05.09.22

Dear Parents,

Welcome back, the children already seem settled and working well within their new routines, and with their new teachers.

Thank you for being so patient with us while we have not had a school office manager. We now have Miss Roper helping in the office until I have recruited someone to replace Mrs Mitchell. Miss Roper has managed, to update Parent Pay. Some of you will have had requests for outstanding payments (most of which is for wrap around care) when you used the breakfast club or the afterschool club while Mrs Mitchell was away. If you have any queries regarding additional payments, which you did not anticipate, please telephone the office.

I will let parents know when the office vacancy is advertised, I know there are several parents who have expressed an interest in this post.

This year we are arranging to take the whole school to see ‘The Wizard of Oz’ at the Curve Theatre in Leicester.  This is not an educational visit so parents can opt out if they do not want to pay for their child to go to this event. Children who opt out, must come to school on that day. Please telephone the office if this is the case by Friday this week at the very latest, so that we can book the right number of tickets. I hope that all the children can attend. The price is £20 per child, which includes the ticket and the coach. I believe that this is a very competitive price and also a wonderful experience for the children.

The children will be leaving after lunch on Tuesday the 13^th December for this outing and will return at approximately 6pm in the evening. Any child who receives Pupil premium funding will have a reduced amount for this trip and this will show on your Parent Pay account.

Please can I remind parents, as I know you will soon start to purchase coats etc as the weather gets colder. That children must be in plain navy or black coats for school. And that girls can only wear boots under their school trousers. These are the two main winter uniform issues that I have to address each year and they both involve a larger cost to parents, if they get this wrong. We will return to winter uniform after the October break.

As usual I am available on the playground most mornings if you need to speak to me or ask me anything.

Kind regards

Helen White

(Headteacher)

01.07.22 

Dear Parents, 

We have had a very successful morning interviewing and recruiting for the next academic year. I have been able to finalise the arrangements for where teachers will be for the next academic year. I am very pleased to inform parents of the following arrangements 

EYFS- Mrs Carter - Monday and Tuesday & Mrs Morton - Wednesday-Friday

Y1 – Mr Wright 

Y2 - Monday –Wednesday Mrs Woolman, Thursday & Friday –Mrs Pagliari 

Y3 - Monday –Wednesday Mrs Moore, Thursday & Friday –Mrs Charity 

Y4 – Mrs Fincham 

Y5 – Mrs Johnson (Mrs Johnson is new to St Peter’s, she will be ably supported by Mrs Collins who will teach in yr 5 on a Tuesday) 

Y6- Miss Pritchett 

I have yet to finalise where all the Learning Support Staff will be working. I am currently working on this timetable.  

Kind regards 

Helen White 

12/05/2022

'Kings and Queens day'

On Friday 27th May we will marking the Queen's Jubilee with a 'Kings and Queens day'. The children are asked to donate £1 to the PTFA in order to dress up royally - should be a fun day! 

Fathers' day 'Secret room' 

The Mothers' day version of this has proved to be really popular in the past so our PTFA have decided to run a Father's day version. If your child wishes to take part, please send £2.50 via ParentPay by Friday 10th June. The PTFA will then purchase a selection of gifts for your child to choose from. They will be asked to choose their gift and wrap it on Tuesday 14th June. 

Kind regards,

Mrs. Jan Coghlan 

04/05/22

Dear Parents and Carers,

Please be aware that our school office manager, Mrs. Mitchell, is not in school at the moment. We are doing our best to cover her duties and channels of communication with parents should not be affected. We may however need your patience where ParentPay is concerned - we are currently enlisting expert help with this as it is a complex piece of software. Payments will be processed as usual but please bear with us if there are slight delays. 

Please remember our achievement assembly on Friday at 9 a.m.! Send awards in with your children between now and 9 a.m. on Friday and they will place them in class boxes ready for the assembly. Emails and photos also welcome but they must be sent to jcoghlan@stpetersprimary.org by close of school on Thursday so that I can insert them into the presentation. All welcome as usual!

Kind regards,

Mrs. Jan Coghlan

11.03.22

Dear Parents and Carers,

From Monday, the whole school will stop and pray together for the people of Ukraine at 3pm. 

We know that prayer can cause overwhelming change and that faith can move mountains. I invite you all to join us in this prayer of peace. The playground gate will open a few minutes before 3pm so that parents can come onto the playground and join us in prayer. You are welcome to stand in silence or read this prayer which we will be saying in the classrooms.

Loving God,

We pray for the people of Ukraine,

especially for the children

We ask that You stay close to all those suffering and afraid.

Protect them Lord.

We pray for those who have lost family 

And friends in the fighting.

Comfort them Lord.

We pray for world leaders,

for compassion, strength and wisdom. 

Guide their choices Lord.

We ask for Your help for all to walk in Your ways

so that peace and justice come the people of Ukraine

and for all the world.

Give us peace Lord

St Francis, patron saint of Peace…….Pray for us

St Jude, patron saint of Hope………...Pray for us

St Faustina, Patron saint of Mercy…...Pray for us

We ask Mary, our holy mother, 

who holds a special place in her heart for the people of Ukraine 

To plead for us to God in heaven 

And we say together 

Hail Mary……..

Sacred Heart of Jesus…………………We trust in You

Amen

We will continue to pray together until the war ends.

Mrs White

The Trust are now signed up to Dell Advantage Student, which allows staff and students to get exclusive discounts of up to 20%.

Below is a small summary of how the programme works for students.

STUDENTS: Dell Advantage Student for Schools & Colleges (DAS) works like this:

1. DAS is a free programme that offers genuine savings to your students – up to 20% off.
2. They will follow the link below and enter their unique passcode to receive all voucher codes via an email
3. The voucher code is then entered at the point of purchase and the student/parent/guardian will be able to choose the option of monthly payments, through PayPal. They will automatically get one year’s free warranty
4. The student/parent/guardian will own the product that they buy, so the school does not have any ties

Next Steps:

1. The passcode for all students at schools is: 9VYBAY
2. The link

• Students: https://www.dell.com/en-uk/lp/k12-students

29.10.21

Dear Parents

The children look very smart in their winter uniforms, thank you. Can you please make sure that the girls are wearing navy tights or white socks. 

Thank you for continuing to test your children for COVID using LFT, our numbers seem to have plateaued thankfully.

Let me start by reminding you about the additional CMAT (Catholic Multi Academy Trust) Teacher Training Day which is on Friday 19th November 2021. School will be closed on this day. 

Unfortunately I am unable to authorise any term time absences linked to holiday requests unless there are exceptional circumstances. COVID reasons and holiday cancellations are not exceptional circumstances and in almost all cases holidays are not authorised. The local authority tends to fine parents for taking holidays during school term time.

The flu vaccines have been postponed. Any existing permissions will be carried forward. 

Thursday 4th November is school photographer day. Unfortunately we are not doing preschool children this year, but we will group school aged siblings together for a family photograph as well as doing the individual photographs. Please can all children wear their school uniform this day for their photographs. Thursday PE children will have to bring their PE kit with them to change into prior to their lesson. 

Finally, after much discussion we have decided to use the Parents’ Evening model which yr 1 have just used, which was very successful and allowed parents into the classroom to look at the books and displays etc. This involves parents waiting outside the classroom external door for their appointment, so wrap up well and bring an umbrella in case it rains. We feel this arrangement helps to prevent the spread of COVID, please wear a face mask inside the building. Teachers will invite you in through this external door. If the weather permits, the trays will be left outside for you to begin looking through your child’s work prior to the meeting, while you are waiting. 

Parents’ evenings will be on 24th Nov and 1st Dec 3:30 - 6:30. You will be able to book for either meeting online by 12 noon on 24th November. After this deadline, you will have to phone the office to book or make changes. Please look out for an email inviting you to book. Unfortunately, there is only one parents’ evening appointment per child. This time, we are inviting parents to bring their children with them to appointments as this has proved to be highly effective in the past. For example, when children are being praised it does their self esteem the world of good to hear this being shared between the adults. If improvements need to be made, the child knows that the parents and the teacher are working together to support them. It really reinforces the partnership between teachers and parents. 

Thank you for your continued and ongoing support.

