Latest News | Blakenall Heath Junior School

Year 6 Online Messaging

Fri 28 Apr 2023

Dear 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 2023

Dear 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 2^nd 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 2023

Dear Parent/Carer

We will be celebrating the King’s Coronation in school on Friday 5^th 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 2023

Dear 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 27^th 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 2^nd 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

Easter Egg Decorating Competition

Mon 27 Mar 2023

Dear Parent/Carer,

As part of our Easter House Activities we would like to invite children to decorate a hard-boiled egg in any theme they wish. They may also create a scene for it, in or on a shoe box.

There will be prizes for each House as well as an overall House winner which will earn valuable House Points!

The eggs will need to be in school for judging on Friday 31^st March.

If you have any questions please see your child’s class teacher.

Yours sincerely,

Mrs M Harris

Head Teacher

Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme

Fri 17 Mar 2023

Showcasing Session

Thu 16 Mar 2023

Dear Parents and Carers,

We are very excited to be able to invite parents/carers into school to see your child’s excellent work in their foundation subjects in the coming weeks.

We would ask that you arrive at school from 2:30pm through the main gates on the playground and enter school through the hall doors. You will be able to see your child’s work in Geography, History, Science and other subjects and speak to your child about what they have created. Children and staff are extremely proud of the work they have produced this year and are very excited about showcasing their work.

The dates for your child’s year group are below:

Year 6	Tuesday 21^st March from 2:30pm
Year 3	Friday 24^th March from 2:30pm
Year 5	Wednesday 29^th March from 2:30pm
Year 4	Thursday 20^th April from 2:30pm

We will be asking parents/carers to leave the hall at 2:50pm ready for the end of school at 3:00pm.

We hope you are able to join us for this exciting opportunity and we look forward to showing you your child’s excellent work!

Thank you for your continued support.

Yours sincerely

Mr J Phillips

Deputy Head Teacher

Strike Action

Tue 14 Mar 2023

School will be open as usual on Wednesday and Thursday this week for all pupils.

Comic Relief - Red Nose Day

Tue 14 Mar 2023

Dear Parents and Carers,

We will be fundraising for Comic Relief on Friday 17^th March.

Children can come to school wearing their own clothes for a donation of £1.00 per child.

Thank you for your continued support.

Yours sincerely,

Mrs M Harris

Head Teacher

Strike action

Tue 28 Feb 2023

Dear 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 three national and one regional day strikes planned, the second of which will take place on Wednesday 1^st March 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 and the children of critical workers only and those pupils in 3DH and 4O and 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. A national strike by teachers is very unusual. 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 two days: Wednesday 15^th and Thursday 16^th March 2023. Please note these dates now and 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