School Updates and Latest News

• NHS Test and Trace: COVID-19 testing for Staff in Primary Schools

  Tue 26 Jan 2021

  NHS Test and Trace:

  COVID-19 testing for Staff in Primary School

   

  We shared last week that testing for those without coronavirus symptoms is beginning across the country using new, quicker COVID‑19 tests known as ‘lateral flow devices’.

   

  This outline is to help give you more information about the testing programme in our school.

   

  Up to one third of people who have coronavirus are asymptomatic. By testing we will help to reduce the spread in school through asymptomatic transmission. 

   

  Plan for testing

  We will be offering all staff twice weekly testing at home each morning starting from this week (week beginning 25th January)

   

  What if my child’s teacher or other staff member tests positive?

  If a teacher or other staff member tests positive on a lateral flow device, they will inform the school immediately, arrange to take a PCR test and they will need to start 10 days of self-isolation as per government Stay at Home guidelines.

   

  What if staff or pupils have been in close contact with the individual who tests positive?

  All individuals will be notified by the school that they are a close contact.  We will notify our families immediately to allow for alternative plans to be put in place. 

   

  All contacts of a confirmed case must follow the national guidance, stay at home and self-isolate for 10 days. This is because it can take several days following contact with an infected person before an individual develops symptoms or the virus can be detected. Close contacts can return to school on day 11 if they are well and have no symptoms.

   

  Other members of your household will be able to continue normal activities provided your child does not develop symptoms within the 10-day self-isolation period.

   

  Please see the link to the National Guidance:

   

  https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-for-contacts-of-people-with-possible-or-confirmed-coronavirus-covid-19-infection-who-do-not-live-with-the-person/guidance-for-contacts-of-people-with-possible-or-confirmed-coronavirus-covid-19-infection-who-do-not-live-with-the-person

   

  https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-stay-at-home-guidance/stay-at-home-guidance-for-households-with-possible-coronavirus-covid-19-infection

   

  What to do if your child develops symptoms of COVID-19

  If your child develops any symptoms of COVID-19:

   

  • They should remain at home for at least 10 full days from the date when their symptoms started;
  • Arrange for a test via https://www.nhs.uk/ask-for-a-coronavirus-test or by calling 119. Anyone with symptoms will be eligible for testing;
  • Please inform the school if your child develops symptoms of COVID-19 and/or tests positive for COVID-19;
  • All other household members, even if well, must stay at home and not leave the house for 10 days.

   

  The 10-day period starts from the day when the first person in the house became ill.

  Household members staying at home for 10 days will greatly reduce the amount of infection the household could pass on to others in the community.

   

  If your child has symptoms, try and keep them as far away from other members of your household as possible. It is especially important that they stay away from anyone who is clinically vulnerable or clinically extremely vulnerable with whom you share a household.

   

  Symptoms of COVID-19

  The most common symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) are recent onset of:

   

  • new continuous cough and/or
  • high temperature and/or
  • a loss of, or change in, normal sense of taste or smell (anosmia)

   

  For most people, coronavirus (COVID-19) will be a mild illness.

  If your child does develop symptoms, you can seek advice from NHS 111 at https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/check-if-you-have-coronavirus-symptoms/ or by phoning 111.

   

  How to stop COVID-19 spreading

  There are things you can do to help reduce the risk of you and anyone you live with getting ill with COVID-19:

   

  Do

   

  • HANDS wash your hands with soap and water often – do this for at least 20 seconds
  • use hand sanitiser gel if soap and water are not available
  • wash your hands as soon as you get home
  • FACE cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve (not your hands) when you cough or sneeze
  • put used tissues in the bin immediately and wash your hands afterwards
  • FACE wear a face covering when in indoor public spaces
  • SPACE apply the 2m social distancing rule when outside your home

   

   

   

  Further information

  Find out more about how to protect your household against coronavirus:

  http://germdefence.org/

   

  Latest NHS information is available at:

  https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/

   

  For COVID related support including during self-isolation, contact Here2Help on 01905 768053 or use the web link at www.worcestershire.gov.uk/here2help

   

  For health-related support visit Starting Well (Herefordshire & Worcestershire Health & Care NHS Trust): https://www.startingwellworcs.nhs.uk/covid19

   

• Returning to School - Tuesday 26th January 2021

  Mon 25 Jan 2021

  Tuesday 26th January 

   

  We will work to open school tomorrow but only for children of critical / key workers who can not work from home. 

