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End of Christmas Term Letter

Friday 18^th December 2020

Dear Parents and Carers,

End of Autumn Term Newsletter

As we come to the end of another very strange term in Tre Uchaf I am writing to thank you for your continued support for our new routines and rules which have no doubt helped to keep our local community as safe as possible.

Your children have been an absolute credit to you, accepting new routines with cheerfulness and positivity. They are clearly happy to be in school and must have been disappointed to miss out on this week’s planned parties, pantomime and talent contest! I am so sorry for the short notice on this week’s change to remote learning and understand the inconvenience to our working parents. This was a Local Authority last minute decision which was taken out of our hands. However, it was probably for the best. Well done to all those children who have worked so hard to complete this week’s home learning tasks!

Fortunately, we were able to get our Christmas film recorded in time, with just one week’s practice and one week to film everyone! The film footage is very long and has now been edited by our talented teaching staff. It consists of by a Makaton Song performed by each individual class and a story about Christmas Past, Present and Future. We have now sent this out by email to those of you who have sQuid accounts. If you do not receive it this way please let your child’s class teacher know and they will send it via Class Dojo or email. We will not be able to copy it onto DVDs before Christmas I’m afraid. We will be asking you if you would like a DVD as a keepsake after Christmas when we will be able to make them for you.

May I remind you that you agreed not to share any part of the video on social media as some parents have not given permission for this. This is the reason why we will not be putting the video on the school website.

We were delighted that nearly every child had the opportunity to dress up and perform although some unavoidable absences did mean that certain children sadly missed out. Thank you for providing costumes for your children and for sending them in wearing the correct costumes on the correct day!

This really helped to create the normal excitement of Christmas in school for our lovely children!

Spring Term 2021

We have been informed just this morning that Swansea schools will now be closed to children on 4^th and 5^th January so that schools can plan logistics for the term ahead, in the light of any further challenges linked to the spread of COVID 19. We are planning for all children to return on Wednesday 6^th January but will let you know if anything changes by text, DoJo, website and e-mail. Staggered start and finish times and rules and routines will remain the same.

May I take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy and healthy Christmas! And let’s hope for some return to normality in 2021!

Yours faithfully

C M Hewitt

An Important Safety Reminder to Parents!

With an increase in COVID19 cases in our area we would like to remind you of a couple of important rules which will help your families, our school and our wider community to stay safe.

We are becoming concerned that some of our children appear to be spending time in multiple households.

Extended Households (Bubbles)

Families should not mix with other families in their homes or gardens unless they are members of an extended household (bubble). Your household should only form a bubble with one other household.

Essential childcare is one of the exceptions to this rule.

Self-isolation

If anyone in your household or extended household (bubble) has symptoms and is awaiting test results the whole household should self-isolate until a negative test result is received. In these circumstances all children in the household should not attend school.

If someone in your household or extended household (bubble) tests positive, everyone, including children, needs to self-isolate in line with advice from Track and Trace. This means staying at home, not attending school and keeping a safe distance from the infected person, without any contact with other households.

School One Way System

We have noticed a few families entering the school yards through the wrong gates, increasing the risk of coming into close contact with other families. I would like to remind you that all parents and children must follow the school one way system at all times.

Many thanks to the vast majority of families who follow these rules all the time. You are helping to ensure that everyone enjoys the best possible Christmas!

C M Hewitt

Tre Uchaf Primary School

Newsletter for Parents Week Beginning 30^th November

Dear Parents,

I hope you and your children will enjoy this little two day break from school while the staff carry out important work planning for the Welsh New Curriculum.

Thank you all for continuing to follow our safety rules on school arrival and departure. You have been brilliant this week! May I remind you that the North Road entrance leading to the junior yard is now open and I would urge you to use this entry point to the premises if this is convenient for you. There is plenty of short term parking on North Road and older children can be dropped off safely at the gate and walk safely straight to the yard.

There is now no need to put your children at risk by crossing the open area on Cwrt Yr Ysgol so please do not use the little gate to the estate.  Please do not park in residents parking in Cwrt Yr Ysgol as this is causing considerable stress to our neighbours. There is a strong possibility that if this continues fines will be used by the estate management.

Getting Christmassy!

