THANK YOU to the community of Prince Rock Primary School - to all of you who sent messages of support, cards, letters, pictures, flowers, and little gifts.

 

Your kind thoughts and expressions of sympathy were a comfort to us, and we are deeply grateful. Of course, we know how special Michael was, but we were left speechless with pride and awe to see it reflected in the outpouring of tributes, love, and respect from those of you who worked with him, or were taught by him, or were parents and guardians who knew him.

 

Michael has left a wonderful legacy in the hearts and minds of so many people by being kind, joyful, and striving to keep life simple; not an easy task with all the challenges life presents us with.

 

We send you our warmest wishes for all your ongoing pursuits.

Frances and Rosie Issitt

To all parents, grandparents and carers,

 

• We believe parents are their children's first and most important educators.
• We are committed to developing a strong relationship between parents and school.
• We also encourage children to develop 'growth mind-sets', in which they believe that ability and success are not pre-determined, but due to learning.

 

We are therefore delighted to extend a growth and learning opportunity to you as parents and carers as well.

 

Devon Local Maternity System have invested in a multi-user licence for 3 award winning, quality marked, evidence based online courses by the Solihull Approach (a national NHS organisation) and we are therefore delighted to offer you FREE indefinite access to the courses, normally £19-£39 per person. Once you have accessed the courses using this code you will have non-expiring access even after the code expires.

 

These courses are for ALL parents-to-be, parents, grandparents or carers of any child from the antenatal period to age 18 years who want to be the best they can be.  You don’t need to be struggling. This course is relevant to parents of all children, including those with special needs, autism, ADHD etc.

 

To access the courses go to  www.inourplace.co.uk  and the access code is TAMAR.

You will be asked a few monitoring questions and your postcode to confirm that you are eligible to use these codes. Your responses will not be linked to your name. You will also be asked to create an account so that you can revisit the course anytime, on any device and resume where you left off. You will not receive any marketing emails. Your details will not be passed on to any third party.

 

We welcome your feedback.

For further information about the course visit www.inourplace.co.uk 

 

For technical queries email solihull.approach-parenting@heartofengland.nhs.uk or ring 0121 296 4448 Mon-Fri 9am-5pm

 

Parents FAQ – updated June 16th

 

1. Which children is the school open for?

From June 2^nd, Prince Rock re-opened for children in Year R, 1 and 6.

From June 22^nd, we are also offering morning sessions to children in year 5, subject to staffing capacity remaining at current levels.

 

2. Will children in those year groups be in school every day?

No, children in year R, 1, 5 and 6 will be offered the chance to come to school on a Monday & Tuesday OR a Thursday & Friday. This is to ensure that we can operate in the safest manner possible.

 

3. Will the children be taught by their own teacher?

This will not be possible for all children but we will try to make the teacher and teaching assistants they have as consistent as possible.

 

4. What about the children in years 2, 3 and 4?

We will continue to provide home learning for these children on the school website. A member of staff will seek to contact each child in these year groups at least once a fortnight to see how they are getting on with this learning.

 

5. What about home learning for my year R, 1, 5 or 6 child on the days when they are not in school?

We will provide some home learning for these children too.

 

6. Do I have to send my child to school?

No, the school will be respecting the rights of any parent to keep their child at home during the summer term.

 

7. How are you planning to keep the children safe?

In order to make the school environment as safe as possible, we will be:

• reducing class sizes to no more than 15
• separating each group as much as possible although they may pass in the corridor
• staggering start and finish times for school
• using different entrances and exits for different year groups
• staggering break and lunchtimes
• ensuring the children wash their hands at regular intervals
• increasing the cleaning taking place at school
• removing soft toys and furnishings as much as possible
• windows and door will be propped open to maintain airflow / ventilation
• risk assessments will be completed for any children with additional needs

 

8. What happens if a child is ill?

No child who is ill should be sent to school.

If a child displays any symptoms of Covid-19 (NHS list below) whilst at school, the child will be sent home and parents will need to request a test for their child. All other children in the ‘bubble’ will also need to be collected that day. As soon as the test has come back negative, all children and staff will be able to return to school. Should there be a positive test, all children and staff in that group will need to self-isolate for 14 days.