   

  The school site is still covered in snow and ice as our caretaker has been unable to get to the school site from where he lives, due to the treacherous conditions.

   

  The surrounding footpaths by school are still very icy and parking will be difficult. I will upload recently taken photographs to our social media sites so parents are aware of the current conditions.  

   

  We will not know until tomorrow if we will have a full complement of staff able to get to school during the day. This will depend on the conditions we wake up to. 

   

  The plan is for pathways, on the school site, to be cleared and gritted early tomorrow morning and to get the site safe. However, with further freezing temperatures overnight we advise the following for tomorrow: 

   

  • If your child is due tomorrow only send them to school if they cannot work from home for the day. Have a Plan B ready! 
  • Remote Learning will still be available to all. 
  • Opening time tomorrow will be delayed - School will be open to pupils from 9.30am. 
  • Please take extra care when walking to school and when you arrive on site. 
  • The Breakfast club will not be available tomorrow morning.
  • After School Club will be available.
  • Children should come to school in warm clothes (non-school uniform) and wear sensible footwear that grips the ground - we are expecting freezing rain which may make conditions unpredictable under foot.
  • Please bring a change of footwear for your child to wear inside school. 
  • End of day will remain the same 2.45pm - 3.00pm for collection. 

   

  If you have any questions please email office@wolverleysebright.worcs.sch.uk or head@wolverleysebright.worcs.sch.uk 

   

  The forecast is for improved weather temperatures after tomorrow so we will be 'back to normal' from Wednesday. 

• School Closure Monday 25th January

  Sun 24 Jan 2021

  School will be closed to all pupils on Monday 25th January.

   

  Remote Learning will be available for all pupils.

   

  Your child’s teacher will provide work for the day - please check the normal routes tomorrow morning Google Classroom or Seesaw for more details.

   

  Why have we made the decision today to close our school to all pupils tomorrow?

   

  • The current conditions of the roads and paths surrounding areas to the school are not safe.

   

  • The forecast for this evening and through the night is for temperatures to drop below -5. Therefore roads and paths will not improve by morning.

   

  • Many staff live between 20 minutes to over an hour away from school. Conditions from each location to school are worst.

   

  • We would not be able to mix bubbles of children & staff in school. Depending on which staff could get in would determine which children could come into school.

   

  • The health and safety of everyone is our first priority.

   

  All factors above have influenced our decision. We also feel it allows more time for the families of key worker children in school to arrange support for tomorrow.

• School Update 21.01.2021

  Thu 21 Jan 2021

  Parent Update: 21.02.2021

   

  Thank you to all our families that are adapting to home learning or only sending their children to school when absolutely necessary.

   

  In light of increased infection rates and the prevalence of the new variant the health and safety of all must be our priority.

   

  We are always here to help and welcome feedback and updates on how we can help further.

   

  You may have read that from next week Primary school staff will begin twice weekly testing on themselves using the Lateral Flow Devices. If we have any positive cases contacts will be notified and bubble closures will happen with immediate effect for 10 days.

   

  The advice is to have a back-up plan if your child currently attends school. We will try and work to provide as much notice as possible in line with the guidance in taking the tests - our first full staff testing will take place Monday evening. 

   

  What to expect

  1. A text outlining a ‘Bubble Closure’ will be sent to the families we need to notify immediately.
  2. Your Child’s teacher will communicate through their normal channels on the first morning of isolation to go through the remote learning for all children.
  3. Further information from our Admin team will be provided on the first morning of isolation to families of the children that have been in contact with a positive case.
  4. ‘Bubble Closure’ will be for 10 days with confirmation provided of the first day children within the bubble can return.
  5. We will notify all families of children in school who have not been in contact that we have a reported positive case in school. We respect that families may decide not to send their child in for the same period. If this is the case please inform the office in the normal way.  

   

  If you have any questions please email me directly on head@wolverleysebright.worcs.sch.uk or call on 01562 850268

   

  Please stay safe and take care of each other.

