Letter to Parents & Carers : 05 January 2021

Letter to Parents & Carers : 05 January 2021

Courage is the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can’t practice any other virtue consistently.”

Maya Angelou

Dear Parents and Pupils:

As many of you will be aware, the Prime Minister announced yesterday evening that England will be going into a national lockdown from 05 January 2021, until at least the February half term.

Please note this latest announcement of lockdown category does not affect those children who were already contacted about coming into school, on either Friday 1st January or Monday 4th January. They are expected in school each day from 08:45 – 15:00.

While these decisions have been made to keep everybody safe, which is the top priority, we know it is causing disappointment for children and potential difficulties for parents and carers with childcare and work. However, I would like to reassure you on a few key points:

  • We will be remaining open to ‘vulnerable’ children and the children of critical workers.
  • If you are a critical worker and need your child to attend school, please contact us either via email office@burdettcoutts.co.uk or call the office on 0207 828 6790. Please note you may be asked to provide evidence of your status.
  • If you are unsure whether your child qualifies, as a child of a critical worker, then please see the following link here >
  • All pupils enrolled in our Nursery are able to attend school.
  • Please collect your child’s home learning pack from school as soon as possible, if you have not already done so. These packs contain their books and other learning resources that they will need at home to support their learning via remote access.

Google Classroom:

Live Streamed Lessons:

You will see on the timetables that some lessons have been identified as being ‘streamed live’. Please note that children will be sent a link inviting them to join these online lessons. If a link is not provided, then that lesson just needs to be completed via the work shared on Google Classroom.

Please note that some lessons will not last the full hour and teachers may not always be visible during the lesson duration. However, pupils can post a message when help is needed, and a ‘ping’ will alert the teacher that a message has come in, which they can then either address ‘live’ to the child or message back to them.

Home Learning Environment and Etiquette:

  • Ideally your child should be working at a table (such as your dining table) or desk (if they have one).
  • Try to remove any unnecessary background noise during learning periods, ensuring that televisions, radios and music are switched off. This will help to keep children focused on their learning tasks.
  • Remember to keep the volume low or use headphones (where appropriate), to minimise disruption to other siblings or parents who may also be working from home (which is also important).
  • When children have something to share with their teacher during live lessons, please remember to either raise your hand (physically) or use the icon on your device to show this. Please remember, your teacher can still only address one person at a time J
  • Please ensure that your child is logged-on, on time, for ‘live learning lessons’, as it is disruptive to the teacher and other learners if they arrive late to lessons.
  • Please ensure that your microphone is off at all times, unless you are asking or responding to a question.

What will a school day via remote learning look like?

We have now had a lot of practice with setting and using remote learning, therefore please be assured we will continue to do our utmost to maintain a positive and productive experience for all children learning from home.

We have created a daily timetable, which includes the reassurance for children of ‘seeing’ their teachers and peers on Google Meet, for some lessons, but without the pressure or screen time involved with replicating the whole timetable.

Afternoon lessons, which are based on independent project work, will not require pupils to be online, although teacher help is available via the message board (stream) in their Google Classroom.

Each day will include online lessons (Maths, Reading and  Writing), with independent projects set in the afternoons. The timetables show where there will be breaks across the day, to create balance for children and parents.

Attendance:

It is important that children participate every day from their homes, and login for 09:00am each day for the register (Reception to Year 6). If your child is unwell, and unable to complete their schoolwork, parents should contact the school as normal, so that attendance is still registered accurately.

I know that after a difficult and challenging 2020 with Covid-19, not being able to open our school to all children once again in 2021 will cause further disruption to families and their daily lives. However, with Covid-19 cases at a record high and the new variant of the virus spreading at a faster rate, we need to continue to do all we can to keep our families and community safe.

Please click here to read the National Lockdown: Stay at Home guidance for further information on what is and is not permitted during this lockdown period.

We will of course keep you updated via email and other means, but if you have any serious concerns, please contact us by emailing office@burdettcoutts.co.uk or calling 0207 828 6790, and we will do our best to help.

We look forward to reopening when it is safe to do so. However, in the meantime please stay safe and follow the guidance.

Kind regards

Ms Yvonne Barnett

Head Teacher