 

9. Are there measures in place to protect the staff?

Yes, we have taken measures to support staff’s ability to keep 2m apart. One of this is that parents will not be allowed into school except by prior appointment. Only one parent will be allowed in the school reception at any time and the office staff will be keeping the hatch closed unless they need to pass something through.

 

10. How can parents speak to a member of staff?

We would ask parents to phone the school if they need to speak to a member of staff. No member of staff, including our family liaison officer, will be able to meet with parents except by prior appointment.

 

11. Will my child have to wear school uniform?

No, it is important that children come to school in clean clothes each day and so we will be allowing children to wear non-school uniform. Please keep this as suitable for school as possible e.g. no spiderman outfits!

 

12. Will I still receive free school meal vouchers?

From the week beginning the 29^th June, parents will no longer receive food vouchers due to a change in government guidance stating that if we can provide food parcels, we should do this instead. If your child is not in school at all and you are entitled to free school meals, you can request a weekly food parcel. If your child is in school for part of the week, you can request a grab bag on the days he/she is not in. Both food parcels and grab bags need to be collected from school.

 

The government has recently announced that FSM vouchers will be available for parents over the summer holiday when the school is closed.

 

 

 

 

 

13. My child is currently in EduCare – what will happen to them?

We will continue to run EduCare 5 days a week for the children of key workers. Unfortunately, because of the need to keep groups of children apart, your child will need to stay with the EduCare group rather than joining their class. From June 1^st, if your child is in EduCare and in years 3 - 6 but you are not entitled to free school meals, you will need to pay for them or send your child with a packed lunch.

14. I have not been using EduCare but am a keyworker and am going back to work – can I use this facility?

The list of jobs that are classed as keyworkers has not changed. If you need to start using this service, please complete a keyworker application form which we can email you. Even if you have completed one in the past, please let us know that your child needs a space so we can plan in advance for additional numbers.

15. Will there be Breakfast and After School Club?

We will not be able to provide this as we need to keep groups of children apart.

 

 

 

Please look in our policies section for the new Covid-19 addendum to the behaviour policy.

 

Here is the latest information from the DfE and how you can support them with their learning at home.

 

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/help-primary-school-children-continue-their-education-during-coronavirus-covid-19

Dear parents and carers, 

 

Next week is half term and the school will be closed on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. There will be no staff on site during these three days and there will be no home learning set for this week. EduCare will be open on Thursday and Friday only. 

 

Thank you

Parents FAQ

 

1. When is the school likely to re-open?

The government have said that the earliest possible date is June 1^st. As this is a training day, the earliest date we will be open is 2^nd June. Unfortunately, the government are planning to confirm whether this date will go ahead as late as May 28^th so we will not be able to be certain until this date.

2. Will all children be returning to school?

No, the government have asked schools to re-open for Year R, 1 and 6.

3. Will children in those year groups be in school every day?

No, children in year R, 1 and 6 will be offered the chance to come to school on a Monday & Tuesday OR a Thursday & Friday. This is to ensure that we can open in the safest manner possible

4. Will the children be taught by their own teacher?

This will not be possible for all children but we will try to make the teacher and teaching assistants they have as consistent as possible.

5. What about the children in years 2, 3, 4 and 5?

We will continue to provide home learning for these children on the school website.

6. What about home learning for my year R, 1 or 6 child on the days when they are not in school?

We will provide some home learning for these children too.

7. Do I have to send my child to school?

No, the school will be respecting the rights of any parent to keep their child at home during the summer term.

8. How are you planning to keep the children safe?

In order to make the school environment as safe as possible, we will be:

• reducing class sizes to no more than 15
• separating each group as much as possible although they may pass in the corridor
• staggering start and finish times for school
• using different entrances and exits for different year groups
• staggering break and lunchtimes
• ensuring the children wash their hands at regular intervals
• increasing the cleaning taking place at school
• removing soft toys and furnishings as much as possible
• windows and door will be propped open to maintain airflow / ventilation

 

 

9. Are there measures in place to protect the staff?

Yes, we have taken measures to support staff’s ability to keep 2m apart. One of this is that parents will not be allowed into school (except to collect their child at the end of the day) except by prior appointment. Only one parent will be allowed in the school reception at any time and the office staff will be keeping the hatch closed unless they need to pass something through.