As we move into December we are busy planning to make this a really lovely Christmas time in school! We are planning to make the best of all the challenges we are facing and you might like to help us out with this as follows;

• We ask your children not to bring in lots of Christmas cards this year as this presents a risk of cross-contamination between many households. Instead, we invite your children to bring in one card to the whole class if they want to. This can be a homemade card or a bought one and should be given straight to a member of the class staff. Your child can write a message to their whole class and their card will be displayed prominently in the classroom. We hope you think this is a suitably festive and risk free option!
• In the absence of a Christmas Fayre we would like to continue the ‘Christmas Wrapping’ stall idea as it is always very popular. We need you to send in gifts which would be suitable for children to choose from to give to a parent or grandparent. Please send in donations of new or unused items suitable for adults eg unwanted presents you have received, chocolates, gift sets and ‘smellies’. Please send them in on Monday 30^th November so that they can be ‘quarantined’ for at least 72 hours. On Friday 4^th December children can bring in £2 to choose an item from the donations and staff will wrap it for them to take home as a Christmas present. Staff will adhere to strict hygiene, sanitising everything between wrappings. This will also raise money to buy something nice for our children.
• We will begin rehearsals for our virtual Christmas Production next week which will be filmed for you to enjoy. We will be asking for your permission to include your child and we can find a way to conceal the identity of any children who must not be filmed for safeguarding reasons. We will let you know what costumes your child needs very soon. The whole school will be involved in the production which will be filmed a class at a time before being edited to create one single production.
• We will be having a school outdoor Christmas Tree which we would like everyone to help to decorate. We invite every child to bring in a decoration to put on the tree. Please send them in early next week so they can be ‘quarantined’ for 72 hours before we handle them to place them on the tree. We hope you and your children will enjoy seeing our festive tree!
• Christmas Jumper and Christmas Dinner Day will be on Friday 11^th December. The dinner will be a turkey roll and party food delivered in a special Christmas Party Bag. The cost of the dinner is £2.40 per child and there will be no chare for children entitled to free school meals. We will be asking you soon to decide whether you want your children to have a Christmas Party Bag. If you pay for your child’s meals please ensure your sQuid account is in credit, to avoid disappointment.
• Monday 21^st December will be our final day and will be Class Party Day. We invite you to send in a small plate of party food on that day for your child as it will not be possible to share food.

We are really looking forward to the Christmas season in school which, although it won’t be the same as usual, will hopefully be one to remember!

Best wishes,

Mrs Hewitt

Letter from the Interim Director_25 September 2020

Please find below a letter from our Interim director of Education, Mrs Helen Morgan-Rees

Letter from the Interim Director_September 2020

As from Tuesday 8th September Year 5 and 6 children may arrive in school without a parent to Check In (confirm they have no symptoms) if parents complete a quick online questionnaire. The questionnaire will be sent to your primary contact number each morning and needs to be completed by 8.20am. So, for children in year 5 and 6 you need to either;

• Accompany them to school
• OR
• Use the Online Check In

Breakfast Club will start again from Monday 14th September. While we work things out under the new restrictions we will need to  limit numbers.You will need to BOOK YOUR CHILDREN IN by 3pm on Thursday each week.For the first week we would like to invite the following families to attend;

• Children who are entitled to Free School Meals
• Children of parents who both need to get to work

Children will need to be kept in their contact groups (classes) throughout Breakfast Club and this will mean less movement around the room. I understand that the menu will be limited to toast, fruit and bottled water.

As before, there will be a charge of £1 for children arriving before 8.20am.

Dear Parents

I am writing to you to give you further information on our full school reopening from 2^nd September. We have listened to your comments and concerns and I hope we can provide some further clarity and reassurance. We had an excellent governors’ meeting during the holiday and your parent governors represented you very well!

Are all children required to attend?

The expectation is that all children will return to school unless you have had medical advice that they should stay at home. Also if your child or anyone in your household has symptoms of coronavirus (high temperature, new persistent cough, loss of taste or smell) your child should not attend.

If your child has anxieties about returning to school, we will work closely with you as a family to address any worries.

How will I know when and at what time my child should attend?