Kind regards

Helen White

Dear Parents of yr. 4 children,

Earlier this term, I asked all parents if they would contribute to the cost of consumables which the children took home, things like design and technology equipment, sewing, cookery and artwork for example. Things which we cannot reuse session after session, but that your child makes and takes home (or eats in class, before they get home).

This week the children in yr. 4 will be cooking again. I understand from some social media conversations that some parents have been mislead into thinking that this contribution is to pay for pens, pencils and books/paper, it is not. School purchases all of your child's books, pencils, pens etc etc

It may have been that in your busy schedule, this request has completely fallen of your list of things to do, if this is the case can I please gently remind you of this request and ask you to send in a £3 contribution for the class kitty. All of the money will be spent on the children. 

Thank you in anticipation

Helen White

15.10.21

Dear Parents

I'm pleased to say that the children are now very well settled and working hard for their teachers. The new children have enjoyed their first half term with us. The older children, especially my yr. 6 children have been incredibly helpful with the little ones in the dining hall and outside and have been super supportive. 

Lots of info for you as we finish this half term, I've used bullet points to try and help keep it clear.

• Thank you for all the support you have given with homework this half term. 
• After half term, the children return to school wearing winter uniform. This link will take you to the uniform information page https://bit.ly/3BLqlbQ Please ensure that your child has a plain navy or black coat in school from now onwards, some children haven't had coats with them on some occasions when the temperature has been cold.
• Please make sure all uniform is clearly labelled.
• After half term all lost property will be hung up, opposite the outside door, by my office. Parents and children will be able to access it here.
• Please can parents remember to book dinners and breakfast/afterschool clubs in advance, even when their parent pay account is in credit. This week we have had 16 dinners not booked. 10 breakfast clubs, not booked and 16 after school clubs not booked. We need the bookings in order to ensure that we have enough food and staff in place to cover the children.
• Thank you for meeting the achievement assembly deadline, all of the rewards which came in were included in this morning's achievement assembly, which is on the website for you to enjoy. 
• The school photographer will be in school on Thursday 4th November to take individual photographs, group shots will be taken in February.
• Flu immunisation is on the 2nd November. If we don't have your consent we will not vaccinate your child. The consent form is on Dojo.
• Thank you to Mrs Quinn, Mrs Sparkes and Mrs Charity who have been teaching in yr. 1. I am very pleased to tell you that Mr Wright is returning to full time teaching after half term. We are very pleased that he is back with us again. 

I hope you all enjoy the half term break. Keep safe and God bless

Helen White

13.10.21

Yr.1 Parents only 

Dear Parents,

Some of you I am sure will have been made aware by your child, that Mr. Wright has been coming into school as part of his return to work. He has been into the classroom and has started assessing the children's phonics skills. He will be returning to his full time teaching responsibility the week after half term. 

This means that this will be the last week for Mrs Quinn, Mrs Charity and Mrs Sparkes. May I take this opportunity to thank these teachers for all their hard work over the past weeks and months. 

As part of the handover process, I have decided to bring forward the yr.1 parents' evenings to the week after half term. Mrs Quinn will return to carry these out and Mr Wright will sit in on these meetings to learn more about your child. In order to help put a face to a name, I invite you to come into school and meet in person with Mr Wright and Mrs Quinn. You will shortly be sent an email inviting you to book an appointment on either Tuesday the 26th or Wednesday 27th October (between 3.30pm and 6.30pm), please look out for this email .

Meetings will take place in the yr. 1 classroom and you will be able to access the classroom via the externa classroom door. Please wait on the playground prior to your appointment. 

If anyone would like any further information please contact me or catch me on the playground 

Thank you 

Helen White 

07.10.21

Dear Parents,

Thankfully COVID numbers have gone down in school again this week. 

It has been a very busy half term, the children are enjoying the breadth of the curriculum which is being offered to them again. I am pleased to tell you that I'm very impressed with the children. I have enjoyed being able to get back into the classrooms, the children are engaged and on task, the behaviour in and around the school is generally excellent.

We are finding however, with our newly remodelled curriculum, there are many more consumables which we are needing to purchase which cannot be reused for subsequent lessons. These are resources for food technology, making objects, like little puppets which the children take home etc etc. Rather than request money from parents for every little thing, can I ask that each child brings in £3 each term to cover all these expenses which are enriching the children's learning at school. Please send in your child's contribution of £3, for this term, asap to the class teacher. 

In one of my recent letters I asked for volunteers to come in and support in the classrooms. Thankfully we did have a couple of parents who came forward and we very much appreciate  this. We are always grateful for any additional support which parents or grandparents can give to us. If there is anyone who can come in to support the children by volunteering for a day a week or even half a day a week, morning or afternoon, you would be most welcome. Please speak to me at the gate. 

Finally, homework information. Teachers have all communicated with both children and parents the expectations which they have of the children and the homework which is expected to be done.

Reading is absolutely key, please sign your child's reading log when you have heard your child read so that the teachers can see that the children are doing this homework. We have reduced homework to the basic skills in order to support children's writing and maths. It is so important that the children do this work in order to continue to embed and extend the skills which they need to demonstrate their skills in these areas.

Homework is differentiated so there is no excuse for any child not being able to access it or complete it. Because we have this high expectation of the homework, the children know that they will be kept in during a lunch break to complete work which should have been completed at home, a homework detention. All the homework needs to be completed in order for this to be avoided. 

However, school has fallen short in reporting back to parents when their child has had to go to homework detention, even though we have been doing this for years and years. I know that we all want our children to do well. I know that the majority of parents believe that their children do their homework and if they have not, and I am not telling parents that they have not, then I have created a breakdown in communication. School will therefore from next week onwards be reporting to parents every time their child has to go to homework detention. 

I know parents will continue to support school in getting the best for their child(ren). Thank you in advance.

Kind regards

Helen White

Covid Update

22.09.21

Dear Parents,

Thank you very much for supporting us with combating Covid together. Numbers have not risen this week. I think we will eventually get to a point where most people will have had Covid, either asymptomatically or otherwise, or be immune. 

Thankfully the CMAT (Catholic Multi Academy Trust) has reviewed it's risk assessment in light of the above. From tomorrow, only the person who has contracted Covid has to isolate for ten days. The rest of the household can, we are told, return to work/school following a negative LFT (lateral flow test). 

Please continue to send us the results of any PCR tests which are carried out by posting them on the absent@stpetersprimary.org email page.

Thank you again for your patience and support in keeping our children safe. If there are any changes to government or the CMAT's advice regarding Covid, I will of course keep you informed. 

Regards

Helen White

17/09/2021

COVID AT ST. PETER’S - UPDATE

Good afternoon,

I would like to update you on the current Covid situation in school and offer advice regarding our next steps.

As you know, the government lifted restrictions on schools and we are no longer required to keep children in bubbles or wear masks in school. Inevitably, this has given rise to more infections in schools across the country and we are no exception. We have recently had a number of positive cases at St. Peter’s, some of which are asymptomatic. It is clear that the pandemic has NOT gone away and we need to ensure the safety of our children and staff. 

We are following the risk assessment provided by the Academy together with some ‘common sense’ measures put in place by ourselves. We would like to outline these measures to you and urge you to support us in any way you can.

In school:

• We continue to ventilate classrooms (please be prepared for this as the weather gets colder and ensure your child wears appropriate clothing/thermals) 
• We are limiting full assemblies in the hall, encouraging staff to invite parents into their own classroom for celebrations. We will continue with the monthly ‘virtual’ awards assemblies which have proved to be very popular. 
• Children eat outside at lunchtimes whenever possible.
• Parents’ evenings will continue to be carried out by phone and we have upgraded our telephone network to accommodate this.
• We have reviewed our exit arrangements from 3:05-3:15 and have spread the waiting area out as much as possible. 
• All staff are carrying out lateral flow tests at least twice weekly. 

