Latest News
Keep up to date with all the news happening in school at the moment.
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Addition Information for September
Tue 21 Jul 202020th July 2020
Dear Parents and Carers
Reminder: All pupils will return to school on Wednesday 2nd September 2020
Additional information about September re-opening.
The Government guidance for full opening of schools has made it clear that attendance will be mandatory from the start of the Autumn Term. This means that, the usual rules on school attendance will apply and school will resume taking attendance registers and following up absences. Walsall Local Authority have also made it clear that they will resume issuing fixed penalty notices (fines) for poor attendance. Before school reopens, we will issue guidelines of what you should do if your child is unwell, with or without COVID symptoms. In addition, what we will do if your child becomes unwell during the day at school.
As explained in my previous letter, there will be a staggered start and finish time in order to control the flow of pupils and maintain social distancing.
Years 3 and 4 will have a start time slot of 8.40 to 8.50am – they will leave school at 2.50pm.
School gates will open at 8.35 for Year 3 and 4.
Years 5 and 6 will have a start time slot of 8.50am to 9.00am – they will leave school at 3.00pm
Parents with siblings in the 2 phases can drop off at 8.50am.
Please note there will be no Breakfast Club available this half term.
Both the main vehicle/pedestrian gate and the side (Slang) gate will be open. Please ensure you observe social distancing on the car park and on the playground. Please do not leave children unattended on the playground. Face masks and gloves will not be permitted in school.
Bikes and scooters will not be permitted in school until further notice.
Children will be required to wear full uniform – including a tie, except on their PE day.
On this day, they will need to attend school wearing their PE kit. They will need a plain, dark coloured tracksuit or joggers, a plain white or house colour T-shirt and trainers. Football kits will not be permitted. We will inform you of their PE day before the start of the Autumn term.
If we need to update you with important information during the Summer break, we will inform you by text that new information is available on the Website. We will also use the School App and Facebook. From September we will be limiting visitors to the school site and request that parents do not attend the school office unless an appointment has been made by telephone, email or messaging.
Thank you for your continuing support.
Yours sincerely,
K J Baker
Head Teacher
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September Re-opening Information
Fri 17 Jul 202013th July 2020
Dear Parents and Carers
Important information about re-opening school in September
We are now looking forward to having all the children returning to school in September in line with Government guidance. (GOV.UK Guidance for full opening – Schools July 2nd 2020)
There will still be strict guidelines we have to follow in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and a possible outbreak in school. These guidelines are extremely important and must be followed in order to keep all pupils’, staff and parents safe. Please read the following carefully in preparation for their return.
All pupils will return to school on Wednesday 2nd September 2020
There will be a staggered start and finish time in order to control the flow of pupils and maintain social distancing.
Years 3 and 4 will have a start time of 8.40am – they will leave school at 2.50pm.
Years 5 and 6 will have a start time of 8.50am – they will leave school at 3.00pm.
Please do not attend any earlier than these times and please do not leave children unattended on the playground.
There will be no Breakfast Club or After School clubs available until after October Half Term at the earliest.
Both the main vehicle/pedestrian gate and the side (Slang) gate will be open. Please ensure you observe social distancing both on the car park and playground.
Children will sanitise their hands on entry to the school, before and after breaks, at lunch and before they leave school at home time. All sanitiser is provided by school – please do not send in bottles of gel with your child. Your child will also be required to wash their hands for 20 seconds after using the toilet.
All equipment for lessons will be provided – each pupil will have their own desk tray. They will not be able to share equipment with each other or staff.
Please ensure they have the following on their return:
Full uniform including a tie.
Lunch bag or box and water bottle.
PE kit – PE will take place outside only so a tracksuit or joggers and trainers will be needed.
Coats, hats and gloves as appropriate for the weather.
Reading books and logs (please return any reading books still at home!)
Please ensure the following are not brought in to school:
Stationary
Toys, games or any non-educational items
Mobile phones
Your child will be in their class ‘bubbles’ for indoor education and year ‘bubbles’ for outdoor play. Playtimes and lunchtimes will also be staggered during the day.
