Video Message to the Children:

I have recorded another short video message to the children.  I will post the video on Class Dojo this evening.

Half Term:

As next week is officially half term, we will not be setting ‘Home Learning’ for the week.  It will be a good opportunity for children (and parents) to recharge batteries; and to not have the pressure of having to complete the set tasks. 

If you would still like to access work for your children, however, there are still links on our school website or there are some lovely activities that can be accessed through:

• Oak National Academy - https://www.thenational.academy/online-classroom/subjects/#subjects
• Swansea Virtual School - https://swanseavirtualschool.org/

Staff will still be providing emergency childcare for key workers, throughout the week, but half term will also be a chance for them to ‘recharge their batteries’.  Could I please ask you to refrain from directly messaging the staff, via Class Dojo, throughout the week – and if there is anything that you need, to contact me instead (CoxL32@hwbcymru.net).  Many thanks for your understanding and support with this.

Trips / Residentials:

As I mentioned in my last update, we have unfortunately had the sad news that both our residential trips have now been cancelled.

Mrs Lomas is in the process of organising refunds to parents.  Year 6 parents, should be expecting cheques to be delivered by post (please let us know if you do not receive these soon).  We are still trying to process information for the Year 3 and Year 4 trip.  We will notify you of the arrangements as soon as they have been finalised.

Free School Meals:

This week, the processes in place to cater for Free School Meals families, has changed.  As a school, we have made efforts to try and contact every parent that we have on our eligibility list, however we have not been able to get through to some.  If you believe that you are eligible, could I please urge you to check your email inbox (and junk inbox) or contact the school as soon as possible, so that we may support you through the process.

If you would prefer to contact the local authority directly, the contact email is - FSMpayments@swansea.gov.uk

Thank you:

This week we received a very thoughtful donation from the Swansea Bay Health Board Fundraising team.  We were able to collect around £250 worth of Lego sets, for us to use within the emergency childcare Hub.

During the time of school closure, we have had some incredibly kind offers and donations from our parents, and the wider school community.  We haven’t been able to access them all, but can I say a massive thank you for your kindness and generosity!

Saying this, we continue to be on the lookout for grants / support that we may be able to access; particularly to help us with preparing our school for whatever measures we have to put in place, when we start to return.  If you are aware of any / or able to access any support, please do let us know.

Moving Forward:

As I mentioned above, we have started to think about the practicalities and measures that we may put in place, when we do return to school.  However, in Wales, we are yet to have any sign of a date or any real idea of what school may look like.

I believe that across the nation, we will all be closely watching how ‘school life’ develops in England, over the coming weeks, and lessons from this will guide how the Welsh Government responds in turn. 

As soon as we have any clearer information, I will be sure to pass it on.

Reports:

If you have not already done so, could I please ask you to forward this information to your child’s class teacher.  The information that your child gives will be included in their report.  We are sorry but anyone who doesn’t return this information will not have the information in their child’s report.  Many thanks!

Child’s Name:

My Best Friends:

My Funniest Moment:

My Favourite Moment:

I am Especially Proud of:

My Next Steps (One target):

Home Learning:

Our teaching staff continue to update the weekly tasks, uploaded to Hwb, J2E, Class Dojo and our school website.  We are loving the examples of work that you are sharing with us!!  Please keep them coming!!

We are constantly reviewing our approach, to try and find the right balance between providing ‘too much’ or ‘too little’ work.  It is inevitable that each of our children (and families) will have different experiences from home learning, as we all have different scenarios that we are living in.  All that we ask, is that families do what they can.  It is obviously important for the children to be working, but this is a difficult time for everyone, and the primary focus should be keeping our households healthy, safe, happy and in a positive mindset.

If you are experiencing difficulties, please see the helpful weblinks on our school website:  (https://www.mayalsprimary.co.uk/support-for-parents/).

Home learning books – We have been contacted by some pupils, to tell us that they have completed their first home learning book.  Well done!!  If you have any other books / paper in the house, it is perfectly fine to continue using these.  Otherwise, I will be in school this Thursday, and will leave a box of books next to the front gate, should you want to collect one. 

May I please remind you though, that this should only be done if there is no other way for your child to record their work.  Also, if you do decide to come and collect a book, please abide to social distancing guidelines (should there be more than one person collecting at a time), and please do not enter the school grounds / premises, under any circumstances.

Difficulties accessing online ‘Home Learning’ – As mentioned in previous updates; if you are struggling to access the online home learning content, please let us know, so that we can look at how to support you in doing so.

National Tests:

This week, the Welsh Minister for Education announced that there will be no National Tests in primary schools, during this academic year. 

Trips / Residentials:

We are very sad to tell you that both our residential trips for this year have been cancelled by the providers. 

We have been able to speak to Llain (the providers of the Year 6 trip), and are in the process of organising refunds.  Year 6 parents should expect to be contacted by Mrs Lomas over the coming days, regarding this.  If you have not already had an email from Mrs Lomas, or do not receive one over the next couple of days, then please let me know.

We are still working hard to finalise arrangements with the Urdd Centre (providers of the Year 3 and 4 trip).  Once we have their more information from them, we will be sure to let parents know immediately.

Free School Meals:

The local authority are proposing changes to the way they provide meals for eligible families, during the period of school closure.  They will be contacting families over the coming week.

It is very important that they have up to date contact details for all of our eligible families.  If you think that you may be eligible, and have not already received an email from Mrs Lomas, then please let us know so that we can update your records and notify the local authority.

Moving Forward:

Despite the confusion and speculation that was amassed from the weekend’s announcements in England; Welsh schools have had very little indication that there will be any immediate change to the processes that are currently in place.   In fact, Kirsty Williams made a statement last week, clarifying:

The situation for schools in Wales will not change on 1 June. You have my guarantee that we will give everyone time to plan ahead of a next phase starting.

Our school senior leadership team are regularly discussing, and preparing for, the measures that we may need to put in place in Mayals.  When the time for us to return finally arises, and when we know what this looks like - we will be ready.  However, for the immediate future, this will not be the case. 

Of course, as soon as we have any more information on the situation, we will share this with you.

Reports:

Lastly, it is coming around to that time of year where school staff are beginning to write Summer reports.  With the current circumstances, I hope that you understand that we have had to make some slight amendments to the template that has been used over the past few years. 

We will still be reporting on the core aspects of the children’s achievements and attainment, as well as the personal milestones that each child has overcome during the academic year.  However, we have decided not to officially report on end of year levels, reading ages, attendance, etc, as we have not been able to collect up to date assessments since February.  All these will be better discussed, during Autumn term parent/teacher consultations, when we are (hopefully) back to the normality of school, and we have been able to more accurately assess the impact of the lockdown.

One aspect that we are keen to keep, is the pupil comments.  Below is a small number of questions that will be included in your child’s report.  Could we please ask you work with your children to provide brief answers for each of the questions, and then return them to your class teacher through email, J2E, Hwb or Class Dojo.  All those that we receive back will be included in your child’s report.  Many thanks!

Child’s Name:

My Best Friends:

My Funniest Moment:

My Favourite Moment:

I am Especially Proud of:

My Next Steps (One target):