At home:

• Bearing in mind that children are more likely to contract the asymptomatic version of the disease - please keep us all safe by carrying out regular lateral flow tests on your children. The recommendation is twice weekly but many parents are testing more regularly, especially if they have older siblings in High School. IF ALL CHILDREN ARE TESTED THIS WEEKEND WE WILL HAVE A CLEAR IDEA OF THE EXTENT OF THE SPREAD ON MONDAY.
• We acknowledge that there are a lot of winter bugs circulating at the moment but please be aware that they display similar symptoms to the delta variant. Please err on the side of caution, assume covid and get your child tested. 
• If your child is showing symptoms, please book a more accurate PCR test, even if the lateral flow is negative. 
• If your child is going to be absent from school, please either leave a voice message on the absence telephone line, or email absent@stpetersprimary.org  This way we can accurately monitor and collate information regarding the infection rate. DO NOT contact teachers/Mrs. White directly or through class dojo regarding absences.
• If your child tests negative on a PCR test, please provide evidence to school before returning your child. This can be done by emailing your result to absent@stpetersprimary.org 
• Please follow government guidelines regarding isolation:  Guidance for households with possible or confirmed coronavirus (COVID-19) infection - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)can be found here    https://bit.ly/2XoUq1M  
• Please be advised that you can continue to wear a mask on the playground. We appreciate that this is now a personal choice, but it helps to protect our children and staff.  

I apologise if this is a list of do’s and don'ts but the responsibility to keep our school community safe has been well and truly passed to us by the government and the measures above will undoubtedly help. Thank you so much for your support. 

Kind regards,

Mrs. Jan Coghlan (Assistant Head teacher)

16.09.21

Year 1 Parents Only

Dear Parents,

Today, Mr Wright has popped into school to visit us. I am hoping that he will be well enough to start a phased return to work in the near future. This work is likely to start with admin tasks and familiarising himself with changes while he has been away, before he starts short teaching bursts with the children. 

Until this happens and from Monday 20th September onwards, there will be a change of teacher for the children in yr 1 class, Monday-Thursday afternoons. I need Mrs Young to resume her duties which were timetabled for her prior to taking over her temporary yr 1 teaching responsibilities. Instead of Mrs Young, Mrs Charity, who is one of my year 5 job share teachers, will teach your children on those days.

Mrs Charity is going to introduce herself to the children tomorrow, during the school day and spend some time getting to know them. 

Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any queries. 

Regards

Helen White

Covid Update

13.09.21

Dear Parents,

We have quite a few covid cases in school at the moment.  Children need to self-isolate if they live in the same household as someone with Covid-19 symptoms or with someone who has tested positive. 

Children may return to school following a negative PCR test. Stay at home: guidance for households with possible or confirmed coronavirus (COVID-19) infection - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)can be found here    https://bit.ly/2XoUq1M   Or after ten days of isolation.

07.09.21

Dear Parents,

Firstly, just to alert you, there have been a couple of little needles (in their cases, unused) on the footpath alongside the school. They do not belong to any children or staff from the school. Please be vigilant.

Please can I ask that everyone books and pays (if payment is needed) in advance for their child’s lunch, by Sunday evening at the latest, as the week starts. This includes the infants’ universal free school meal, which the children are entitled to from EYFS up to and including yr2. This will enable the kitchen to cater for the number of children expecting a school dinner. Please can I encourage all parents to take up the offer of the universal free lunch. Please use Parent Pay to pay for dinners. 

This year, I would like all medical appointment evidence sent into school, when the children have appointments during school time. This could be the appointment slip or a letter from the hospital or dentist. This is so that I can authorise your child’s absence. Please can I remind parents to complete the form sent out by Mrs Coghlan last week, most parents have already done this but there are a few outstanding. I am particularly interested in any additional children who may now have been given an epipen as I can train three members of staff for free, per child with an epipen, to administer this medicine.

Finally, if any parents would like to volunteer some time to school and would like to come and work with the children, you would be most welcome. It is better if you avoid your child’s class, as you being there can distract them from their learning. I know that yr 3 in particular are looking for helpers, Friday would be preferable. Please come and speak to me on the playground if you can help. 

Kind regards

Helen White

Dear Parents,

There seem to be many more parents staying with their child in the morning on the playground before the start of the school day, than there were pre COVID. This is absolutely fine and I wouldn't want to turn anyone away. This may be because we have only just started back and everyone is keen to stay and see their child(ren) into school. It maybe that we are all just so used to only having one class at a time near us at the start and finish of the school day. Whatever the reason is, I am trying to improve what we have in place at the moment. I have spoken to the children today about not playing chasing games first thing in the morning.

From tomorrow morning, the lines for yr 2-5 will be ordered the other way around, so yr 5 will be nearest the EYFS playground and yr 2 will be nearest the hall.

At the end of the day, please don't come down the path (beside the Early Years playground) to collect your child as this just adds to the congestion.  Can I suggest that if you always stand in the same spot on the playground, your child will know where to come and find you. We are reminding the children not to leave the playground unless they are with their parent, please reinforce this message. KS 2 children are told to return to their teacher, if their parents aren't on the yard, and stay with them until their parents arrive. 

If you would like your child to walk home by themselves (it is usually only some year six children who start to do this), I must have written permission from you please.

Finally can I remind you that if your child is being collected by someone other than yourself, please let us know. If we don't know them, or they don't usually collect your child we will not let your child go with that person unless we have had your permission to do so. This has caused delays in the past. Thank you for your support. 

Regards

Helen White

23/08/21

Dear Parents

I am pleased to say that we can go back to our original timings as the children start back on Wednesday this week.

I will be on the top playground to welcome and supervise children from 8.35am before school starts. Children may not be dropped off before this time. When the bell goes for the children to start school, at 8.45am, years R-5 will line up on the yard and yr. 6 may walk round to their classroom as before. Teachers will come and collect all the other children ,yrs. R-5, and walk them to their classrooms.

At the end of the day, KS1 (Reception, Yr. 1 and 2) will finish at 3.05pm, their teachers will bring the children to the top playground to meet their parents. Children in KS2 (yrs 3-6) will be brought round to meet their parents at 3.15pm. Please wait on the infant playground for your child to come to you. This staggered end to the day helps to alleviate traffic congestion on the road.

Children may come to school on their PE days wearing navy Jogging bottoms and a white tee shirt and their trainers. This worked well before the summer and gave us additional learning time which is still precious. Please note leggins will not be allowed on PE days. Children must wear the correct PE uniform on these days. Your class teacher(s) will let you know which days will be a PE day for your child(ren).

Can I remind parents to please book lunches, toast and wrap around care on Parent Pay before we start back, I think Mrs Mitchell has already sent out a dojo message about this to you. 

We return in summer uniform and stay in summer uniform until we get to the October break. The details on uniform are all on the school website. Just a few things to highlight, which sometimes need picking up.....girls must wear white socks or tights with their summer uniform and their hair accessories must be navy. School coats must be plain navy or black.

I am really looking forward to seeing the children again and welcoming them back to St Peter's with a little piece of normality!

Enjoy your last day of the summer break.

God Bless

Helen White

Dear Parents,

We made it to the end! Another school year full of covid disruptions. 

In light of Mr Johnson’s announcement earlier this week it looks likely that we will be reopening in the Autumn term as a ‘normal school’ again. So that is what I am going to plan towards and I will only make changes to these plans if there are directives from the government during the summer holiday to say otherwise. If this happens I will contact parents via dojo and the school website. 

So, to remind you (because it seems such a long time since we have operated like this). School starts at 8.45am and parents and children gather on the top playground. Children may be dropped off at 8.35am when a member of staff will be on the playground, usually myself, to supervise children. 

KS1 finish school at 3.05pm. Children from all three classes will be handed over to their parents on the top playground, please wait on this yard for your child(ren). KS2 finish at 3.15pm again, children will be brought round to the top playground to be handed over to their parents. 

Children return wearing summer uniforms and they wear this until the October half term. From next term children need to revert to wearing uniform everyday and bring their PE bags into school on the first day back please.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for all their support with virtual learning again this academic year. Also thank you for the encouragement and positive comments I have been given by so many of you to myself and my staff. 

Teachers and support staff have worked incredibly hard and I am very grateful to have such a dedicated staff here, well done and thank you Team St Peter’s. 

Finally, I would like to wish all of my leavers my very best wishes as they start at their new schools. I hope that everyone stays safe and enjoys the break. See you all on the 25th August. 

                                                                        God Bless.

                                                                           Helen White

29.06.21

Dear Parents,

As promised, more information about the transfer days tomorrow and Wednesday. We have kept this simple and as straightforward as possible for you. Please deliver and collect your children at their usual times from their usual gates, the teachers will accommodate the changes. 