10. How can parents speak to a member of staff?

We would ask parents to phone the school if they need to speak to a member of staff. No member of staff, including our family liaison officer, will be able to meet with parents except by prior appointment.

11. Will my child have to wear school uniform?

No, it is important that children come to school in clean clothes each day and so we will be allowing children to wear non-school uniform. Please keep this as suitable for school as possible e.g. no spiderman outfits!

12. Will I still receive free school meal vouchers?

We have applied for these vouchers for all children who are entitled to free school meals for the week beginning 1^st June and are expecting that you will receive them as normal this week. We will update you about any government changes to the scheme when we know more.

13. My child is currently in EduCare – what will happen to them?

We will continue to run EduCare 5 days a week for the children of key workers. Unfortunately, because of the need to keep groups of children apart, your child will need to stay with the EduCare group rather than joining their class. From June 1^st, if your child is in EduCare and in years 3 - 6 but you are not entitled to free school meals, you will need to pay for them or send your child with a packed lunch.

14. I have not been using EduCare but am a keyworker and am going back to work – can I use this facility?

The list of jobs that are classed as keyworkers has not changed. If you need to start using this service, please complete a keyworker application form which we can email you. Even if you have completed one in the past, please let us know that your child needs a space so we can plan for additional numbers.

15. The government have stated that it is their ambition to bring all primary children back to school before the end of the summer term. Will this be happening?

We do not currently see how this will be feasible due to the space that is needed to keep groups to a maximum of 15, the number of staff who are able to work and the safety of our staff.

16. Will there be Breakfast and After School Club?

We will not be able to provide this as we need to keep groups of children apart.

Dear Parents,

 

Following the government’s recent announcements on reopening schools, we are currently trying to plan to do this safely at Prince Rock Primary.

 

The government are currently asking us to open to children in, year R, year 1 and year 6 in just over 2 weeks’ time from Monday 1^st June. We actually have a LAT wide training day on the Monday 1st, so anything we do will start from the Tuesday.

 

We are currently looking very carefully at the government guidance and considering a range of things to make reopening school safer, such as staggered start and finish times, smaller numbers in each classroom and one way moving around the school procedures. We are also considering the possibility of opening to certain year groups / classes / groups of children on different days or times of the week.

 

We want to work with you as partners in this process and as part of our planning for reopening we would like to get some sort of idea of how you are currently feeling about the idea of sending your child back to our care on the 2^nd June. We won’t be holding you to what you say now and we know that things can change as the national picture on Covid-19 changes and the national lockdown begins to take effect.

 

If your child is in year R, 1 or 6, please would you please complete the survey below to answer the following questions as soon as you can describing how you currently feel about sending your child in on Tuesday 2^nd June. You will need to copy and paste the link into your browser.

 

Thank you for your help.

Yours faithfully,

 

Ms C. Brake

Executive Headteacher

 

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Survey Link

 

https://bit.ly/35WCdc1

 

Dear Parents / Carers,

 

You will have heard the recent government announcements on trying to get nursery, year R, year 1 and year 6 pupils back to school on June 1st, with everyone else joining a few weeks later for a month before the summer.

 

In the current circumstances this appears to be a very challenging and aspirational target.

 

Please be assured that over the next few days we will will doing our very best to make sense of the governments documentation and advice and we will start to do what we can to plan the safe reopening of our school. 

 

We will be asking for your views on returning your children to our care in due course and we would like to reassure you that our overriding priority as we plan the rest of this school year, will be the safety of your children and our staff.

 

We hope to have a comprehensive plan in place, should we return, very soon and will communicate this to you as soon as we can.

 

Best wishes,

 

Ms C. Brake

Dear Parents/Carers,

 

As you will be aware, the Prime Minister made some announcements last night, including an aspiration that children in years R, 1 and 6 return to school from the 1st June.

 

Like you, we have only just seen the announcement and at this stage we cannot answer all of your questions. We are still waiting to receive more information from government about what this means for our school.

 

We would like to remind you all that in the short term nothing has changed.

 

We will provide further information in the coming days and weeks once we are able to do so.

 

Kind regards

 

Ms C. Brake