Important Message RE: face coverings

By Mr A Cooke12th September 2020

Dear Parents,

Obviously you will be aware that the number of COVID-19 cases both nationally and locally is on the increase and today it was announced that greater restrictions will be placed in Birmingham, Sandwell and Solihull with effect from next Tuesday. Coventry Local Authority have advised that as from Monday 14th September all parents/adults dropping children off at the start of the school day and collecting them at the end of the school day must wear face coverings unless exempt. This is a pre-emptive measure to prevent a further rise in numbers which could result in tighter restrictions being placed upon Coventry, something we all very much want to avoid. School staff welcoming/saying goodbye to children at the school gate are also required to wear face coverings. We do not want the children to be ‘shocked’ by this, so please take the time to explain to them that it is just another step to keep everybody safe and it is very similar to what we have to do when we go to the shops! Currently, face coverings will not be worn by any adults at any other time during the school day.

The Local Authority have also asked that schools remind parents that from next Monday the national change to restrictions limiting the number of people you can see socially indoors and outdoors to six, comes into place. They ask that parents and carers continue to socially distance around the school gate, driveway and surrounding areas and do not gather in small groups as this would put the school community at risk.

We must also remind you that unfortunately parents must not enter the school building unless it is in very exceptional circumstances and pre-arranged with either myself or Mr Cooke.

Thank you for your support to date and your continued co-operation during these difficult times.

Take care and we hope you have an enjoyable weekend

Caroline Quinn
Headteacher

We are Year 3

By Mr A Cooke7th September 2020

What can I say!

It has been an absolute pleasure meeting and getting to know you, Year 3. We have had so much fun the last few days and I cannot wait for the rest of the year. We have been doing lots of fun activities to help with our communication, teamwork and problem-solving skills. They have settled back into school life quickly and sensibly. They should be extremely proud of themselves.

Here are just a few activities we did this week:

We have made towers in our new pairs, out of marshmallows and spaghetti. We learnt how to share our ideas effectively and that everyone has different ideas. All the towers looked different. We talked about the importance in being individual and respecting everyone’s ideas and opinions.

We made comic scripts about having a growth mind-set and never giving up. In year 3, we CAN! It has been amazing to see the ‘can do’ attitude from all the children during all the activities.

We did the egg challenge, which consisted of making an egg survive a 9- foot drop. The children had to use their communication, teamwork and problem solving skills, we had learnt earlier in the week to create something that would allow the egg to drop without being smashed.

It was lovely to see the difference in how they communicated at the start and end of the week. Everyone felt comfortable to share their idea and have a go. There was lots of experimenting before committing to how they were going to make sure the egg was safe. Only 4 eggs smashed in the classroom before they were tested.

Then we tested their creations to see if they worked. It is safe to say, some worked better than others. We spoke about the success and what went wrong. We spoke about how we could improve and what we would do differently next time. Learning from our mistakes is the most important part of learning.

We went back to the Stone Age and learnt why they needed to build fires and the importance for them to do so. We talked about the differences between heating, cooking and light now and then. What we use to light fires and what they used? We spoke about the risks and how we can keep ourselves and others safes. Then we went into the forest school area and lit small fires with a steel flint. We know in the Stone Age they used pieces of flint stones banged together to create a spark but Miss Hayden didn’t have all week.

My favourite picture:
The amazement in their faces that one of their friends managed to light their fire.

I hope they have enjoyed their first week in year 3, as much as we have. We are very lucky to have them all in our class. Keep up your amazing hard work.

We are YEAR 3, we are one TEAM and we CAN!

Welcome to Year 3,

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to email me:
[email protected]

Stay Safe,
Miss Hayden and Miss McGaffney

Important letters regarding start of term arrangements

By Mr A Cooke28th August 2020

The following letter has just been emailed out to parents.  It contains important information related to the arrangements for the start of the new academic year.

https://cdn.realsmart.co.uk/f389b1522b2597f998b5fdfbae3672f5/uploads/2020/08/28084851/LetterToParents28-08-20.pdf

*UPDATE* – this letter, from the Local Authority, has also been issued to all Coventry schools for distribution to parents

https://cdn.realsmart.co.uk/f389b1522b2597f998b5fdfbae3672f5/uploads/2020/08/30182013/LA-Letter-for-parents-Aug20.pdf

Please also find a copy of the letter which was emailed out towards the end of July, which some parents unfortunately did not receive.

https://cdn.realsmart.co.uk/f389b1522b2597f998b5fdfbae3672f5/uploads/2020/08/28084941/LetterToParents27JulReopen.pdf

Return to school eligibility survey

By Mr A Cooke27th August 2020

In order to ensure that our children and staff are safe upon return to school next week, we are asking all parents to complete the following survey, prior to the start of term, to confirm that they have not travelled to a location which is not included on the Government’s travel corridor list, or if they have, to confirm that they will be undertaking the mandatory period of self-isolation upon return.