There will be no hot food available until October Half Term at the earliest. Pupils eligible for Free School Meals will be provided with a packed lunch. A small choice of sandwich fillings will be available. Children will eat their lunch in their classrooms and then have some play time outside in their year ‘bubble’ - weather permitting.
Social distancing between pupils within the class bubble is not required but between staff and pupils, it remains at 2 metres. Staff are allowed within 1metre for a short period of time if needed. Staff are permitted to move between classrooms with social distancing in place.
Social distancing between year groups outside will remain at 1 metre.
PPE (masks, gloves, aprons or visors) will only be worn by staff in school if attending to first aid or personal care.
We will be providing a full broad and balanced curriculum and support for the children including work around the Corona pandemic and the changes it has brought to their lives. Place2Be will continue to support children with Place2Talk and workshops delivered for each class by Shaz.
We hope to resume trips and visits after Christmas but unfortunately, the 5-day residential for Year 6 has been postponed.
We will be updating the Behaviour Policy to include additional rules relating to COVID-19 and the consequences for deliberately breaking these rules. The children will be taught the new expectations and the reasons for them. The new policy will be published on the Website in September.
Further guidance around children displaying COVID-19 symptoms in or out of school will be given before school starts in September and how this will link to attendance.
As I am sure you can imagine we are hoping to create a safe environment at school for all our pupils, staff and parents and endeavour to support all our pupils on their return. If you have any further questions please contact us through by Facebook Messenger or email at postbox@blakenall.walsall.sch.uk.
Visits to school are by appointment only until further notice.
Thank you again for all your support over the last four difficult months and I look forward to seeing you all in September.
Yours sincerely,
K J Baker
Head Teacher
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Year 6 Invitation
Thu 09 Jul 2020We would like to invite Year 6 pupils to school on Friday 17th July (times shown below). They will be able to say goodbye to their teachers, collect a small gift from school and also their school report.
Unfortunately, no siblings and only one adult per child will be allowed on site.
Mrs Bayley's class - 1.00pm - 1.45pm
Mrs Weston's class - 1.45pm - 2.30pm
We look forward to seeing you soon.
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School re-opening September
Wed 01 Jul 20201st July 2020
Dear Parents and Carers
Re: Re-opening school
As you are aware, the Prime Minister allowed schools to invite back their Year 6 pupils on the 1st June alongside Keyworker and Vulnerable pupils. We have had to abide by strict new COVID-19 regulations and adhere to an approved Risk Assessment to ensure that the children, parents and staff are as safe as possible from the risk of infection from Coronavirus.
This has led to the formation of small groups (or bubbles as they are commonly called) within the school and in line with the guidelines and restrictions. Mr Johnson was also keen for schools to consider admitting more pupils if capacity allowed. This was certainly something the school was looking in to, for the last few weeks of the term.
However, the LA are effecting repairs to our roof and this has led to the discovery of damage to the corridor ceilings. This has now rendered most of our classrooms unusable as the whole corridor has to have a new ceiling and this will take 3-4 weeks to complete. We have also had some flood damage from the recent heavy rain and may need new carpets through the corridor too!
Therefore, unfortunately, we are able to sustain our Year 6 and Vulnerable/Keyworker groups but are not able to accommodate any more children.
Whilst we await further directive for opening the school in September, I know that many parents and carers will have concerns and questions about this. I will endeavour to get information to you, as soon as we have received details from the Government and I hope I will be able to tell you what the arrangements will be. We are anticipating having all children back in September but are expecting many more regulations to avoid any COVID infections.
I have asked teachers to complete a report statement for each child which will be posted to you before the end of term and where possible we will send you information about your child’s new teacher and teaching assistant alongside any further ‘opening’ information.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank parents and carers for all their support over these challenging months and I hope we can get back to normal very soon. We are all missing the children and it is really, not the same without them! Teachers will continue to post new work on-line each Monday and check your child’s work and progress on the learning platforms. They have enjoyed being able to keep in touch with how they are doing – and even play some live Maths games!
Take care and keep safe - we will be in touch soon.
Yours sincerely,
K J Baker
Head Teacher
