Hello again everybody, it's been a while since my last blog post and my apologies for this - we have been incredibly busy behind the scenes making sense of the guidelines for a wider opening of schools and how to apply them to our very challenging building and outdoor space.
I know that many of you remain frustrated that we are not yet able to welcome all our children back, we hope that by September it is safe to be able to have everyone back in school all together.
From next Monday, 22nd June I am delighted that we are beginning our wider opening of school for children in Nursery, Reception and Year 1. The parents/carers of those children who expressed a desire for their children to come back to school have been contacted with the details of how this will work and we are looking forward to welcoming these children back first.
As a result of the changes we have had to make school looks very different for those who are returning. If you would like to see what changes have been made, have a look at this Flipbook which has been made to help prepare those who are coming back next week.
Staff will be working hard to try and make sure that in spite of all the changes and restrictions, children feel welcomed and safe back at school.
We know that Year 6 have missed out on the usual end of Primary School events which they were looking forward to. Plans are being made to try and offer some sort of event for them to bring their time here to a proper close and as soon as we have those details we will be in touch.
If you have been following the news you will see that there is a lot of talk around 'catch-up' programmes and tutoring; at this stage we do not know any more than you do about what is being proposed. I can assure you that the staff are concerned about the children and their welfare and when they return, a lot of work will be done to make sure that they are ready to learn and are supported in getting back into a work ethic again; this is the most important thing we can do for them and it will make a significant difference in helping them get 'back to normal'.
Accessing the work on the website has been difficult for some of you and we thank you for sticking with it and doing your best to access it; for those classes not yet returning to school, work will continue to be provided on a weekly basis in this way for the children to undertake. If you wish to get the work to your child's teacher, please take a picture and upload via Dojo. If you are not yet on Dojo please contact the school office for details.
As always, stay safe and continue to follow the guidelines to control the virus. Please do get in touch if you have any questions, either by ringing the office on 01772 794482 or emailing me here at school head@st-matthewscofe.lancs.sch.uk
God bless you all.
M Mackley
Comments
H. Cunningham
19 June 2020
I've had zero correspondence from the school regarding my daughters return to nursery. Infact, I've had zero correspondence since the beginning of lockdown?
Mr Mackley
23 June 2020
Thank you for getting in touch, I am sorry you feel that we have not been in touch. Staff have on several occasions made phone calls to all families to check in and offer help and support. We have also sent out a variety of text messages to try and keep people informed. I have passed your comment on to the Nursery staff for them to try and make contact again.
M.Adam
23 June 2020
Thank you to all the staff for providing our children with the work, as parents we fully appreciate it. I do feel the children need support with certain subjects such as Maths and English. I have children in year 5 and 6. If the school could maybe arrange some online sessions maybe a couple of hours a week so they are getting the help and support and face to face contact especially with subjects like Maths.
Many Thanks
Mr Mackley
23 June 2020
Thank you for your comments, I will make sure the staff see them.
We have looked into providing online support and it is something which we are not currently in a position to be able to provide. Hopefully, we will all be able to be back in school very soon and able to deliver learning in the best way possible, face to face in the classroom.