If your child normally does PE on a Wednesday or Thursday this will stay the same over the next two days. 

Teachers and support staff will wear PPA over the next couple of days and comply with government guidelines of 1 meter+ rules, in order to keep children and staff safe. Classrooms will be wiped down thoroughly before and after the transfer days.

Year 6 are helping to facilitate the transfers by moving to the reception classroom for the two days where they will be helping the EYFS teachers prepare the resources and the classroom for the new intake. They will also be spending a lot of time outside, enjoying PE and games lessons (weather permitting). They can therefore wear their PE kits for both of these days. 

                                                 Kind regards

                                                  Helen White

21.06.21

Dear Parents,

I understand that today has been frustrating for everyone. Partially closing the class bubble for the afternoon was not ideal and I know for many of you this has been ‘the final straw’ in terms of tolerating all of the staffing changes which have occurred this academic year for yr 1.

I have received a handful of messages, all with similar points being raised, understandably, parents are sharing their concerns with each other. I would like to share with you why decisions have been made in more detail and address any misconceptions which seem to be apparent regarding staffing linked to year one. 

Mr Wright has not left St Peter’s.  I have been picking up rumours recently that he has left, this is not the case. He has been extremely poorly since February and he has not been well enough to keep in touch with the children during his absence. 

Mrs Quinn has worked before as a long term supply teacher at St Peter’s in ks2, she is an excellent teacher and she is teaching literacy and numeracy every morning until lunchtime. Some parents have commented about the lack of communication between Mrs Quinn and Mrs Sparkes. When two teachers job share in a more traditional sense, they both cover part of the week, teaching full days. This is not how I have arranged this job share. Because both the teachers are delivering different subjects, there is not the need for handover in the same way, other than handing over specific concerns about a child. 

Mrs Sparkes is also an outstanding and experienced teacher. One or two of you have raised concerns about her shouting at the children. This is simply not the case. Obviously teachers have different styles of teaching, Mrs Sparkes thoroughly enjoys being with the yr 1 children and has commented to me on several occasions about how lovely they are as a class. I know she has a lot of fun with them. Home time can be one of the most stressful parts of the day and the children can get quite excited at this point of the day. I would happily employ both of these teachers on my staff, they are both quality teachers. 

Mrs Oliver chose not to stay until the end of term, she also chose not to stay and say goodbye to the children. Like you I was very disappointed with her decision to do this. This decision meant that there was no opportunity for any of us to give her a thankyou farewell and was a very abrupt finish. 

With regard to supporting yr 1, Miss White was employed earlier in the year, from October. This decision was made because it was evident that the youngest children in the school yrs1 and 2 had been affected more so  than the other children in the school by lockdown, largely because the school closure was a larger percentage of their time in school than other year groups. This has not just been a problem for us to address but has been recognised nationally,  as concern for these young pupils. 

Looking ahead, I am not expecting either Mrs Sparkes or Miss White to return to work tomorrow. Therefore, I have arranged again for Mrs Young to put her PPE on and cover the year one class. She will have had time to prepare and will be delivering the curriculum as planned. As I explained in my earlier message, I do not use supply agencies as I have had nothing but bad experiences of teachers who get paid a lot of money who basically fill time with meaningless activities in the short term. I am also concerned that supply teachers visit a variety of establishments thus increasing the chance of infection.  It is far better that we use our own staff to cover if possible as they know our school and understand aspects such as our behaviour policy and routines. So even though Mrs Young hasn’t met the children before, she knows how we are set up  and I know I am getting quality work from her. The handful of children who stayed today enjoyed their time with her. Tomorrow afternoon the children will have PE as usual. 

Finally, I would like to mention that Mrs Woolman will be their yr 2 teacher. She is looking forward to having them next year as they are a delightful group of children. We will continue to boost them next year to fill any gaps which are still there. 

Thank you for taking the time to read this letter, I hope it has addressed any remaining concerns you may have had.

Kind regards

Helen White

18.05.21

Dear Parents,

Thank you for wearing your face masks this morning; it's a small thing to do and it shows we care about each other. 

We have a number of children off at the moment with coughs, sore throats, snotty noses and temperatures. I have had lots of parents ask about what they need to do before their child returns to school having had these symptoms. So just to clarify for everyone; if your child is poorly they need to stay at home and recover. If they have the above symptoms they need a PCR test to rule out COVID (a lateral flow test will not do when a person has symptoms), If they are taking Calpol, they cannot be in school as this can mask a temperature. When your child is well enough to return to school please send us an image of their negative COVID test result. 

When a child is poorly and at home there is no expectation for them to be doing school work.

Thank you for your ongoing support.

Helen White

17.05.21

Dear Parents,

I know some of you are already aware that the Local Authority has stated that you no longer need to wear face masks when dropping off and collecting children from school. I would urge you to continue to do so please, in the light of the new Indian variant etc. and in order to help keep everyone safe.

In any case, If parents are coming onto the school premises, playgrounds for example, they must still wear face coverings, in line with our current risk assessment.  

Thank you for helping to keep everyone safe.

Helen White

19.04.21

PE days in school. 

Dear Parents,

We are working to fill every available time in school with learning to help children to catch up. I have decided therefore that children should come to school wearing school PE kit on the days which they are doing PE. (All PE lessons are in the afternoons).

Children must be wearing a school PE kit which means plain navy joggers (not leggings)  or shorts, and a school or a plain white tee shirt. Layers on top of this must be school uniform layers. I want the children to still look smart and wear St Peter’s PE school uniform, so PE tops with the school logo on would be preferable. Please do not send children in with black or grey bottoms as this is not school uniform.

All of the above, including navy joggers are available from Hole in the Wall, in Hinckley.

On days when children are not doing PE they must wear school uniform please. 

Here is the information from our school website

P.E. KIT 

P.E. bag with logo* 

White tee shirt with logo* 

Pumps for indoors, trainers for outdoors

Navy blue shorts 

Navy blue jogging bottoms for outdoors

Trainers are not allowed in school, other than for P.E.

No jewellery except watches and stud earrings allowed in school (which must be removed for PE).

I have also been made aware that white tights for the girls are almost impossible to get hold of at the moment. If any parent manages to find some, would they please let me know so I can share this information.

Toast Payments.

Mrs Mitchell is going to change the toast payments to half termly payments rather than weekly payments. This is because we pay a fee per transaction on Parent Pay and this will help to keep costs lower for school.  

Kind regards

Helen White

***URGENT***
We have a constant problem with congestion outside school in the mornings. Thanks to those of you who alleviate this by walking to school or parking elsewhere. Unfortunately the situation was heightened this morning when an emergency response vehicle couldn't access Mill Lane beyond the school due to vehicles parked on the yellow zig zags. One of these vehicles was a black Mercedes reg. YN17 NXD. I find myself wondering about the consequences of the late arrival of the emergency vehicle and hope that the outcome was a positive one. In addition, even though Mrs. White has asked individual parents to refrain from parking on the zig zags, they continue to do so. It is clear that some parents are not willing to walk a few metres in order to keep everybody safe, including the community around the school. If this continues, Mrs. White will have no alternative but to contact the police for support.

Mrs. Jan Coghlan (Assistant head teacher) 

26th March 2021

Dear Parents,

Thank you for your continued and ongoing support; it has been so lovely to have all the children back at school these last three weeks. Unfortunately, we will have to continue with the ‘bubble’ set up, which includes the staggered beginnings and ends of the school day, until we come further out of lockdown. I hope very much that this happens before the end of this academic year, but we don’t know and I suppose it will depend upon the increase in pandemic numbers in mainland Europe and whether that affects the UK.

After Easter the children must return to school wearing summer uniform. Please remember that coats must be plain navy or black. Please make sure that uniform is clearly labelled. 

Girls

Light blue/white gingham summer school dress*

Navy blue trousers/skirt

Blue polo shirt with school logo*

White tights or socks

Black shoes or white sandals

Blue hair accessories

Blue/school* sun cap

Boys

Mid grey trousers or shorts

Blue polo shirt with school logo*

Grey socks

Black shoes

Blue/school* sun cap

*Starred items available from our uniform provider, Hole in the Wall.