The survey can be found here:

Uniform Collection

By Mr A Cooke26th August 2020

Any parents who ordered PE tops via SIMS Agora, prior to August 17th, can collect their orders from the main school entrance either tomorrow or Friday. They have all been organised into named bags and are laid out in class order.

If you do collect, please complete the collection sheet (with the date, name of your child, a signature and tick to confirm that your order is correct) which has been left on the countertop in the entrance. Hand sanitizer is available for you to use before and after signing.

Also, please be aware that there is resurfacing work scheduled to take place on the school driveway and so care may have to be taken and no vehicles will be able to access the drive.

Thank you.

Summer Activities

By Mr A Cooke10th July 2020

Please find below links to activities that have been set by the children’s new teachers for them to complete over the Summer break.  They are organised into year group folders – based upon the year group that children will be in when they return in September.

Some staff are putting the finishing touches to their packs – but all materials will be available before the beginning of the Summer break.

Thank you.

 

Staffing and Transition for 2020-21

By Mr A Cooke3rd July 2020

Dear Parents,

We are now pleased to be able to confirm the allocation of teachers to year groups for the next academic year.  Due to the current circumstances, this has been much more difficult than it would usually be and we thank you for your patience and understanding.  As we fully digest all of the information and guidance related to the full re-opening of school in September, we will be able to confirm teaching assistant allocation – hopefully by the end of next week.

Year Group – Teacher
Nursery – Mrs Schofield
Reception – Mrs Jilks
Year 1 – Miss Corkerry
Year 2 – Miss Clarke
Year 3 – Miss Hayden
Year 4 – Mr Rolison
Year 5 – Miss Piercy
Year 6 – Mrs Hartwell

We are delighted to have appointed Miss Aimee Piercy into the position of a full-time class teacher, following her successful year of training with us.  We were also delighted to appoint Miss Madison Hayden as a class teacher, following the departure of Miss McDonagh.

Each teacher has written a letter to the children they will be receiving in September.   These letters are available to download below.  Please take the time to download and share this letter with your child:

Children entering Nursery in Sept 2020
Children entering Reception in Sept 2020
Children entering Year 1 in Sept 2020
Children entering Year 2 in Sept 2020
Children entering Year 3 in Sept 2020
Children entering Year 4 in Sept 2020
Children entering Year 5 in Sept 2020
Children entering Year 6 in Sept 2020

In addition, for children entering Years 1-6, we will be holding transition sessions, via Zoom, next week.  The schedule for these is below and the individual meeting details will be emailed out to you early next week.  For Years 1-3, the sessions will be done in groups.  The email link that you receive will indicate the group/session your child should attend.

Year Group in Sept 2020 – Zoom day/time
Year 1 – Wednesday 8th July (Gr1, 10:45-11:30am; Gr2, 11:30-12:15pm; Gr3, 12:15-1:00pm)
Year 2 – Thursday 9th July (Gr1, 10:00-10:45am; Gr2, 10:45-11:30am; Gr3, 11:30-12:15pm)
Year 3 – Friday 10th July (Gr1, 10:00-10:45am; Gr2, 11:00-11:45am)
Year 4 – Wednesday 8th July, 1-2pm
Year 5 – Thursday 9th July, 1-2pm
Year 6 – Friday 10th July, 1-2pm

Finally, at the end of next week, each teacher will be making available a small pack of activities for the children to complete during the Summer holidays.  These will be posted here on the school website.

Whilst the school will be closed to children during the Summer break, we are acutely aware of how difficult the past few months have been (and continue to be) for some families.  Should you need to make contact, myself and Mrs Quinn are still available via email ([email protected] / [email protected]) throughout the summer – although please do bear in mind that it may take us a little longer than usual to pick these up and reply to you.

 

School wider reopening update

By Mr A Cooke11th June 2020

We are delighted to confirm that the school has today received confirmation that its risk assessment has been approved by the Local Authority and we are in a position to being the wider reopening of the school from Monday 15th June.

Tomorrow we will be making contact with the parents of children in Reception and Year 1 who indicated that they would like their children to return to inform them of the arrangements for the coming week. Please remember that the Reception and Year 1 children will be returning to school in a cycle and that a different bubble will be attending each week. Please therefore don’t make any arrangements for next week until you have received the information from us.