  Mrs RW

• Message about daily attendance to parents with children at home

  Wed 20 Jan 2021

  Dear Parents & Carers

   

  I would be grateful if you could kindly still contact the school office (01562 850268 / office@wolverleysebright.worcs.sch.uk) if your child is ill at home and will not be remote learning or if your child displays any symptom of Covid or tests positive. As a school, we are still required to record this data and submit all information to the DfE regarding Covid symptoms etc. 

   

  Of course, if your child is ill at home, this will be recorded on the register accordingly.

   

  Many thanks 

   

  Mrs Hackett 

• Our School's Defibrillator

  Fri 15 Jan 2021

  Dear Parents & Carers

   

  Many of you may already be aware that we have a defibrillator on our school site.  I won’t elaborate on the statistics of how many adults & children of school age suffer from cardiac arrests each year, as I feel you are more than aware already and also, we have enough statistics & “slides!” currently coming our way.

   

  This message has been prompted by other schools who have shared with us the fact that local businesses & individuals support the annual maintenance costs of any defibrillator they have on their site, therefore this is the aim of my request.  

   

  Currently, there is an annual maintenance cost of £75 together with approx. £35 to cover the yearly cost of batteries and spare pads etc.

   

  I feel that it is in everybody’s interest to support the school’s defibrillator as our school is at the heart of our community and of course the defibrillator is available for use in the event of a public emergency too, should it be needed.

   

  If you feel that you are able to help out & support in any way, this would be much appreciated. Kindly email Mrs Hackett on office@wolverleysebright.worcs.sch.uk before the 22nd January. 

   

  Many thanks & take care

• School Update 11.01.2021

  Mon 11 Jan 2021

  School Update

  11.01.2021

   

  Welcome to our first full week of ‘Blended’ learning, remote and in-school provision. I have recommended to staff that we review our practice this week in order to make it effective for all. This will include how Google classroom and Meet are being used and how other class linked approaches are having the correct impact.

   

  Our Google Meet/ Live Links have been timetabled to avoid clashes with siblings in other year groups. At a glance, the timings are listed below:

   

  9.00am: Swallows & Owls (Years 5 & 6)

  9.15am: Hedgehogs (Year R)

  9.30am: Robins & Squirrels (Years 1 & 2)

  10.50am: Kingfishers (Year 4)

  11.00am: Woodpeckers (Year 3)

  12.00pm: Swallows & Owls (Years 5 & 6)

  2.00pm: Woodpeckers & Kingfishers (Years 3 & 4)

  2.30pm: Robins & Squirrels (Years 1 & 2)

   

  We will work through this week together and make any necessary changes to ensure this works for our pupils.

   

   

  It is important that we focus on the needs of our pupils and our school community. I communicate with several professionals working in many schools across the country. What is very clear and what we should focus on is what works for us. This may be slightly different depending on context – there will be different priorities in different communities. School surveys have been issued and in addition we are contacting each family to make sure everyone has what they need.

   

  We are a strong community because we have always worked together, shown empathy and respect. There is guidance from the Department of Education and Public Health that schools are following but we must all do our bit.

   

  Last week, most schools saw an increase in pupils attending school. Some schools recommended that if a child has been offered a place they should attend every day. We have chosen to advise parents they should ONLY send their child to school on the days they require provision.

   

  The main message, especially over the weekend, is keep your child at home where possible to reduce any potential risks to families and staff. We await to see if further restrictions are imposed during this lockdown. 

   

  Mrs RW

• School Update 06.01.2021

  Wed 06 Jan 2021

  School Update 

  06.01.2021

   

  Day 1 of our new Spring Term and I wanted to share what school is like and what we have arranged for our pupils and families. 

   

  In school we are running 4 Bubbles each containing children of Critical/Key Workers and staff are coordinating teaching time in school with online learning. 

   

  Staff will be able to provide each class with an overview of live link timings that do not clash with other year groups, these will start next week. Google Meets will be the platform used with Google Classroom as our learning platform. 

   

   

  Mrs Hackett and Mrs Churchard are available and are the first contact if you have any queries during the school day. Office hours are 8.30am - 3.30pm 01562 850268

  Email office@wolverleysebright.worcs.sch.uk or ajb161@wolverleysebright.worcs.sch.uk 

   

  Links will be sent out to parents if their child wishes to join in with weekly celebration assemblies. We will send out a test link at the start of next week ready for our first assembly on Friday 15th January. 