Also, After the Easter holidays hot dinners will be available again for the children and can be ordered in advance on Parent Pay. The menu is available on Dojo and on the School Website. 

Our Collective Worship Assembly which the children took part in and which we watched this morning, is now available on the school website here https://bit.ly/3tXnpV4 It is a beautiful  Easter service of the Stations of the Cross ending with the Risen Lord! 

Mrs Connor would also like to share these Easter resources with you. https://bit.ly/3db2EP0 

The next Achievement Assembly will be in May. Please send any of your children’s achievements into school by  the end of April. 

Finally, I will be leading a nine day prayer, called St Faustina’s Novena, at our Church, Ss Peter’s and Paul’s in Earl Shilton. St Faustina is a Polish saint, canonised by Pope John Paul II in 2000. 

The timetable for the Novena will be:

Starting on Good Friday, 2nd April at 2pm (this will allow everyone to attend the 3pm Solemn Liturgy in Hinckley). 

Saturday 3rd April - Saturday 10th April at 3pm each day

Divine Mercy Sunday, 11th April at 3pm to recite the Chaplet of Mercy once more.

Often, when we pray, we ask God for our own intentions. In praying St Faustina's Divine Mercy Novena,  we pray for the intentions which Jesus himself asked for.  

According to Saint Faustina's Diary, Jesus himself in a vision asked that the Divine Mercy Novena be prayed as a preparation for the Feast of the Divine Mercy, celebrated each year on the first Sunday after Easter. The novena begins on Good Friday. It ends on the Saturday after Easter and then on the next day, Divine Mercy Sunday, we pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet once more together. This prayer, as well as us praying for the Pope's intentions, receiving Holy Communion and going to confession gives us special graces and an indulgence. 

Please join us at Ss Peter's and Paul's Church In Earl Shilton each day. Everyone is most welcome.

Finally I would like to wish you all a happy Easter and a well deserved rest.  

                                                                  Kind regards

                                                                    Helen White.

Friday 12th March 2021

Dear Parents,

It has been an absolute delight to have the children back in school this week. Almost all of them have settled back extremely well, we have only had one or two tears at the gates in the mornings. I am particularly proud of my little year ones, they have worked and behaved  beautifully for their two new supply teachers. I’m so proud of them and all the children. 

I am also thrilled to report that we have already noticed that the children who have engaged with virtual learning throughout lockdown have not fallen behind. This is an absolute testimony to you, our parents, who have persevered and supported your children throughout the lockdown period. Credit must also go to my teachers, the quality of the work planned for the children was second to none and to my support staff who worked with the children at school and provided constant feedback alongside the teachers on Dojo, thank you to everyone. We will continue to  focus on basic skills more than usual, in order to continue to close gaps from previous lockdowns. If you would like to revisit any of the lockdown lessons, they will remain on the school website. 

We have received a handful of lockdown laptops and chromebooks returned to us already thank you. If you have been lent a device and still have it at home please can you return it to school next week. 

I have just two small requests this week. Please do not park or drop off on the double yellow or zig zag lines. Unfortunately, parents using the breakfast and after school club are the worst offenders. There was almost a crash this morning because of this.  Also, please can the Yr 5 and Yr 6 parents remember that children should be supervised at all times during morning drop-off, until they are collected by their teacher.  They should not be left alone either outside the gate or on the Netball Court. 

                                                        Kind regards 

                                                          Helen White

05.03.21

Dear Yr 1 and Yr 5 Parents,

Whilst we have been in lockdown, both Mrs Moore and Mr Wright have become poorly. Unfortunately, neither of them are well enough to return to school on Monday. Here are the arrangements for cover for both classes. 

Yr 1

As year 1 parents already know, Mrs Quinn has been planning and delivering Yr 1 lessons for the past five weeks. Mrs Quinn will be able to stay with year 1 for the mornings and will continue to teach all of the literacy and numeracy lessons. Mrs Quinn knows St Peter’s well as she provided long term supply cover last year in yr 3. 

In addition to Mrs Quinn, we welcome Mrs Sparkes. Mrs Sparkes has been recommended to me by a couple of other primary headteachers within the CMAT. She is a very experienced Catholic teacher. She will be delivering all of the foundation subjects in the afternoons. 

Mrs Oliver and Miss White will continue to offer the continuity and familiar face for the children every day.

Yr 5

Mrs Charity has been planning all of the year 5 work for the past couple of weeks, while Mrs Moore has been poorly. She will continue to do this for the children. However, Mrs Collins will be in school teaching the children and delivering this planned work at the beginning of the week. The children are used to Mrs Collins delivering lessons to them on a regular basis. This means there will be as small a disruption as possible for the children.

We will of course be supporting the children with their wellbeing as they return to school, ensuring that the children are as happy and comfortable as possible with these necessary changes which are in place. 

I am so looking forward to having all the children back on Monday and seeing them all again. 

                                                                Kind regards

                                                                 Helen White

05.02.21

Dear Key Worker Parents,

Due to an increase in the number of children using the school childcare, I have had to make some adjustments to the organisation in school.

From Monday, please will children in yr 2 use the middle gate to drop off and collect their children. Yr 2 children will go straight into their own classroom, not into the EYFS building, please feel free to walk them to the yr 2 external door. Yr 2 children can also be collected from their classroom. They will be ready to leave from 2.45pm. If the first Yr 2 parent buzzes and opens the gate, please leave it open to allow other parents access. If the last parent closes the gate for us this would be most helpful, as this gate is not electronic.

Everyone else will continue to use the top gate, which as you know is electronic. Yrs. 1 and EYFS will continue to be dropped off and collected from the EYFS classroom. KS2 children will gather in the hall, but then at 9am will be collected and taken to their classrooms to do their morning work. They will come together again in the afternoon, to complete their work and have PE together. 

Any children who arrive after 9am will be marked late and then please use the top gate to get into school. Children will need to walk around the EYFS building to get to their classroom. 

Enjoy the weekend and keep safe.

Helen White

29.01.21

Dear Parents,

The end of January is here already -  can you believe it?  Christmas seems an age ago. We have got to that point, I think, where we have all had enough - we want the school to reopen and for us all to get back to normal as soon as possible. Unfortunately though, we have had some government guidance that school is likely to remain closed throughout February and into the first week of March. 

Mums and dads, I take my hat off to you. You are doing an incredible job with virtual learning. Please can I urge you to keep the momentum going. We have seen a slight decrease in some of our children’s engagement with their school work since the snow day. This happened in the Spring lockdown too. Remember this is new learning for the children, if they miss accessing it, a gap grows. 

I know that some children have been telling their parents that their work is too hard for them. It shouldn’t be too hard. The work is differentiated to accommodate the various abilities of the children. The live lessons should help groups of children with their learning and avoid the need for long one to one telephone conversations, which are not a good use of teachers time. 

The most effective virtual learning seems to happen when there is structure to the day. Starting and finishing times are set. Breaks in between lessons are important, as is getting some fresh air. Sorry if I am teaching grandma to suck eggs! Rewards are effective too, remember more carrot, less stick!

This week we have been getting our heads around the live lessons. In order to follow safeguarding protocols when live lessons are being taught, please will parents ensure that their children are fully dressed, and not in pyjamas. Please make sure they are in a communal part of your house, and not in their bedrooms. Please do not allow them to take a screenshot, as we do not have permission to share images of all of our children. Please do not record any part of the live lessons. 

Please can I urge critical worker parents to keep their children at home with them if they are working at home. This new strain of virus is very worrying and certainly numbers in Leicester and Leicestershire have risen recently.  Please remember to use the admin email address to book your children in as early as possible on Fridays for the following week, so that I can organise my staffing. 

School will not be open to any children for the half term break. We will close on Friday the 12th February and reopen on Monday 22nd.

Keep safe and stay at home.

Thank you for your continued and ongoing support. You are all doing an amazing job. I keep you all in my prayers every day.

Kind regards

Helen White

22.01.21

Dear Parents,

Thank you for all your hard work that you are doing at home with your children. We love to see how well the children are doing. Thank you for uploading their work onto Dojo. 

