Letters from the Director of Education

We have been asked to pass on two letters, from Nick Williams (Director of Education for Swansea).  One is made out to the pupils, the other, to Parents and School Staff.  Both letters can be accessed, by clicking on the links below:

Letter to Pupils - https://primarysite-prod-sorted.s3.amazonaws.com/mayals-primary-school/UploadedDocument/1ccae2853b1644fabc86c6b6a9610ae0/doe-end-of-term-letter-to-pupils.pdf

Letter to Parents and Staff - https://primarysite-prod-sorted.s3.amazonaws.com/mayals-primary-school/UploadedDocument/5349e3e23eca4381b7cef60572328148/doe-end-of-term-letter-to-staff-and-parents.pdf

Video Messages

It has been impossible for us to undertake our normal transition activities this year, to prepare the children for moving to the next class.  Over the past week, we have made opportunities for our teachers to drop in, and introduce themselves to their new class, however, we are very aware that some children may have missed this.

For this reason, our teaching staff have recorded short video messages; giving a little bit of information about themselves.  These will be posted on Class Dojo.  Could we ask that you please share them with your children. 

I have also recorded a short message, to the children, which can be found by clicking the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1zMx6t2FfY

We will be sending out more information, closer to September.

Trespassers

I am sorry to say, that we are frequently having an increasing number of teenagers entering the school premises, after school hours.  What did begin, as small groups playing football, has now escalated into large groups using the equipment, and leaving a substantial mess behind them.

We have reported this to the Police, on several occasions, and they have asked that if parents / carers witness people trespassing, and are happy to call the police, please do so by calling 101.  Any support you could give us in this matter, would be massively appreciated.

Outline Plans for September

Please find the broad outline of our plans to return, in September.  Please bear in mind, that all plans are subject to change - we have made them, in line with current guidance, and if this should change over the summer break, then so too will our plans.

We will be back in touch, with all families, during the last weeks of the summer break to add further detail, and to notify you of any changes.  However, should you have any concerns, suggestions or queries, in the meantime, please do get in touch.

• As legislated by the Welsh Government, and in line with local authority guidance, all schools should open to all pupils, by September 14^th.  It is our intention, at Mayals, to do this before the stipulated date.

• We will have two closure days, at the very start of the year (Tuesday, September 1^st and Wednesday, September 2^nd). 

• All children, from Year 1 to Year 6, will return on Thursday September 3^rd.

• For the first day, children (and staff) will return to their previous classes.  For example, current Year 5 (July 2020) will return to Year 5.  We believe that this approach will help to reduce anxieties over the summer, as children will be returning to a familiar teacher.  We also believe it will enable us to have a more informed ‘check in’ when we return.

• The second day will consist of transition activities (preparing the children for the move to their new class).  The children will then be ready to begin in their new class, on Monday September 7^th.

• Reception and Nursery children will begin attending (in staggered form), from Monday September 7^th.

Class teachers will be in touch to provide more information to parents.

• School start and finish times will continue to be staggered.  We will also continue to operate a one way system for entering / exiting the school.  There will be amendments to these processes, which will be shared before September.

• There will be NO Breakfast Club or After School Club provision, for at least the first two weeks.  We are hoping to have these up and running, however, from Monday September 14^th.

• There will be NO lunches provided by school, for at least the first two weeks.  All children must bring a packed lunch with them.

• Break times and lunch times will continue to be staggered.

• Risk assessments and measures, will still be in place, to minimise the risk of cross-infection.  Such as; minimising the mixing of year groups, and minimising the sharing of resources.

• We will be looking to deliver a full and balanced curriculum, although our initial focus will be to monitor wellbeing, as well as assessing and addressing the potential fall in literacy / numeracy skills.

• The school has made detailed contingency plans, which will be implemented in the event of a second wave of the Covid19 virus.

September

Yesterday, Kirsty Williams announced the excellent news that all schools in Wales will be open to all pupils by Monday, September 14^th 2020. 

Within her statement, she did highlight that specific groups of learners, may need to be prioritised for the first week of the term.  However, from the second week, schools should be looking to get back to full capacity.  Her full statement can be found by following this link, https://gov.wales/education-minister-announces-back-school-plans-september

Now that we have this information, we can start to refine our detailed plans for our return.  We do envisage having a short period for transition between classes, during the first week, and then looking to get ‘back to normal’, within the second week. 

From listening to the Minister’s statement, it is clear that school life, just like everyday life, will still require some additional measures to be put in place, to minimise the risk of cross-infection, and a risk of a second spike in the pandemic. Such as, the children being placed in larger contact groups (bubbles) of around 30; school start/end times and break times possibly being staggered; and not having larger gatherings, such as assemblies; but these are all finer details, which we will consider once we have more guidance.

We will now be working closely, with the local authority, our Governing Body and with our cluster of schools, to prepare risk assessments; discuss transition strategies; manage wellbeing; etc – with an aim to provide a model that best suits the needs of our children and families.  We will share these plans with you, before the end of next week.

As always, if you have concerns, suggestions or queries, before then, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Classing Structure – September 2020

Please find below, the teaching staff structure, for September.  Please share this with your children.  We will also be looking for the children to have chat with their new teacher, next week, as well as more structured transition opportunities, during the first week back.