This information is in my previous communication which you will find on the website. For the first two days only half of each mainstream class in Year 1 – 6 will attend, after which they will attend full time every day (from Friday). You should have received a text to tell you whether your children are attending on Wednesday or Thursday in this first week. If you haven’t received the text please contact school directly or your child’s previous or new class teacher.

Nursery, Reception and STF parents should have had a communication from your child’s class teacher to tell you when they will attend.

If in doubt please phone school this week and someone should be able to help you.

How will the children and staff be kept safe in school?

While there is a strict 2m social distancing requirement between adults, the guidance we have is that we do not need to socially distance between children. However, we must try to keep them from very close face to face contact. We must also keep them in class groups, with no direct contact with other classes. They will be mainly taught and supervised by the same adults throughout the day.

• Children will be seated side by side rather than face to face.
• They will not be allowed to hug each other or their teachers.
• They will be spread out at lunch times between the hall and the gym and times will be staggered
• There is a one-way system in corridors and visits to the toilets will be monitored to ensure there are never too many children using these areas at the same time.
• Lots of time will be spent outside as this is good for your child’s health and well-being and we have plenty of space to spread children out.
• Playtimes will be staggered so that each class can play in one large outdoor area without contact with other classes.
• As staff are required to try to keep 2m away from children where possible, they will need to wear aprons, gloves and masks or visors when administering first aid or if they need to help with toileting.

How will we monitor strict hand cleanliness?

• On their first day back in school your child’s class teacher will show your children how to wash hands correctly and thoroughly. This will be supervised as much as possible throughout the day, particularly with younger children.
• There is plenty of anti-bacterial hand soap available in toilets and in classrooms.
• As the children enter the building they will use hand sanitiser. Once children are in the building and have deposited their coats and lunche boxes they will each be sent to wash their hands, maintaining social distancing all the time.
• Additional hand sanitiser units have been bought ready for the new term.
• Although the most important thing is hand washing, hand sanitiser will also be available at the entrances to eating areas and frequent touch points such as toilet block doors.

Does my child need to wear school uniform?

Yes we would rather your child wore school uniform as this will help to make school feel more ‘normal’ and to make children feel part of a community of equals. They should wear clean uniform each day if possible.

Most importantly your child needs to wear footwear which they can run around in as there will be plenty of outdoor activities and we won’t be getting the children changed for these.

We will let you know  when your child will be having PE lessons and we will ask you to send in children already in their gym kits with their school jumper over the top.

What about Face Masks?

• The wearing of face masks for children of primary school age is not recommended as they have a tendency to touch them frequently, risking poor hygiene.
• It is possible that children will need to wear masks in taxis but they should remove these on entry to school and place them in a plastic bag until the end of the day.
• However if any child’s family feels that wearing a mask is essential in order to be safe in the school environment they will not be stopped from doing so. Well-being and a feeling of safety is of paramount importance.

What should my child bring to school?

We provide all the stationary and equipment your child needs and your child will now have a washable see-through zip wallet with all their own pens, pencils, rubbers etc or a tidy, clean tray. These items will never be shared. If you have bought lovely new stationary for your child for the new term please keep this at home and use it for homework tasks.

Your child won’t need a book bag this term as we intend to give them each a washable zip wallet to transport reading books and homework to and from school. Apologies if you have already bought a new book bag but we feel this is a safer option in the short term. Please keep any new book bags safe, ready for when things are ‘normal’ once again!

So all you child needs to carry to school is…

• Zip wallet with reading book (and homework once a week)
• A drinks bottle
• Snack and Lunch

Which gate shall I bring my children in through?

You can bring your children in through either the main front gate, or the St David’s Close gate. There will be a one way system in place so that you can leave the infant yard through the large gates or the field gates. Would parents with just junior children please enter through the main gates.

We are working closely with the Local Authority to get the North Rd entrance re-opened as this route has now been declared safe. This would help to ease congestion around the main car park and would help with social distancing. I will let you know if there are any developments on this.

ISTF, Reception, Year 1 and Year 2

Enter through the main front gate and leave through the yard double gates

or

Enter through St David’s Close gate and leave through the side field gate

JSTF, Year 3 – 6

Children (without parents, if possible)

Enter through main gates and hand your child over to a member of staff who will direct them to the junior yard to wait

or

Children with parents or escorts

Enter through main gates, bring children into junior yard, leave through junior yard gate

There will be clear directional arrows to help you so don’t worry about this. It’s not as confusing as it sounds!!