Just to remind you that this lockdown the all children in school, from Reception Class to yr 6, are being faced with new learning, not revisiting work like last lockdown. They are being given the work which they would have been covered if school had been running as normal. It is very important therefore that they watch the powerpoint presentations and/or introductions before they start on the recorded work. Some children are so keen to get started, they are missing this step out. The work being set is sequential, so if they have missed a day, they may struggle to understand what is being asked of them and they may need to go back to the previous day’s work in order to understand what is being asked of them. 

I would like to make a small adjustment to the timings of the childcare in school. Please ensure that your child is dropped off between 8.45am and 9am in the mornings (unless they are using the breakfast club). And please collect children between 2.45pm and 3pm. This is to help staff manage the day for the children. If you only need your child to be in school for half a day please collect them between 12pm and 1pm. If children are only in school for half a day they will still have work to complete in the afternoon at home. 

Friday 29th January is still going to be a Teacher Day for us. There will be no school work set for the children on this day. If they have unfinished work or work which needs correcting, please feel free to use this time to do this. There are always times tables rock stars and spelling shed to direct them to. 

On Wednesday afternoons the children will be set a practical activity. All the children in school will be given the same activity, so siblings can work together if they like. Please feel free to adapt the activity if you haven't got the resources available. Sometimes the children in school will have the task adapted to cater for the numbers. 

There will be no new work set on Friday afternoons. Children need to use this time to go back to correct work or extend work which they have done during the week. Please use the teachers’ comments from the week as a guide to what can be improved and extended. This may mean that the children have to rewrite a piece of work, but they are used to doing this in school so it shouldn’t be a problem for them. Please upload the revisited work to Dojo. 

Have a lovely weekend.

Regards

Helen White

Sunday 10th January 2021

Dear Parents,

This weekend the health experts and the government have reiterated the message that we have to stay at home in order to save lives. Despite this, there are more people out and about and the roads seem busy, much more busy than when we had the first lockdown in the spring. 

This lockdown I have about four times the number of children attending school than I did in the spring. I find this extremely worrying. I cannot emphasis greatly enough to parents that, if they are working at home, the safest place for their children to be is at home with them. I understand that it's difficult to do your work and support children with their schoolwork, however this virus is 'out of control' across the country and we all have to work together and keep ourselves and our children safe. The message from the government is 'Stay at Home to Save Lives'. 

If you are working at home you must keep your children at home with you. Key workers can only book children a place at school if there is no one else at home to look after them. 

The only way we are going to stop this virus is for everyone to stay apart, and that includes the children. Please help us to minimise the amount of contact between people from different households. Only send your child into school when you are working a shift, if you are a critical worker. Please contact me if you need any clarification on this matter. 

Kind regards

Helen White

08.01.21

Dear Parents,

Firstly, I would like to thank so many of you for your kind words of support sent into school and which I have seen on public media from parents acknowledging the hard work and dedication put in by the staff at St Peter’s. This week has been extremely busy and teachers have had to learn new skills in order to deliver lessons to the children at home. 

I cannot thank you parents enough for the work you do at home with your children. I know you haven’t chosen to homeschool your children. Homeschooling is a choice that parents make, when they elect to plan and deliver lessons and therefore choose to be the child’s teacher in whatever form. What we are trying to put together is distance learning. This time our approach is very different to our lockdown approach last spring. Last time, work was being set which the children had already covered in class and they were in effect revisiting and practising skills already learnt in school. There were lots of activities to help keep the children busy, and many fun activities which were brilliant for keeping the children occupied so that parents could get on with their workload, as well as providing quality family activity time. 

This time, we have been directed by the government to teach the curriculum and continue with the lessons and topics which the children were expecting to cover this term in school. This should ensure that when the children come back to school, whether this is after the February half term, or later, they will be ready to continue with their learning at that point. So we hopefully won’t be playing catchup, as we were in September. I am very mindful of the challenges this brings to parents who need to be working themselves at home. So with this in mind, lessons have been adapted considerably. 

There are therefore some changes we need to share with you about how to access the lessons.  There are also some things we need parents to do in order that teachers can ‘see’ the work completed and can mark it effectively, moving the children forward in their learning.

We have been instructed to provide about three hours learning for KS1 and EYFS and four hours learning for KS2. Please be aware that some of the virtual learning for our youngest children will be through play, just as it is when they are at school.

Maths and Literacy should take priority over all the other subjects, so if parents are really struggling to support their children in their learning at least get these two subjects completed if nothing else. 

Monday will be the starting day for this new style of learning. We have worked hard to keep as much continuity as possible between the classes to keep it as straightforward as possible for you to get your heads around. However, bear in mind we, as teachers are individuals, we are all learning new skills at different rates (just like the children do), and the ages of the children in each class has to be taken into consideration. We can’t do the same in yr 6 as in EYFS and there will be variations in between. Having said that, we would really value your evaluation of what we are doing next week in terms of ease of access, quality of provision and generally whether this helps with the children’s distance learning. Also share with us any suggestions you may have, maybe something you have heard about from another school which you think may be helpful to our children at  St Peter’s. 

From next week, we will be using the school website as a platform to set the children’s work. On the school website, under the children’s tab, there is a page called ‘home learning’. Scroll down and here you will see stars labelled ‘remote learning’, one for each year group. If you click on your child’s star, it will take you to a date/week of lockdown learning. The reason we have made this change from setting work in Dojo, is that it is easier to navigate and see the learning for each day (in Dojo, the work is displayed chronologically, and gradually moves further away as more is added to the page). Some of the links added to this remote learning star, will direct you to work on Dojo, but it will be collated on this school website page. Some of the work will direct you to other sites too, but once the children get the hang of this, it should become more straightforward. 

Lessons will vary. Some will consist of a recorded lesson followed by the children doing some recorded work. Some will direct the children to a worksheet which they can complete online. Some of the work will be the very familiar spelling shed and times tables. Reading will be expected everyday. 

The teachers will be contacting families to support and guide parents and children occasionally. 

Please continue to use Dojo to upload the work the children have completed at home. Please make sure any photos of recorded work is legible.  The focus this time is being able to assess the children’s work and move their learning forward. Teachers can’t do this if they can’t read the children’s work. Please don’t be offended if your child is asked to redo work or revisit a lesson. They are used to this as it happens in school. We don’t expect children to get things right the first time. 

One montage photo each week on Dojo of the children doing any extra curricular activities would be enough if the children really feel they want to share with their teachers and keep in touch, but please don’t feel you have to do this. 

Also on the website there will be an overview of what is expected of each child, in each subject. Previously, parents have requested that work is posted early so that they can prepare and print off work the night before. We will endeavour to do this by 6pm the evening before. The ‘live’ (it will be recorded) lesson will be uploaded on the day that it is expected to be done. 

Teachers are not involved with the childcare of the key worker children at school this time because of the new emphasis on moving the learning on. All of this provision is carried out by the Learning Support Assistants who access the learning set by the teachers online, just as you will be doing at home. 

Teachers cannot be expected to continue to work late into the evening, to mark work, but don’t panic if you can’t upload work until later in the day. The teachers will look at your child’s work the following day and assess it. 

Finally, please bear with us, this is all new to us. We are doing our best, and we are working flat out. Keep safe and just do your best too. 

Kind regards

Helen White

04.01.21

Dear Parents,

Sadly, we have to close again from tomorrow in order to keep everyone safe from COVID. I understand that this is upsetting for everyone. My staff and I have been working today to get the school and the curriculum ready for the children's return tomorrow, but we have not prepared to return to virtual schooling. So tomorrow's work will be what teachers had prepared for individuals who may have been missing school due to isolation or illness. This work will be posted on Dojo tomorrow morning. From Wednesday teachers will be ready to engage the children more electronically and using virtual lessons and again via Dojo. 

My Dojo messages and emails have not stopped 'pinging' and I know that most of the queries will be about provision for key worker's children and vulnerable pupils. We will be open tomorrow from 8am for key worker's children. This provision will be available until 3.15pm at the latest every school day. Parents who are key workers and who used this provision back in the spring and summer terms are welcome to come and use this facility again.

If you didn't access this facility last year but think you may be eligible to use this provision, please contact me with evidence that you are a key worker, a letter of introduction from your employer, or your letter offering you your job when you were first offered it, for example.  If there is an adult at home, then this is where your children should be as this is where they are safest. So if one parent is a key worker and the other parent is working from home, then please keep your child(ren) at home. Home is the safest place for them to be.