   

  To support learning opportunities for all we have set up a new PE site https://www.wolverleysebright.co.uk/remote-learning-lockdown-30/ contains recorded Lessons, resources and links to live lessons. 

   

  Our SAET IT Team have set up support for our remote learning families. 01562 542575 (7.30am - 6.00pm) or email itsupport@saet.co.uk - this is for technical IT issues. Please have your child's username or password ready and inform the IT team which school your child attends.

  Guidance will be sent out to all parents. 

   

  We are working hard to make sure all our families have the support they need. Please do not worry over the next few days if you have any issues in regard to remote learning.

   

  This is the fourth major change to take place in the last 10 months within schools. Since the pandemic began we have never closed and remained open throughout. We have altered our provision to support the changing climate and needs of our families. The most recent change provided little time to put in place effective methods - we are working non-stop to get everything we need in place on top of teaching children of critical / key workers full time. Everything you need will be in place and shared by Friday.  

   

  We will continue with our weekly 'In the Loop' newsletters and regular updates on the website will be alerted to parents via the text message service. 

   

  Take care & Keep Safe 

   

   

   

   

• School Update 05.01.2021 4pm

  Tue 05 Jan 2021

  School Update: 5th January 2021

   

  Thank you to all our families for their understanding and support, I am deeply grateful for all the kind messages. We have spent the day organising how remote and in-school provision will look for our pupils from Wednesday 6th January. 

   

  Each class teacher will contact their classes directly but I wanted to share an overview of what to expect...

   

  All children attending school...

  • Will need to arrive between 8.45am - 9.00am
  • Will need to be collected between 2.45pm - 3.00pm
  • Will need to wear School uniform 
  • Will need to bring limited items (only what is necessary) to school.
  • Will work in Year Group & Key Stage Bubbles.
  • Will be provided with a revised timetable which will include PE and Forest School.
  • Can access Before and After School Wrap Around Care - parents will need to book and will be invoiced for each session.

   

  Bubble 1: Children in Hedgehogs will be based in the modular building

   

  Bubble 2: Children from Robins and Squirrels will be based in the Squirrels Classroom. 

   

  Bubble 3: Children from Woodpeckers and Kingfishers will be based in the Woodpeckers classroom

   

  Bubble 4: Children from Swallows and Owls will be based in the Swallows Classroom. 

   

  Children accessing Remote Learning...

  • Will have daily live links with teaching staff
  • Will be provided with a revised timetable that will mirror the teaching and learning activities in school. 
  • Will have access to online teaching tools and resources
  • Will be invited to attend remote Whole School Celebration Assemblies
  • Will be provided daily with range of learning opportunities covering curriculum subjects.
  • Will have access to online teaching, coaching and support.
  • Will have access to Remote PE sessions
  • Will be able to view updates and activities via Seesaw
  • Will have weekly 1;1 updates with staff 
  • Can have the option of collecting additional resources to support learning at home.
  • Will have access to IT support if required.

   

  We will review our provision weekly and make any necessary changes in order to support all our families. 

   

  The Leadership Team will monitor remote access to learning and the quality of provision for all our pupils. 

   

  We are here to provide guidance for our families and welcome feedback in the coming weeks in how we can best support you. 

   

  If you have any questions relating to your child's learning please email your child's teacher or call school on 01562 850268. 

   

• School Update 05.01.2021 8.30am

  Tue 05 Jan 2021

  School Update: 05.01.2021

   

  You will have heard that during the Prime Minister’s address last night that the decision has been made to close schools until the February Half Term for all but children of critical workers and vulnerable children.  The key message is that children should stay at home wherever possible. 

   

  At 11pm last night schools were issued with details that have been published on the gov.uk website. We anticipate further details will follow today which we will communicate to you.

   

  A Google Form will be sent out this morning for parents to complete. Our website contains links to the DFE with further information about which Critical worker children are able to come into school.

   

  Today, teachers will plan for provision in our school and will put together a remote learning plan for our children, to begin Wednesday 6th January.

   

  Please monitor our school website, text messages and Seesaw App for details today.

   

  Once again our communities and schools find themselves in challenging circumstances. By cooperation, compassion and consideration for others we will navigate our way through these troubled times and keep each other safe and protected.