Reports

At this time, we will only be looking to send out paper copies of our Year 6 reports, before the end of term. 

All other parents / carers, can request an electronic copy of their child’s report, which can be shared (in pdf format), via Class Dojo or sent to an email address.  If requested, these will be sent out, during the first weeks of the summer break.  Please contact the school, or your child’s teacher, should you want their report in this format.  Alternatively, paper copies will be handed out, immediately, when the children return in September.

Childcare arrangement over the Summer

We have now received the following information, from the local authority, relating to childcare arrangements for the summer break:

Childcare for children of critical workers

For childcare provision for the children of critical workers, given timescales and implications of CIW registration, the most viable option is to signpost families requiring childcare to use existing registered private childcare provision.  Further information is available for parents/carers by contacting Swansea Family Information Service on 01792 517222 or by e-mailing fis@swansea.gov.uk.

We have also been asked to forward you a survey link, which the local authority hopes to use in order to gauge demand, during the summer holidays. 

Please be advised that this survey should only be completed if you are regarded as a critical worker, and if you would possibly require childcare, over the summer.  Please find the link below.

The survey closes at 11.45pm on Tuesday July 14^th 2020. 

SUMMER CHILDCARE SURVEY (CRITICAL WORKERS)

Year Groups

Start of Day (Drop off time)

End of Day (Collection time)

Year 6 and Year 2

8.30 am

2.40 pm

Year 5 and Year 1

8.40 am

2.50 pm

Year 4 and Reception

8.50 am

3.00 pm

Year 3

9.00 am

3.10 pm

Return to School

It has been absolutely fantastic to have our Key stage 2 pupils back in class, this week!  It has been lovely to see them itching to get in, and not wanting to leave.  I would like to thank the children for being so well behaved, considerate and enthusiastic.  In a difficult situation, with new processes and procedures to get used to, they have responded brilliantly.  I would also like to extend this thank you to our parents and carers, who have followed the timetables and processes rigidly, and again, helped to make the school week run as smoothly as possible!

We cannot wait to welcome our Foundation Phase pupils back, from Monday.  We hope that they enjoy, as much as our older children!

With regards to week 3 (week beginning 13.07.20), we are busy evaluating our processes and will be looking to share a definite plan with you all, this week.

Blended Learning

This week, we have begun to put our adapted ‘blended learning’ measures in place.  Many of our classes have been involved in live sessions, on Microsoft Teams, and each class should now be receiving weekly videos / presentations / tutorials to help with home learning (via J2E), and to supplement the Cwests that are already being uploaded.

As we move through the coming weeks, we will continue to refine these processes and look to share more and more with our children. 

It is by no means compulsory, but if you do want your child to be involved in the Teams sessions, the following consent form must be completed.  We have sent a personal message, via Class Dojo, to all those families who we have not yet had a response: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=Ug4_TzS3ZEGUCRtgHRR5k5OU8z2vx7ZBmyGr8Gr9zEFUMldBUFg0TzYxU1ZTUUFaV0dHRElUOVpWTC4u

We have also created a tutorial video, to help with setting up Teams.  This can be found by following this link - https://spark.adobe.com/video/t8hnDQOFEmjZm

As always, if you are having any difficulties, or have any concerns, please do contact your child’s class teacher, or contact me directly.

Emergency Childcare Hub (ECH)

We continue to operate the ECH daily, between the hours of 8.30am and 3.30pm.  We will continue to do so, up until the end of term – which is Friday July 17^th.

I am sorry but we have not yet had any guidance, from the local authority, to indicate what will happen to the childcare after this date.  Collectively, schools are pushing the local authority for urgent guidance.  As soon as we have more information, I will be sure to share it with families immediately.

September

Understandably, we have had many emails from parents, over the past few weeks, enquiring as to the arrangements for schooling in September.  I am afraid that, as with the ECH, we are still awaiting any guidance from Welsh government.  Announcements have been made by other countries in the UK, so we are hoping that decisions will be made, and shared with us, soon.

As a school, we have begun to plan for different scenarios and will be ready to push ahead, with what is appropriate, as soon as we know the parameters of our return.  Until then, I can only apologise for the delay in information, and thank you for your continued patience.

Please rest assured, as soon as we know more, this will be shared with all.

Newsletters / Information

Just a quick reminder that all our school newsletters and information can be found on our school website. 

Should you have misplaced an email, or would like to check what has been sent out – all correspondence can be found by following this link: https://www.mayalsprimary.co.uk/stream/news/full/1/-/

We also share information through Class Dojo and through our school Twitter feed: @MayalsSchool.

Year 6 Leavers and Nursery Check in

During the last week of school (week beginning 13.07.20), we are hoping to arrange opportunities for our Year 6 pupils to have one last ‘socially distant’ get together, as well as an opportunity for Nursery pupils to check in with their class teachers, before the Summer break.

Could all Year 6 and Nursery parents please keep a close eye on their emails and Class Dojo accounts, over the next week, as plans will be shared via these means.

School Uniform

We have been asked, by the local authority, to share the following message with all families entitled to free school meals:

School uniform grant applications can be made from 13 July for children currently entitled to free school meals going into Reception and Years 3, 7 and 10.  Eligible parents/carers will be contacted closer to this date with details on how they can apply.  Further information on the grant can be found here https://www.swansea.gov.uk/schooluniformgrant