Author: Mrs Quirk

17 March 2023

This week’s Talk Time links to Science.

What’s growing?

As the season changes from Winter to Spring, you’ll begin to notice changes in gardens, parks, fields and any other green spaces! You may see flowers starting to bloom or new leaves starting to grow on trees. It’s a wonderfully magical time of year. This week, we’d like you to observe the different changes that you spot in your locality.

You could work scientifically by:

  • recording your observations by taking photographs or sketching flowers
  • using books or internet research to identify flowers
  • spotting patterns relating to where particular flowers are growing eg sunny or shady spots
  • identifying if all deciduous trees are sprouting new leaves at the same time

Covid caution continues

You‘ll know that the government issued new advice sound self-isolation and testing. This letter from Leeds Children and Families Team sets out what the new guidance is. The main message is included here, too:

Government advice is still that your child should stay at home and avoid contact with other people if they have tested positive for COVID-19 or have COVID-19 symptoms. If your child is symptomatic, they should get a PCR test as soon as possible.

Your child can return to school after 10 full days isolation. They may be able to return earlier if they test negative for two days in a row from day 5 of self-isolation and do not have a temperature. If they continue to test positive during the 10-day isolation they can return after completing 10 full days isolation.

Your child will still receive work to do at home if they need to self-isolate, as well as free school meal support if they are eligible for this.

As always, thank you for your support.

Key dates 2021/2022

As you’ve found it helpful in previous years, we’ve produced a list of key dates for this academic year and attach a copy here for your reference.

Please be aware that some of the dates are inevitably subject to change. This is for two main reasons. The first is that we’re planning right across the year, and the second is due to Covid.

Any dates that are changed or added throughout the year will be communicated to you. The full calendar can also be found on the website in the ‘Find Out’ section.

Reception Baseline Assessment (RBA)

The Reception Baseline Assessment (RBA) is statutory for all schools from September 2021.

It is a short, interactive and practical assessment of your child’s early
literacy, communication, language and mathematics skills when they begin
school, using materials that most children of your child’s age will be familiar with.

All Reception children will be participating in the reception baseline assessment (RBA) within the first 6 weeks of starting school.

The purpose of the assessment is to provide the starting point for a new measure that will help parents understand how well schools support their pupils to progress between reception and year 6 / the end of key stage 2.

For further information about the RBA, please see this guide.

 

Introduction to Reception – Zoom session

We’d like to welcome new Reception parents to our school by inviting you to a short Zoom session on Wednesday 15 September at 6pm. This session will be a 30 minute introduction to Reception at our Sphere Federation schools.

The sessions will outline the recent changes to the EY’s Framework and the introduction of a Reception Baseline Assessment. It’ll also offer you a few top tips on how you can support your child at home.

The session starts at 6pm. It will last around 20-25 minutes, plus there will be a questions and answer session at the end of around 5-10 minutes.

If you’re interested in attending this Zoom session, please either send us a message on the School Gateway app or email the school office. We’ll then email the Zoom joining details out to all those who have expressed an interest.

Watch out for further workshops relating to both English and Maths on your child’s class website page in the coming weeks.

LFD testing

Following on from Mr Roundtree’s weekly message, we have received some  more information this morning about the LFD testing. Further information can be found here.

 

Period product scheme

In 2020, the government introduced a new scheme in which they provided period products to schools. You may not have seen much about it on the news at the time – other events have obviously taken precedence over the last 12 months!
The scheme is for all learners who need to access period products in their place of learning, in order to access education. It’s not a universal offer of free period products to young people, but includes learners who:
  • have forgotten their products
  • cannot afford products
  • have started or come on their period unexpectedly
School now has a large supply of products, and we just wanted to make you aware that they are available, should your child need them. They just need to ask their teacher, or any other member of staff in school.

Covid-19 notification procedures during the Christmas break

If your child receives a positive Covid test result in the period Saturday 19 December to Thursday 24 December 2020, we need you to tell us.

So you can give us all the information we need, please use this form or scan the QR code below.

This means we’ll have the information to take the necessary actions, laid down by the Department for Education.

We’d prefer you to use the online form, but if the technology fails you, please contact school: [email protected].

If your child receives a positive test result after Thursday 24 December, you can tell us on the first day of the new term (Tuesday 05 January).

Relationships and Sex Education Policy

Thank you to those of you who recently responded to our recent consultation about our revised Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) Policy. We’ve taken a good deal of the feedback on board, especially around the notion of consent.

As part of our Living and Learning subject, coming up soon will be some teaching and learning specifically around RSE. Please see the letter and final policy. If you’ve any questions, comments or concerns, please speak with Mr Roundtree or Mrs Weekes.

Parent / carer workshops

Normally in the Autumn term, we provide a range of workshops to help you support your child’s learning at home. This year, we’re happy to offer something similar via Zoom…

We’ve arranged six short Zoom sessions led by Sphere Federation leaders on a range of subject areas. Each session will last for just 30 minutes, but will provide a few top tips and guidance as to how to support your child at home. The invitation is open to all parents and carers across Sphere Federation, although we’ve indicated below if the session might be more appropriate for particular age ranges.

The sessions are as follows:

  • Wednesday 18 November: Curriculum
  • Monday 23 November: Reading (mainly for Key Stage 2)
  • Wednesday 25 November: Phonics (mainly for Foundation 2 / Key Stage 1)
  • **re-scheduled date (apologies)** Monday 07 December: EYFS (mainly for Foundation 2)
  • Wednesday 02 December: Maths
  • Wednesday 09 December: Times Tables

All six sessions start at 6pm. They should last around 20-25 minutes, plus there will be a questions and answer session at the end of around 5-10 minutes.

If you are interested in attending any of these Zoom workshops, please could you either send us a message on the School Gateway app or email us at [email protected]. We will then email the Zoom joining details out to all those who have expressed an interest, prior to the session.

We look forward to welcoming you to our virtual workshops!