Tomorrow, parents who have vulnerable children at home with them will be contacted by school to invite those children into school, to start from Wednesday. Please do not presume your child is vulnerable and send them in, wait to be contacted.

I cannot express how important it is that all the children complete all the work which is set by the teachers. The maths and Literacy work is absolutely crucial and this lockdown we will be teaching new skills, not just revising work. So the children will really miss out if they don't complete work every day. They will quickly fall behind again.

Please see this letter from our CEO, which I have also posted on our website and can be found here.  https://primarysite-prod-sorted.s3.amazonaws.com/saint-peters-catholic-primary-school/UploadedDocument/405ac9b2571f4e2e98be37e5cfef859f/letter-to-parents-re-school-closure-4.1.2021.pdf  

As we go back into full lockdown again, stay at home and stay safe. God Bless you all

Regards

Helen White

18.12.20 

Dear Parents,

We made it! Thank you for working with us this term to support the learning, especially when the children have been at home isolating due to COVID.  I need to share with you how proud I have been of the children this term. It has been very different for them, they haven’t been able to mix with friends from other classes and have been restricted in their movement around the school. They have had catch up maths and literacy work throughout this term which I think has been quite intense for some of the children, especially the younger ones.

I would also like to share how incredibly proud I am of my staff, both teachers and support staff. Their commitment to the school and the children is second to none. They have worked throughout each day, not only teaching the children in lessons, but also supervising during break times and lunchtimes with little or no breaks throughout the school days. They have been absolutely dedicated to supporting the children in their learning and covering work which the children missed in the summer term, as well as planning and assessing the virtual work on Dojo for the individual children who have been isolating at home when the rest of their class have been in school.  

I have been aware this week that a lot of the messages which have been sent home are being missed by parents. Messages, like this one are on the school website and are always accompanied by a link in a text message. There are also messages shared on the whole school Dojo page, like the virtual assembly and the Advent activities. Unfortunately if parents don’t read the information coming home, then the children can miss out on some of the fun activities and important information is not being shared.

I would just like to remind you that the CMAT put in an additional Teacher Day next term, which means that the school will be closed for children on Friday 29th January.

School re-opens on Tuesday 5th January.

I wish you all a safe and holy Christmas, make it a merry one!

                                                            Kind regards

                                                             Helen White

27/11/2020 

Dear Parents,

Thank you for all your support during this difficult period, I know it’s easy to get fed up especially when we have been placed in tier 3 and moods are low. We just have to keep going, hopefully with the vaccine available in the spring we may be back to normal for the next academic year. These are my hopes and prayers.

Even though it is difficult, the PTFA are still working incredibly hard to raise money for the school. They have offered to support the Christmas celebrations within school in the bubbles by paying for a virtual panto and purchasing popcorn for this event. They will also give each class some money for nibbles for a class party. We are trying to make things special for the children; they have been so tolerant and patient throughout the lockdown.

However, they can’t do this fundraising without support from parents and our community, and I would like to encourage you to get involved. Currently there is a school calendar for 2021 being made, some of the photographs which I have seen are beautiful, these can be pre-ordered for £5 each and would make super Christmas gifts for family and friends.

The PTFA are also organising a Christmas light trail around Earl Shilton. It is £5 to enter your house and there are prizes for the best lit up/decorated houses. At the moment though there are fewer than 10 entries, so if more families aren’t prepared to take part this event will have to be cancelled. The deadline for entries has been extended to Wednesday 2nd December. The event itself is on the 12th and 13th of December, so still plenty of time to get into the loft and get the lights and decorations down. Even in tier 3 lockdown families could drive around the trail and vote on their favourite entry. If you would like to enter this very Christmassy event please email e.dewis@stpetersprimary.org

There are still 50 children who haven’t paid their pound for wearing their pyjamas today. In fact there are still outstanding payments for the CAFOD rainbow day. Please check your Parent Pay account in case this is you.

If children would like to give cards and gifts to one another in school, these need to be brought into school and posted on Mondays. They will then be left in quarantine and given out on Fridays. Some parents have asked if they can still give gifts to my staff this year, the answer is yes of course. These too will be placed in quarantine from Monday to Friday.

Finally, can I please remind you that every bubble has a ten minute window to arrive in each morning. If you miss your window then please bring your child to the infant gate at 9:10am. This is to prevent bubbles mixing with each other.

                                                                                  Kind regards

                                                                                          Helen White

13.11.20

Dear Parents,

Mrs Mitchell has set up a new email for parents to use exclusively to report children's absences from school. This is not just for sickness absence, but also any medical appointments, or time off your child may require.

absent@stpetersprimary.org

In your email, please include your child's name, class, reason for absence, and how long you expect them to be off school.  All absences must still be logged onto our system before 9.30am in the morning, otherwise it could trigger a home visit.

Wherever possible, please try to make medical appointments etc out of school time.  If this is unavoidable, please include any relevant paperwork with your email, eg doctor/dentist appointments. 

You can still call school and leave a message on the absence voicemail if you prefer.

I understand that the test for the child who needed retesting in order for me to reopen the yr 3 bubble has not happened yet. This is apparently due to the high demands for COVID testing in this area. I will of course let parents know if I receive a negative test result for this child over the weekend. If you hear nothing from me over the weekend, it is because I have received no result  and I am keep the bubble closed. 

10/11/2020

Dear Parents,

I would like to start by thanking all the parents who have followed the guidance and are keeping the children who are isolating at home. I have had no isolating children come up to school with siblings to do drop offs or collections. This is every single family of children in yrs. 3 and 4. I know this has been an issue at other schools both locally and across the county as I keep in regular contact with both the local heads and the Catholic heads in the CMAT. Thank you.

I have read several threads on social media this week between parents at school and I can see how anxious everyone is feeling. These are difficult times for all of us. Speculation, negativity and wrong information distributed on social media can contribute to anxieties. Please contact me if I can help and support you in any way. I do listen to parents’ views and concerns. I am happy to explain why I have made decisions to any individuals who contact me. I try to accommodate parents as best I can under these current restrictions.  

Please can I ask that parents send me all test results of children in school from this week onwards, both the negative, positive or inconclusive results. I understand that everyone is being extra cautious and keeping children safe is everyone’s main priority. 

The child in year 3 who’s test results were inconclusive, is being retested tomorrow, if this test results come back negative then I will be able to reopen the yr 3 bubble. At the moment however, and until this happens, the children in my yr 3 bubble are safer at home. If they have to isolate for the entire 14 days they will be able to return on Friday 20th November. 

Can I please remind parents that the children who are isolating from school, do not need to be tested unless they develop symptoms. It is my understanding that a negative test result which comes back for anyone in isolation, either because their bubble at school has closed or because they have been contacted by track and trace still have to remain in isolation for the 14 days following contact with the infected person.  Finally, if you have given your child Calpol or paracetamol  in the morning, they cannot come to school at the moment, as this can mask a high temperature. 

Yours sincerely

Helen White

30.10.20

Dear Parents

We have had a really good return to school following our half term break:-thank you for your continued and ongoing support in helping to keep the children safe at school.

I have lots of information for you so I am just going to bullet point it below to keep it clear:

·          Next week teachers are going to write to parents to arrange parents’ appointments for this term. These meetings will be a ten minute telephone conversation. During this meeting parents will be given information about children’s attainment and progress. We are focussing on children’s mental health and wellbeing. You will be asked for your thoughts on this. Please share with us anything which we need to know about which may impact on their wellbeing.

·          Our updated COVID risk assessment again references continued ventilation in the classrooms. This will have to continue throughout this term and as the weather gets colder, so will the classrooms. I know that the children and staff have to be warm to concentrate, so from now onwards please ensure that your child has plenty of layers of clothing on, both under their uniform and on top. Wearing fleeces inside would be preferable to wearing their winter coat inside. Although I would prefer all children to continue to wear school colours if possible, I need children to be warm first and foremost and without the additional cost of new clothing to parents. So for the foreseeable future, children may wear additional fleeces/jumpers/ other items of clothing to keep them warm while they are in school. If this includes items which are not normally on the uniform list this will not be a problem.