A member of staff will be near the gate to welcome you and your child and to monitor social distancing. They will also ask you to confirm that your child does not have COVID 19 symptoms and that no one in your family is self-isolating due to symptoms or a confirmed case.

Where does my child wait to enter the school building?

There will be markings on the yards to show where each family should wait before children are invited into school. In the junior yard children will also be spread out around the new 100m track with no more than 3 children per 10m section. Staff will be available to show children what to do.

Please arrive with your child only at the time you have been given as this staggered start is an important part of social distancing. If you have two children starting at different times you may need to wait in your car or in the designated place in the yard. If this is causing you difficulties staff will be on hand to help you out.

If you arrive at the times you have been given and not too much before there will be very little waiting and your child will be taken into school pretty quickly. This is especially important if it is raining so we can take children straight into class without delay.

Can parents come on to the premises?

• We know that parents of infant children and escorts will want to bring their children into the yard and this is fine as long as you stay with your child at all times. We would rather junior children, except those with escorts, were dropped off at the main gate, to avoid congestion in the yards. We will of course be sensitive about this if for any reason children are anxious. Please ensure you have spoken to a member of staff at the gate to confirm your child and your family are well.
• Please arrive to collect your children only at the time you have been given and wait a good distance from others on the yard.
• Year 5 and 6 children who normally walk home unaccompanied will be allowed to do so and will be monitored as they leave the yard through the junior side gate. It is up to you to decide whether your child can be relied upon to socially distance on their walk home. If you need to collect your child from the junior yard before or after collecting your younger child please follow the one way system (which may take you on a bit of a roundabout route!) and wait for your child at a safe distance from others. If both your children are in the same phase please either wait in your car or on a marked out spot in the yard.
• Parents will not be able to have long conversations with teachers when dropping off or picking up children. If you need to discuss something at length please phone school to make an appointment. Preferably the conversation could take place by phone
• Parents must not congregate outside school or in the yards as we need to maintain social distancing within our whole community in order to keep everyone safe.

Will there be Breakfast Club and Kids’ Club?

I’m sorry but breakfast club will not be available until at least 14^th September in Swansea schools. I will let you know as soon as possible what the arrangements will be. It is possible that numbers will be limited to allow for class groups to be kept apart.

We are planning for Kids’ Club to be open from 14^th September.

There will be no other after school clubs until 14^th September at the very earliest. I’m afraid some might not be able to run this term.

Will my child have a normal school day?

• We aim to make school as enjoyable, welcoming and positive as possible but to keep risks low a few things will be different;
  • Your child’s relationship with staff will be just the same as before but please warm them that hugging will not be allowed!
  • The curriculum will be just the same as before but we realise that some children may need to do some catching up before they move on to new learning.
  • Everyone will have their own personal resources but if equipment has to be shared it will be disinfected frequently
  • No soft toys, furnishings or dressing up clothes will be used but if children in Nursery, Reception and Year 1 would like to bring a small, soft, washable ‘cuddle toy’ in case they are feeling sad, they may do so. This will never be shared with other children and must be taken home to wash weekly.
  • Role play areas will be used but the children will only use these areas with a small set group of children
  • There will be a staggered timetable throughout the day which will not allow classes to mix.
  • Computers, Chrome Books and iPads will still be used but will be disinfected between uses.
  • There won’t be assemblies until we have worked out how to do this safely!
  • There will be Interest Groups on Friday afternoons but children will always be in a group just with members of their own class.

What happens if a child or member of staff shows symptoms of COVID 19?

1. If a child or member of staff becomes symptomatic (eg persistent cough, temperature, loss of taste and smell) they will be taken to one of our designated isolation rooms away from other people and will need to be collected immediately.
2. The child’s temperature will be taken, using a remote device. The isolation room will then be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected before it is used again.
3. If a child or staff member in your child’s class group has shown symptoms we will let you know so that you can be vigilant in checking for any symptoms in your child. We would ask you not to panic if this happens as it’s more than likely that the symptoms have a different cause.
4. If a positive test confirms a case of COVID 19 in the school children and staff within the class group only will take part in Test and Trace procedures and the Local Authority will be informed.
5. In the unlikely event of an outbreak in the school (two or more cases) Public Health Wales will take over and decide how to proceed.

