Coming Back To School: Wednesday 2nd September

I am just posting this quick video clip to explain to all the children in an easy to access way a few things about returning to school on Wednesday 2nd September. I hate doing vid clips so this was fun but it is what it is, one take and out – lol. I hope this helps settle the nerves of any of the children who might be feeling a little apprehensive – everything will be fine and on behalf of the whole school team, we can’t wait to see you all back in school 🙂 Take care of yourselves, rest easy and see you Wednesday.

A warm welcome to the first official communication for the academic year 2020/21. I hope this letter finds you all well and on behalf of the whole school staff we wish you all the best and hope you’ve all had a lovely, if not slightly surreal summer holiday.

Due to the frequently changing guidance regarding arrangements for schools to reopen,​ I have not rushed to make this communication as I did not want to be sending out information only for it to change and then possibly change again but it would appear that the circumstances are stable enough at this time and Doncaster is actually holding out well. It will be no surprise for you all to hear that things will be a little different this academic year to how we would normally like to run things and I thought I would take this opportunity to make you aware of the key measures we are taking to keep your children as safe as possible and like anything else, as the song goes, the beginning is a very good place to start.

Before I talk you through the start times and other arrangements, let me emphasise this: as parents and carers you have a very clear duty of care to yourselves, the community and beyond to disclose any signs or symptoms within your family unit to the school immediately and without delay or exception. It is imperative that you contact the school if you have been directed to isolate or have been in contact with someone who has the virus. It goes without saying that if a child or any member of the household has symptoms of COVID19, they should not attend school under any circumstances and should self isolate. Only when the child or member of the family showing symptoms has been tested and confirmed negative and no longer feels unwell or shows any symptoms, should the child return to school.

Schools in their very nature provide a network of connections that could lead to a large outbreak of COVID19 within and indeed beyond Doncaster should anyone not heed the guidance and having suffered so much, now is not the time to lessen our resolve or let our guard down.

At the start of this new school year, Wednesday 2nd September, we will be running staggered start and finish times to the school day. Please refer to the table below:

In the interests of safety, it is important to adhere to the times indicated as this will reduce contact and greatly aid our plans for social distancing and protective bubbles. While your natural impulse will be to remain in the waiting area just inside the school gates or just outside on the road, It is important that you do not do this as other children will be arriving imminently and we must minimise contact between households and classes.

Should you have more than one child at school who are in different year groups, you will be permitted to bring both your children in at the same time – again both children will go directly to class. If any of these arrangements are going to cause you significant issues, please contact the school to discuss this further. If you need support with childcare before or after school, please contact Carl Adams from Buddies, our independent Wrap Around Care Provider who can be reached via email: ​[email protected]​ or if urgent, call: 07540701090. I would stress that this is not a free service provided by school .

During the school day, we will be staggering play times and classes will be restricted to designated areas on a rota basis. We will also be staggering lunch times too and inevitably, this will lead to shorter periods of time in the dinner hall. Again, like playtimes, children will be allocated specific zones for recreational purposes before and after their time in the dinner hall. In line with government guidance, there is no requirement for children or adults working in schools to wear face masks but anyone wishing to do so will not be prevented from wearing them unless they are being used in an unsafe or inappropriate manner. As we are seeing, good hand hygiene and minimising contact with others has been key to inhibiting the spread of the virus to date. Within classrooms, furniture will be arranged in such a way that, as far as possible, children are not directly facing each other and we will be adapting the curriculum and teaching styles accordingly to minimise close contact. In addition, each child will have their own individual tray with equipment provided just for them to minimise the risk of contamination.

Each class will effectively form their own bubble but these will be expanded during playtimes and lunchtimes to include the other half of the school year eg: 3MW and 3HJ. Extensive plans and risk assessments have concluded that this would be the best way to keep the school open but at these recreational times, children will be outdoors and not in direct contact with one another so the risk is reduced anyway. Whole school communal events such as Class Assemblies in the main hall are cancelled until such times as we are able to resume large gatherings in confined spaces. Children will still be able to choose whether to take a packed lunch or a school dinner but as normal, we would ask you to give the kitchen notice of at least a week if you plan to change as meals are still ordered in advance. At this time, we will still be providing a more restricted menu but there will be a hot meal choice daily including a vegetarian option. Children will not have as much free choice about where they sit for lunches also at this time in the interests of safety.

I’m sure you will appreciate, there has never been a more important time to ensure your child’s clothing is clearly named and anything such as book bags and water bottles also carry a very clear identifiable name tag or label. Every year we are left with mountains of unclaimed uniform, unnamed and unclaimed which is a tragic waste so stress the need for your children to take care of their things too.  There are no planned uniform adaptations or changes in colour so you can shop with confidence and this might be a good time to ensure that you are well stocked up.

