Category Archives: News

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

Dear Parents and Carers,

So today should have been the first day of the Summer Term and sadly it may still be quite some time before we are able to have the children back in school. 

The teachers have been working really hard to think of ways to keep the children learning and I have been really impressed with their creativity and positivity! I know they have been in touch with many of you by phone or through DoJo or email and they are really impressed with the way so many of you are coping with everything! 

Well done to all the families who have shown such amazing commitment to your children’s learning at this difficult time! I will now be keeping a close eye on all classes to see which children are taking part in learning activities. As a guide, I have asked teachers to expect the following minimum amount of working time for children each day from Monday to Friday;

Nursery, ISTF  and Reception                       At least two activities a day

Year 1 and Year 2                                              An hour of learning activities

Year 3 and 4                                                       An hour and a half of learning activities

Year 5 and 6                                                       Two hours of learning activities

JSTF                                                                     The teachers will advise each of you!

I know that many of our children will be keen to do more than the minimum and I will be looking out for the children who are working especially hard!!

Please go to your child’s  Class Page on this website to find out how your child’s class teacher will let you know about the learning activities.

Reading Books

From tomorrow (Tuesday) We are going to trial a ‘Book Drop‘ scheme to see how it goes. If you would like new reading books for your child and you are out and about for shopping or exercise you can drop off your child’s named book bag with their finished reading books in a box in the outside foyer. Someone will change your child’s books and replace them in the box ready for you to collect the next day.

If your child has completed written work which they would like their teacher to see, this could be dropped off at the same time. However, it may be a few days before you get it back as teachers are attending school on a rota.

As we need to maintain social distancing rules and don’t want to encourage anyone to make unnecessary journeys we will stop this scheme if we feel it s too risky. Please just drop off the book bag then leave straightway!

We all need to make the best of this time away from school. This is an opportunity for teachers to learn new ways of working, for children to develop their independence and for you all to spend quality time together as a family, hopefully while enjoying continued good weather!

There is always someone in school from Monday to Friday, so if you need us please call and we will try to help.

Best wishes

C M Hewitt

Dear Parents,

I hope you and your families are safe and well and coping with this new and strange life! We are really impressed with the way so many families have completed home learning tasks as we know this hasn’t been easy!

So today is the first day of the original Easter Holidays!  

HOME LEARNING

For these next two weeks teachers will be setting just one Easter Task for their class. Class teachers won’t be communicating with children on such a regular basis for these next couple of weeks.

If you really do need to speak to us urgently there will be someone here in school every day to take your call. You could also send a message via Dojo or by email. But please bear in mind that teachers may not pick this up the same day. 

We will resume regular home learning tasks from 20th April which is the first day of the Summer Term. 

EMERGENCY CHILDCARE

Childcare for the children of key workers is still available in school during the Easter Holiday, on the days on which both parents or single parents are working in frontline services. 

Many thanks for only sending your children in as a last resort. As you know, the safest place for your child is at home. 

FREE SCHOOL MEALS

For children who have free school meals a free packed lunch will still be available during the holiday period. Please let us know before 9am each day if you would like us to order one for you. The lunches can be collected by anyone who is fit and well and not categorised as ‘vulnerable’. They will be ready from 12 noon in the outside foyer.

Keep safe everyone!

Mrs Hewitt

Dear Parents and Carers

I hope you are all safe and well! There is a message for you all on a new Head teacher’s page which you may have noticed as you opened our website. I have just a few updates and reminders for you today.

EMERGENCY CHILDCARE

Thank you for keeping your chlidren away from school unless absolutely necessary. You all know that the safest place for you child is at home.

School is open for Emergency Childcare every week day. This childcare is for families where SINGLE or BOTH parents are key workers who are needed to support the coronavirus crisis. This runs from 8am till 5pm and you are welcome to leave the children with our staff during the hours in which you are needed in work. Breakfast, lunch and an afternoon snack is provided for your child when in Childcare.

There has been some confusion over who can access the Emergency Childcare and the Local Authority is working through this and will be informing us if anything changes. We will update you if we hear anything more.

The Local Authority is thinking about putting a central online booking system in place but for now we ask that you call school to tell us which days you need childcare for the following week.

FREE SCHOOL MEALS

If your child has free school meals and you would like a packed meal for your child while school is closed please let us know before 9am each day by phoning school. If you know you will need a meal every day just tell us and we will order it so you don’t need to phone each day. The meals can be collected at 12 noon by anyone who is fit and well and not in the vulnerable people category. So if you can’t collect the meal yourself please ask a friend or neighbour and let us know who will be coming. Meals will be ready in the foyer.

The Local Authority is looking at an alternative scheme, possibly using vouchers, and we will let you know if we have further news on this.

HOME LEARNING

All teachers have set home learning tasks for their classes and you should know about this either through the website, Class DoJo or email. I know that many families are actively taking part in home learning and I would like to thank you for this. We will be keeping an eye on who is participating so do keep in contact with your child’s teacher and let them know if for any reason you are struggling. If we are concerned that your child is not doing any home learning we may get in touch by phone to see if we can help.

We still have lots of spare exercise books in school so if you would like some please give us a call and we will get them ready for you to collect. 

WEEKLY PHONE CALLS

If your child is a ‘Looked After Child’ (LAC) we will be phoning you once a week to check everything is OK. Also, if we know that you sometimes struggle with your child’s behaviour we will give you a weekly call to see if you need any support. If you need help you can call school and we will have a chat with you and maybe even with your child.

