the school.  

Pick up arrangements are the same as drop off and all classes will be dismissed at 3.15pm

What we will do to support your child:

• Provide hand sanitiser and hand washing stations. 
• Provide extra cleaning throughout the school day to ensure classes and toilet areas are kept as clean as possible. 
• Lay out the classrooms so that children are sitting next to each other not facing one another. 
• Provide all the equipment pupils will need to complete their school work.
• Divide the school day up into blocks where children are able to play in smaller groups.
• Take lots of learning outside. 
• Hot meals will be available for all children.  If you think your child may be entitled to free school meals please get in touch with the school.   Meals are free for all children in Reception to Year 2 and to children in receipt of free school meals.  School meals can be ordered at a cost of £2.30 per day for all other pupils. 
• Provide a broad and rich curriculum which will allow children to address possible gaps in learning, in a way which is interesting and engaging. 
• Update class pages to include the timetable for the week so that your child can come to school prepared.
• Contact you immediately if your child becomes ill. 

What we need you to do:

• Send children to school in clean uniform daily.
• Do not send your child to school if you think they may be ill or any one in your household has any of the symptoms associated with COVID-19 - a high temperature, a new continuous cough, a loss or change to your sense of smell. 
• Ensure children with long hair have it tied back neatly. 
• Keep all belongings at home apart from a water bottle (no juice) and lunch box if required. 
• Lunch boxes should be plastic and easily wiped down, please ensure that lunch boxes are cleaned daily. 
• Ensure all belongings are labelled clearly. 
• Ensure you have access to the school app as information on the web and app will be updated on a regular basis. Keep an eye on class pages for individual class information.
• Ensure school have your most up to date contact information as you need to be contacted urgently should your child become ill or in case of an emergency. 

READING BOOKS

We believe that there is no replacement for a physical book and we would like to continue to allocate books to children to support their learning.   Books will be allocated to children on a Monday afternoon, we would like all books returned on a Friday morning so that they can be quarantined for future use by other children.  If you miss the Friday deadline it would be advisable to keep that particular book for another week before returning it to school. This system is in place for your protection. 

FOREST SCHOOL & PHYSICAL EDUCATION

The way in which we structure lessons (currently) in school will change with fewer opportunities for children to do group work and move around.   Therefore, we recognise, that now more than ever, the work we do with the children wherein they can team build and get outside/get physical, is so important.   Pupil mental health is at the forefront of our agenda.   With this in mind, all children will have one session of Forest School per week and at least one PE lesson.   The daily mile will be completed as part of the 'fit for life' programme. 

On Forest School days pupils should come to school wearing their own (warm) clothes with waterproofs and wellies in a bag.  On PE days pupils should wear their PE kit with their school jumper on top.   It would be advisable for all children to have jogging bottoms (black) as the weather gets colder. 

We are attempting to have NO clothing changes in school for at least the first half term. We are hoping that school life will gradually return to a new normal. We had a very successful reopening in June and we are expecting this term to be a term of new beginnings and super learning.