In a further attempt to reduce transmission of COVID19, we will not be using physical reading books for the children to take home as we would have done historically. As reading is imperative to any child’s academic development we will be providing access to an electronic library of books that can be accessed on any web enabled device. We will be using the same system as the Infants for consistency and the system will also provide the children with questions around the text they are reading which will be useful and is perhaps something that you could explore with them. For really advanced readers, who will be used to making independent choices about their texts, I would urge them to explore the site in the short term and to use their own texts to supplement these resources.

One final thing I would like you to consider is what your child brings to school. All bags and coats will be brought directly into the classroom whilever it is practical to do so rather than using cloakrooms. This of course will provide logistical challenges so I would ask for your support in ensuring your child only brings what is absolutely necessary. They will not need reading books, planners, pens or pencils etc and as such, please could they bring the smallest bag possible with only the essentials of PE kit and anything else essential. All trading cards and other such items will not be permitted in school for obvious reasons.

Before I finish this very long letter, I would like to assure you that a great deal of thought and consideration has gone into planning your child’s return to school, far more than can be covered in here. The staff have been well briefed and we have been working full time, operating in similar conditions, providing education on site for a number of children all the way through the lockdown period. While we all wish to return to normal as soon as possible, we acknowledge that it is not yet safe to do so. Furthermore, our experiences during lockdown will have been very different so we have allocated additional time to explore the social and emotional anxieties that your children have faced to date. We know from experience that, until a child feels safe and secure within their environment, they can never achieve their full potential. In school, we operate as CREW in line with XP practice which augments our previous child centered focus, providing children with a voice and a sense of unity. These daily sessions will provide a sound level of emotional support for all.

We will continue to update you as the term progresses and I would urge you all to sign up to the ​school website​ to receive updates on key information. All you need to do is enter your email address into the field and hit subscribe. You can find this on the right hand side of our homepage if you scroll down a little.

Best wishes to you all and enjoy the last week of the holiday!

Kind regards,

A Hayes

Headteacher

Dear parents and carers,

I hope you are all keeping well and staying safe. I wanted to give you an update on the current situation at NJS for next week.

As we continue to work our way through this unique and often challenging time, thank you once again for all your support. We really do appreciate your understanding as we, day by day, work through what is best for our children. 

Their wellbeing, continued safety and good health is always our priority and will continue to be so – always. 

I explained previously, any extension of our current provision will be reviewed and monitored on a daily basis as we move forward with caution in line with guidance provided by the government and Doncaster’s lead health professionals led by Dr Rupert Suckling. Some of you may not be aware but Doctor Suckling has been providing more local intelligence on COVID19 and its impact on our locality and it was Suckling’s intelligence that helped the Mayor shape her guidance in the letter we shared previously with yourselves. 

This week, Dr Suckling’s advice has been that, although we need to proceed with caution, it is now safer to consider extending our schools provision. With that in mind, from Monday 15th June  the position nationally will be that wider opening of schools can go ahead for Year 6, where it is deemed safe. Across XP Trust we are following the advice of Doncaster Local Authority (Led by Dr Suckling) who have been working alongside Public Health England (PHE).

We are hereby delighted to say that we will be able to offer wider provision in school to those families in Year 6 that requested a place moving forwards until further notice. All parents who requested a place received a letter via email yesterday evening so if you feel you should have received an email and have not, please check your spam or junk mail boxes.

Unfortunately, despite this feeling of optimism shared in Dr Sucklings press release this week, due to the operational constraints of social distancing and staffing, we are unable to offer a full week of education for children in Y6. Moving forward, our priority has to remain supporting Key Worker and vulnerable children. We also still have to manage our online curriculum as the majority of children will not be returning and therefore still need support. However, this will at least provide a step towards normal school life for your child before summer. 

The decision to extend our provision from Monday – is based on a belief that ‘on balance’ this is the right decision – where risk assessments are in place and a safe environment has been created at each school. The latest available data from Dr Suckling, the Local Authority, Department for Education and PHE has been analysed and cross referenced as part of the decision process. This included looking at Track and Trace, rate of infections and the number of current cases in Doncaster.

Dr Rupert Suckling stated in his letter to all Headteachers this week that:

“In summary, although we are not out of the woods, the risk of COVID-19 in Doncaster has reduced enough for us to manage it in a measured and cautious way.”

As I said earlier, this is indeed a time for optimism but it is not a time for complacency. There has been a lot of planning amongst school staff and we have taken all fair and reasonable measures to ensure the safety and wellbeing of your children as we extend our offer of provision. The physical spaces around the site present their own challenges but the additional measures we have taken to isolate the children into smaller protective bubbles will make things as safe as possible. 

I will provide more detail on the measures we are taking to keep everyone safe but please remember to promote social distancing yourselves when picking up and dropping off your children as this would be very much appreciated.