I will be available to take calls most days in school and if I am not available someone else can take a message. So get in touch if you need to.

Mrs Hewitt

The letter below gives some clarification on catering arrangements for next week for children attending Emergency Childcare and for those entitled to Free School Meals.

Repurposing of Schools in the Penyrheol Cluster – Monday 23^rd March 2020

Dear Parents / Guardians,

Thank you for your patience and support in these unprecedented times. All schools across Swansea are closed from 3.20pm Friday 20^th March. Government information is changing rapidly. Our Local Authority is working tirelessly to guide schools during this repurposing phase. This is a national crisis. There is a recognition that schools are crucial to the National Strategy, and all school staff are very much valued as essential workers.

The Local Authority emergency strategy board meets daily and clusters have been asked to work collaboratively to provide central hubs as childcare for essential workers. We are aware that the Government has issued a list of essential workers. However, at this stage our schools, catering and cleaning services do not have the capacity to support the full Government essential workers criteria. Therefore, the Local Authority are offering a phased approach to Emergency Child Care for pupils that are between 3 to 14 years old starting with:

• Blue Light / emergency services;
• NHS frontline workers;
• prison officers;
• Primary / Secondary school staff;
• private, public social care workers.

In the first instance if both parents, or a single parent, are essential workers they can access this service. From Monday 23^rd March 2020, all schools in the cluster will be open to their pupils who fit the Emergency Care criteria.

All available staff from the cluster schools will be deployed on a rota basis. The next phase of the repurposing of schools will look at vulnerable pupils. Further details will be communicated as more information and resources become available.

Please be mindful that schools will be open for childcare purposes only and not to provide statutory education. Please can we also ask you to only use the Emergency Child Care Centres (schools) for emergency childcare only. We have a duty of care to our staff that are in the schools and equally as important, we have a duty of care to our families. The key government guidance remains that children are safer at home and not in large group settings.

The schools will be open between the hours of 8am and 5pm, Monday to Friday, in the first instance and children should attend the school that they go to. Families who need to access these Emergency Child Care Centres (Schools) are able to come in to school at any point during the day.

Children who access the centres will need a packed lunch if they have specific dietary requirements. Children who require a school meal will be provided with a cold option.  Free School Meals pupils from the individual schools from Monday onwards will be able to pick up “Grab and Go” bags, which can be collected from the school during the normal lunch hour (12 to 1pm). Children will need to come to the main entrance to collect these and not in to the school building.

We also would like to reiterate the NHS guidance around self-isolation and any children or members of the families that are displaying any symptoms should not attempt access to the schools and self-isolate for 14 days.

We would collectively like to thank you for your ongoing support at this unprecedented time. We will communicate with yourselves regularly throughout this period of transition and keep you up to date with any relevant information. We ask you to stay safe, look after your families and together we will overcome this.

Kindest regards

Penyrheol Cluster Headteachers

Friday 20^th March 2020

Dear Parents and Carers

As you know, school is closing today until further notice due to the coronavirus outbreak. This is a very sad day, which none of us could have imagined just a few weeks ago.

Schools are now being ‘re-purposed’ to provide emergency childcare for the children of key workers. As a school, we are totally committed to supporting the wider community to ensure everyone is kept safe. At this stage, this service will be provided here in school from 8am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, staffed by our school staff. This will be constantly reviewed and it is possible that the facility will move to a local ‘hub’ at another school in the community.

This is currently for the children of parents who work for frontline services ie NHS staff, Police, Fire service, Prison workers, Social workers, Care workers, school workers. It is likely that this provision will be extended to other families and I will let you know as soon as I have details on this.

Thank you for completing the online questionnaire as this helps us to identify the families in greatest need. If you didn’t complete the questionnaire and you fall into the above categories please contact me as a matter of urgency.

Please contact us today, if you haven’t already, to let us know if you need this emergency provision. We need to know which days you will be working and how many children need care. I will let you know about catering for this provision as soon as it becomes clear.

There is a scheme being developed for providing lunches for all children entitled to free school meals. I am still unclear about how this is going to work but will contact you once I know.

As we don’t know how long the school closure will last and how this virus will spread there are still so many unanswered questions. I will continue to do my best to keep you updated through text and through the website. Please ensure school has your most up to date mobile number and that you are registered with sQuid so we can keep in touch.

There is a lot of uncertainty around summer term events such as the year 5 and 6 residential. A decision about this will be made soon and in the event of a cancellation we will almost certainly be able to give full refunds to those who have already paid.

We hope you are clear about the home learning work which your child has been set by their teacher. This should have been communicated through the class page on the website or via DoJo. Your child’s teacher will update this if the school closure continues.

Please remember that the most valuable thing you can do with your child is to read to them and listen to them read. Any reading material is useful including online books, Newsround and any children’s books you may have at home.

Most children will now have brought home spare exercise books from school. We still have a few left and these can be collected from the school hall after school today.

If you are unsure about any logins your child needs eg hwb please contact school at any time as there will always be someone here.

We wish you and your families well over the coming weeks and hope you keep safe and healthy. This seems like the saddest end of term ever and I hope we never see anything like this again.

Please stay in touch and don’t hesitate to call me if you need any advice regarding your child’s learning. I will be here in school every day.

Kind regards

Mrs C M Hewitt