What about lunch and snacks?

• All children will need to bring a packed lunch, a fruit snack and a drink in a plastic bottle for the first two weeks as no meals or snacks can be provided in school. All lunch bags and bottles should be very clean, clearly named and where possible children will need to refill their own water bottles throughout the day.
• Families entitled to free school meals will have received either a BACs payment for meals or a food parcel. This enables you to either buy ingredients for packed lunches or to use the ingredients you have been given.
• For younger children, please send in items which they can open themselves so that we can avoid close contacts between staff and children.
• Children will eat their lunch in the hall or the gym as we have large tables which are easy to clean and make social distancing possible. Use of the hall and gym for lunches will be staggered so there will only be a few children in there at any one time. Hygiene will be closely monitored by staff.
• It is likely that cooked meals will resume from 14^th September and I will confirm this nearer the time.

We are really looking forward to finally welcoming the children back to school and I hope they are looking forward to it! May I assure you we are working hard to prepare as thoroughly as possible for a safe return next week. The information I have given you here is only a summary so if you have other specific questions or concerns please don’t hesitate to call school.

Best wishes

C M Hewitt

School uniform grant applications can be made from 13 July for children currently entitled to free school meals going into Reception and Years 3, 7 and 10.  Eligible parents/carers will be contacted closer to this date with details on how they can apply.  Further information on the grant can be found here https://www.swansea.gov.uk/schooluniformgrant

Dear Parents,

Many thanks to all of you who completed our online questionnaire and for all your positive comments and brilliant suggestions! We have had 164 responses so far and it’s not too late to respond if you haven’t already! We will continue to try to meet the needs of every single child and I would like to assure you that every teacher is working hard to try to do the right thing in these very unusual circumstances.

Some of you have asked for live video calls from staff and we understand why this is good for your children, particularly if they are feeling ‘cut off’ and missing school. However, we have now been told that this is not allowed. Sorry about this but I have asked if exceptions could be made for certain children with Additional Learning Needs.

You will no doubt be wondering when and how your children will be returning to school. The only advice I can give just now is that the Education Minister Kirsty Williams has stated that there will at least three weeks notice of any planned return for schools in Wales. As soon as we receive this notice we will inform you of our plans for welcoming your children back gradually and safely. We will spend the three weeks notice time working out procedures to ensure the children are safe and to decide what learning is most important at this time. If at all possible, there will be transition time in the Comprehensive School for our Year 6 children.

I would like to remind the front line worker parents who need emergency childcare to book their children in each week by Friday morning the week before at the latest.

Please remember that we are always here for you from Monday to Friday. Please stay in touch and contact us by email, DoJo or by phone if you have any questions or worries. 

We are missing your children and can’t wait to get back to normal. How ever long it takes, we will be celebrating once they are all back safely with us!!

Best wishes,

Mrs Hewitt

Dear Parents,

I hope you and your children are safe and well and coping with all the challenges which are coming your way just now. This is a difficult time for all of us and it is important that we stay in touch as much as possible. 

Home Learning

This is a new venture for our school and we are learning all the time what works and what doesn’t. We are becoming aware of the challenges some of you are facing and are full of admiration for those of you who are working, looking after relatives and also ensuring your children complete their home learning tasks! Please let us know if you are facing difficulties which are affecting your child’s ability to complete home learning tasks. The well-being of your family is very important at this time and we understand that there are times when learning tasks won’t be completed.

Some of you have told us that your children just don’t wish to complete learning tasks! Unless there are other barriers, please tell them that Mrs Hewitt says they need to do some home learning even if they don’t want to!!

Free School Meals

From today, families entitled to Free School Meals will receive a weekly food parcel with enough food to make lunches for each child in the household for the week. This will be delivered from 12 noon onwards, every Monday. Please let us know if you do not wish to receive the food parcel after this week.  We hope this is helpful.

Emergency Childcare

Would families who are using our Emergency Childcare provision please book your children by Friday mornings at the latest for the following week.

Please remember we are here to support you. There is someone in school every day so please don’t hesitate to call.

C M Hewitt