Last, but not least – we want to reassure you once again that we are here to listen to any concerns or questions you may have. We are following all the guidance provided by Dr Suckling and Public Health England. If you are worried or need any clarification of any aspect of this, or any other update please just get in touch.

Stay safe and well and have a great weekend.

In light of recent events, we would like to send our heartfelt sadness and profound solidarity and support to our friends, colleagues and the wider community in the USA. The murder of George Floyd, alongside countless other black Americans, has once again highlighted to the world that racism is deeply rooted in all our institutions and communities. In light of this murder and other unnecessary acts of grievous and unconscionable violence, we are resolved to do more, as educators, to fight prejudice in all its forms, question our role in this and be determined to bring about positive change to eradicate racism and prejudice in all its forms.

Our curriculum is deeply rooted in developing community and building social equity and we have never shied away from facing and challenging what is unacceptable in our global, national and local community. We believe that the knowledge we acquire becomes powerful only when it is used to bring about positive social change so that we become better people and our world becomes a better place. As such, as a Trust, we feel it our responsibility to do more; not just to speak out against prejudice and injustice but be determined to do more to actively change the way we work, how we work, what we learn and how we affect positive change.

Our students already learn about racial inequality by studying the role of the British in the formulation of the slave trade and their part in the triangular trading of humans in the 18th century. We link this to the inhumane treatment of black communities in the USA in the 19th and 20th Centuries and their suffering at the hands of perverse attitudes and laws during this time. We study and celebrate the Civil Rights movement in the USA and the significant role it played, and continues to play, in fighting for equality and justice. Also, in Crew sessions across our Trust, there is a strong focus on equity justice and we constantly promote respect and tolerance.

However, we feel  that we could do much more to highlight and change the systemic and institutional racism that exists in our own country by focusing more on how and why black people have been historically and more recently let down by our institutions and systems in the UK.

Therefore, today we pledge to review our curriculum at all phases, as well as our own understanding of racism, to integrate more consciously opportunities to educate our students about racial injustice. We will use experts to support us to challenge and confront racism and through this learning act to bring about more equity in our communities.

We stand with our friends who are fighting this injustice in the USA, in the UK and the wider world.

We stand with our friends and we pledge to act and do more to reflect on the history and actions of our own communities and institutions in the UK and how we can actively make them more socially equitable and more just for all.

As some of you may now be aware, the Local Authority have been clear in their guidance to schools not to extend their offer on the 1st of June and the reasons for this. I am including the letter from our Mayor Ros Jones and also our letter to you as a school on this matter.

School Update On Extended Provision for the 1st June

Letter to Doncaster Schools and Families

We will continue to offer the same support to our community that we have been doing since lockdown began however, we will not be extending our provision on the 1st June in line with the guidance. We will keep you updated here on any developments or changes moving forwards.

Wishing you all a sunny bank holiday, enjoy it in every way you can that is safe to do so.

Kind Regards,

Mr Hayes

Year 6 Parental Intentions for 1st June

Only 50% of our Y6 parents have completed our online survey that we emailed, and texted out last week. Without knowing numbers, we can’t plan for and open the school to Y6 children on the 1st June. Please contact any Y6 parents you know and tell them to complete the survey by Tuesday 19th May, 12pm – there are only 4 questions! Click here to access the survey… 

If you don’t fill it in (only 4 questions that will take you about a minute to complete) we will have to call round 30 families on Monday. We have lots of preparations to make in school and could make better use of the time! Please help us to help you…

Furthermore, could parents only complete once per child please as a small number have put in 3 or 4 responses for the same child.

If any family fails to complete the survey, they will be denied access to the school on the 1st June until such time as we can we can alter any planned provision with safety in mind!

Remember, this is for parents of Year 6 children only!

Good afternoon,

Just to alert all parents and carers to the letter that you have all had delivered via email today. Please check your inbox! For anyone having trouble with their email, click here for a link to the letter.

Also, to all parents of Y6 children, you have had a survey request to fill in your intentions relating to the provision for your children on the 1st June delivered via email too. You must complete this survey before Tuesday 19th at 12pm so we can safely assess and plan for provision.

Our best wishes to you all, have a lovely weekend!

Mr Hayes

Good morning everyone,

Having watched the Downing Street Briefing last night, the situation for school appears clear: We are still closed till next month at the earliest. Our current plans and arrangements will continue until further notice. 

There is no official guidance on how schools should act or adapt in this next phase yet so we are unable to alter our position at this time. All school places remain prioritised for vulnerable children and children of key workers. 

As more guidance becomes available, we will respond accordingly. We will be liaising with XP Trust and the Local Authority on plans moving forwards as we have done to date.

Wishing you all the very best in these difficult times, stay safe and protect the NHS!