Thank you.

Updates – 4th June 2020

By Mr A Cooke4th June 2020

Dear Parents,

We hope you continue to keep safe and well and that you were able to enjoy the sunshine during half term.

Thank you for your patience whilst we have been working tirelessly to prepare the school building, risk assessments, organisation, policies and procedures in preparation for the safe, wider re-opening of the school.  We know from the emails we have received over the last couple of days that you are eager for information so that you can make plans etc.  Please accept our apologies for not responding sooner but with government guidance and the needs of our parents  changing daily we were not in a position to respond, as we have had to scrap and restart plans continuously; the smallest change then has a significant ‘ripple effect’ on rotas, bubble groups, risk assessments, staffing etc and therefore ultimately, safety.

Today, we have to make a definite decision as to our next steps, solely so that parents know where they stand.

This has been the most challenging week yet as we have had to make the most difficult decisions to date; decisions made so difficult because of the impact on our families.  We have considered all the factors i.e the safety of children and staff, our present position, the exigency of parents, government guidelines and restrictions; we have also sought advice from the Local Authority and it is most reluctantly and with a heavy heart that, following consultation with the governors, we have had to make the following decisions:

  • The school will NOT reopen on Monday 8th June (with the exception of the Key Worker children).
  • We are NO LONGER able to receive Y6 back to school

We are under no illusion; this is going to cause great upset, anxiety and considerable disappointment to many children who were so looking forward to being reunited with a small group of their friends.

We were hoping that we could potentially open on 8th June but are unable to do so.  The risk assessment has very recently been completed, shared with staff and governors and submitted to the Local Authority, we now await their support and approval and without this we cannot open the school.

We were also looking forward to seeing our wonderful Y6 children back in school.  However, due to the restrictions on pupil : adult ratios, social distancing, the key worker priority, we have reached our maximum capacity and have had to follow the guidance that children in younger year groups are prioritised.

Regards Key Workers, we are now very close to reaching our maximum capacity.  Whilst we very much want to support those providing front line and essential services, we have a limit which we cannot exceed.

We are aware that some schools in Coventry have re-opened and each school has organised for different year groups to attend etc.  Please realise that every school is unique both in its community and premises, therefore risk assessments pose unique challenges to each school and determine the direction individual schools must take.

Going forward, so as not to give false impression as to when and how the school will open more widely, we will only advise further around re-opening once we can give concrete and definite answers and dates.  Be assured that this will be done giving you what we believe to be ample time to prepare your child.

Thank you for your trust, patience and understanding.

 

Yours faithfully

Caroline Quinn
Headteacher

Updates – 27th May 2020

By Mr A Cooke28th May 2020

Dear Parents/Carers,

We hope that you and your families are safe and well and that you have been able to rest and enjoy the sunshine over the last few days.  We are writing to you, as promised, to keep you updated on the preparation for the planned wider reopening of All Souls.

It is with great regret that we need to inform you that All Souls will not be ready for wider reopening during the week beginning 1st June, despite our best and determined efforts to do so.  This is a decision that we felt was necessary to make today, so that families are informed early enough to make any necessary arrangements.  We will, however, continue to provide childcare from Monday 1st June for the existing children of key workers, whom were in attendance prior to half-term.  Next week, we are unable to increase our capacity for new key worker children so that as many staff are available to support bubbles of children potentially from 8th June.

We are deeply saddened to not be ready for wider reopening as we really wanted to be amongst the first group of schools to do so, in order to begin to restore our school community.  Over the last few days, with the help of some dedicated staff members who have given up their half-term, we have worked tirelessly to begin to put into place measures to ensure that the site, procedures and protocols necessary to keep our children and staff safe are in place.  This has included significant rearrangement of classrooms, the removal of furniture from large parts of the site, new signage and markings throughout the internal and external areas of the building as well as the purchase and installation of addition equipment and resources to meet strict government guidelines.  In addition, we are continuing to work our way through a very complex and rigorous risk assessment and this is taking an overwhelming amount of time.  There are a number of layers to the risk assessment process and these must all be complete before we can submit it to the various authorities for scrutiny and approval.

We hope you understand the position that we find ourselves in and that during these unprecedented times, safely is the overriding, dictating factor and will continue to be so.  Please do be reassured though, that we are continuing to work very hard so that we can reopen as soon as it is safe to do so.

Thank you for your ongoing support and understanding.  We will continue to keep you updated.

Kind regards,

Mrs C Quinn & Mr A Cooke