Latest News
Keep up to date with all the news happening in school at the moment.
Please click a headline to read more.
-
Year 6 Online Messaging
Fri 28 Apr 2023Dear Parents/Carers
Online Messaging
I wish to bring to your attention that I have been made aware there are two large Year 6 WhatsApp and Snapchat message groups where there have been some unpleasant and unkind messages sent. If your child does have access to these groups, I would advise that you monitor the content carefully and report any offensive messages, both to the app provider (there are settings within the app to enable you to do this) and police if necessary. We also advise that you screenshot any offensive messages. We will continue to support children where we are made aware of concerns.
Throughout every year group we focus on e-safety and Year 6 will be doing further work around this in preparation for transition to high school in the coming weeks.
Thank you for your continued support.
Yours sincerely,
Mrs M Harris
Head Teacher
-
Strike Action
Thu 27 Apr 2023Dear Parent/Carer
Strike action
I am writing to you about the forthcoming strike action by the National Education Union (NEU). You may have seen coverage of this in the news, and I wanted to inform you about the impact this is likely to have at our school.
There are two national day strikes planned, the second of which will take place on Tuesday 2nd May.
The NEU has posted a document for parents, carers and grandparents that explains their reasons for taking strike action. It can be found at https://neu.org.uk/media/24511/view if you wish to read it.
How will strike action affect Blakenall Heath Junior School
When a strike takes place, those taking strike action stop work and withdraw their labour. This means that those teachers involved in the action will not teach their class(es) or undertake any other duties on a strike day.
It is therefore incumbent upon me to consider the impact that industrial action will have on the operation of the school. One of the key issues is to assess whether there are sufficient staff available for the school to remain open, or partially open, during a strike.
To determine whether this school can remain fully or partially open, a detailed risk assessment has been conducted. This considers the impact that the action will have on the health and safety of pupils, staff and visitors, and whether the school can run a full or amended curriculum, to determine whether it is possible to operate the school safely during the strike.
As a result of this, school will be open to vulnerable children, the children of critical workers and those pupils in 3DH and 4O. The school is closed to all other pupils. If you are a parent/carer of a vulnerable child, we will contact you separately to confirm your child’s attendance on strike days.
We shall provide all pupils with paper based activities to complete at home or school. Packed lunches will be provided for those pupils on free school meals and will be available for collection from school. We will be in touch with further details.
Clearly this is a difficult situation, which will cause some disruption. I would ask you, however, to be understanding. Taking strike action is not something that any teacher would undertake lightly. Those on strike will have thought long and hard about their decision and will also lose pay for the days that they are on strike.
If the strike is called off and we are able to open to all pupils we will confirm this as soon as possible.
Looking ahead, the NEU has indicated they will continue strike action until a pay deal is agreed with possible future strike days planned in the Summer Term. We will write to you before each date to confirm any changes to our arrangements and provision for pupils.
If you have any questions please contact the school office.
Thank you for your continued support.
Yours sincerely
Mrs M Harris
Head Teacher
-
King's Coronation Celebration
Tue 25 Apr 2023Dear Parent/Carer
We will be celebrating the King’s Coronation in school on Friday 5th May. Children can come to school wearing non-uniform in the colours of red, white and blue.
We would like children to make and decorate a carriage at home and then they will be able to bring party food/snacks to school in it for the afternoon celebration in the hall (no nuts or energy drinks please). If your child is unable to make a carriage please use either a box or carrier bag for their snack food.
Children will have their lunch as normal on this day and a special Coronation dinner will be on the menu. There will also be prizes for the best-decorated carriage in each class.
We hope children will look forward to celebrating the King’s Coronation and thank you for your support.
Yours sincerely,
Mrs M Harris
Head Teacher
-
Strike Action
Fri 21 Apr 2023Dear Parent/Carer
I am writing to you about the forthcoming strike action by the National Education Union (NEU), one of the main teaching trade unions. You may have seen coverage of this in the news, and I wanted to inform you about the impact this is likely to have at our school.
There are two national day strikes planned, the first of which will take place on Thursday 27th April 2023.
The NEU has posted a document for parents, carers and grandparents that explains their reasons for taking strike action. It can be found at https://neu.org.uk/media/24511/view if you wish to read it.
How will strike action affect Blakenall Heath Junior School
When a strike takes place, those taking strike action stop work and withdraw their labour. This means that those teachers involved in the action will not teach their class(es) or undertake any other duties on a strike day.
It is therefore incumbent upon me to consider the impact that industrial action will have on the operation of the school. One of the key issues is to assess whether there are sufficient staff available for the school to remain open, or partially open, during a strike.
To determine whether this school can remain fully or partially open, a detailed risk assessment has been conducted. This considers the impact that the action will have on the health and safety of pupils, staff and visitors, and whether the school can run a full or amended curriculum, to determine whether it is possible to operate the school safely during the strike.
As a result of this, school will be open to vulnerable children, the children of critical workers and those pupils in 3DH, 3S, 6B and 6W. The school is closed to all other pupils. If you are a parent/carer of a vulnerable child, we will contact you separately to confirm your child’s attendance on strike days.
We shall provide all pupils with paper based activities to complete at home or school. Packed lunches will be provided for those pupils on free school meals and will be available for collection from school. We will be in touch with further details.
Clearly this is a difficult situation, which will cause some disruption. I would ask you, however, to be understanding. Taking strike action is not something that any teacher would undertake lightly. Those on strike will have thought long and hard about their decision and will also lose pay for the days that they are on strike.
If the strike is called off and we are able to open to all pupils we will confirm this as soon as possible.
Looking ahead, the NEU has indicated they will continue strike action for a further day: Tuesday 2nd May 2023. Please note this date now and we will write to you before this date to confirm any changes to our arrangements and provision for pupils.
If you have any questions please contact the school office.
Thank you for your continued support.
Yours sincerely
Mrs M Harris
Head Teacher