·          Children will continue to do PE outside as much as possible. Please make sure they have warm PE kit and waterproofs to wear for this.

·          Please remember if you are using breakfast or afterschool clubs at the moment, your child should be bringing in their own games, colouring, reading or toys to keep them occupied.

·          Flu immunisation consent needs to be in school by Monday 2nd November at the latest. There are still nearly 80 parents who have not responded. If we have no response we will presume that the immunisation is not required.

·          There are still about ten families who have not activated their Parent Pay account. Please follow the link sent to you in your email from Mrs Mitchell to do this.

·          Children are told by staff to take their packed lunch waste home in their lunchboxes, this is so that parents can see exactly what their child is eating for lunch. Can I remind you that sweets are not allowed as part of a child’s lunch. Squash is allowed as part of their lunch, but children should only have water in their bottles in the classroom (this seems less of a distraction for them during lessons). I have installed new water fountains outside which are designed for the children to refill their water bottles from, as opposed to putting their mouths around.

Please contact me if you need any additional information, I am available outside in the mornings, but I like to get to all three gates throughout the week, so you may have to wander up and down the school boundary to find me.  

Yours sincerely

Helen White

16.10.20

Dear Parents,

Thank you for your support in what has been quite a challenging half term. We will continue to make changes as we go along in order to improve and address needs, keeping our children safe and learning. 

Thank you to those of you who are wearing masks and distancing during drop off and pick up times. We really appreciate this and it’s clear that we are working together to keep yourselves and our children safe. We have noticed however that some parents are not wearing masks and we would like to make our position clear on this. The LEA guidance states that schools can not ‘police’ parents and therefore we need to rely on your goodwill. We are in a position to advise rather than enforce and our advice is as follows: Wear a face covering at the gate and on the playground in order to restrict transmission of the virus. If adults are refusing to wear one, please distance yourself from them in order to protect yourself, your children and keep our bubbles open. In short, by protecting yourself, you are protecting our school and keeping the children in the classrooms where they belong. Please see the message below regarding the positive test in Y5 which you may have heard about. 

Please remember that as we return to school on Monday 26th October, the children need to wear full winter uniforms. Can I remind parents that black or navy coats, hats, scarves and gloves  are needed as part of school uniform. Boots can only be worn under trousers for girls.

After half term, we are going to increase the hot dinners to include a hot dinner on a Tuesday as well as the take away fish and chip Friday (as these are very popular). The menu will be: 

Wk 1 Sausage, Mash, veg and gravy followed by carrot cake. 

Wk 2 Roast pork, roast potatoes, veg and gravy followed by a chocolate biscuit. 

Wk 3 Roast chicken fillet, roast and mash potatoes, veg and gravy followed by banana cake. 

These will be delivered to classrooms (except for EYFS and yr 1, who have either end of the hall) in polystyrene trays, like the fish and chips are.

The CMAT has written to all parents this half term, this letter contains important information about additional Teacher Days and what to do over the half term if one of our children tests positive with COVID. This letter can be found here: http://bit.ly/2But6kn 

Regards,

Mrs. Helen White

Wednesday 14th Ocober 2020

Dear Parents,

Unfortunately, today we have had a child in school who has been tested positive.  The family have been extremely proactive in isolating from the outset of symptoms. The child has not been at school since the 2nd October. Public Health England have said that because our child was isolating for at least two days prior to her symptoms showing we do not have to close the bubble. A huge thank you to the family for following the government guidelines and helping to keep us all safe in school. Mrs White

Fr Terry Fellows

Fr Terry RIP, died on the 26th September 2020 peacefully in his sleep surrounded by the love and prayers of a handful of parishioners at his home. 

Fr Terry always made it one of his priorities to come up to St Peter’s School in Earl Shilton, he arrived every Friday morning to enjoy the whole school assemblies and Acts of Worships. He was a big part of our school community. If ever he arrived or left during break times and the children were outside on the playground, he would be swamped by the infant children trying to hug him. The children just loved him so much. They wanted to talk to him and share something of themselves and their lives with him. He cared, he had time for them and they knew this.

Whenever he spoke to the children it was always with a smile and always with a message of love. He loved being at the school. And always made time to go up to the staffroom and catch up with the staff. He always made adults in the school feel as if they mattered too. He was always the one to give positive feedback and say how pleased he was with what was being done at school. He used to say that he wanted to bottle stuff up, hymns and dramas and take them to the church to share with everyone. 

Sometimes when he spoke to the children he would ‘wind them up’ asking them child related questions, which would fire their imaginations. They were always keen to give him an answer, and even if he couldn’t hear what they had replied he would agree with them and laugh and his laughter was infectious. 

And he always wanted to support and offer advice, either to the children or the staff. He took a genuine interest in people's lives. He would always enquire after a child or an adult if he knew they were facing problems.

As he got older and more forgetful he would often leave his blue coat or his diary behind after a visit at school. He was absolutely lost without his diary. It was always a bonus if after phoning the school to see whether these items were still here that he would return to pick them up. We loved having him here just as much as he loved being here.  

As he retired from his duties in the priesthood we had a very special school gathering to celebrate with him, his long years of service to the Church and to thank him for all his work within the school. The children sang and performed and there were many tears. The children wrote some beautiful messages to him which were arranged as feathers on a dove. He loved this and as one child wrote ‘thank you for everything you do for us, and for bringing us Jesus’. He really was a special man! 

Fr Terry’s funeral arrangements have been published on the church bulletin this weekend. All the arrangements are over our half term. I would like the school to be high profile in as best we can, but involvement relies on families wanting to be present. Fr Frank has been very clever in the arrangements he has put in place in order to allow as many as possible to take part. There are a couple of opportunities within these arrangements where we, as a school community, can show our appreciation for Fr Terry’s life and the support he gave to us. 

Schedule for Fr. Terry’s Funeral Liturgies October 18-20

Sunday 18th October

5pm mass in Market Bosworth. This will replace the Saturday evening Mass for this week only. 

6pm Fr Terry’s body will be brought into church after that mass. People may visit him here until 8.45pm

Monday 19th October 

9am-12pm individual visits at Our Lady and St Gregory Church

12pm Mass in Earl Shilton, followed by the arrival of Fr Terry’s body at 12.45pm 

1pm -6.30pm Individual socially distanced visits. 

7pm- Vigil Funeral Mass in Earl Shilton (by invitation only - limited to 30 people)

8pm- 8.45pm - individual visits

8.45pm - Night Prayer with Churches Together. Church closed

Tuesday 20th October 

9.20am Fr Terry’s body will be taken to Hinckley

9.30am Arrival at Hinckley and individual visits until 10.15am

11am Funeral Mass with Bishop Patrick- by invitation only. People may be present in the Church car park, socially distanced. 

12.30pm - cortege leaves for Earl Shilton Cemetery, The cortege will drive along Mill Lane, past the school. People are invited to gather in the cemetery if they wish. 

1pm Funeral rites in Earl Shilton Cemetery.  

It would be lovely if we as a school community, pupils past and present, parents, and staff could line the driveway to the church as Fr Terry’s body arrives at Ss Peter’s and Paul’s Church in Earl Shilton, holding a rose would be very appropriate, at 12.45pm 

It would also be very lovely if we line the pavements outside our school with our roses and then as Fr Frank suggests, leave the roses at Fr Terry’s grave, once we can get into the cemetery. I am anticipating that it will be very busy at this point and Fr Frank has asked that people don’t park at the cemetery to leave space for the vehicles in the cortege. 

Just as Fr Terry’s message to us so often was that ‘everyone is welcome’, please take him up again on these wise words. 

Dear Parents,

Unfortunately, I have received a complaint from our neighbour who lives next door to the school by the gate at the staff carpark. She has seen children throw the gravel from her drive and it has damaged her car and her plants.

This happens at the end of the school day and the children are with their parents. So this will be younger children waiting with their parents to collect children from yrs 5 and 6.

Please can you make sure your children do not go onto her property and do not throw or kick the gravel/stones. I work hard on looking after our neighbours as they look after the school for us in the holidays and in the evenings.

She also has CCTV, I have asked her to share this with me if the proplem persists. Thank you for your support.

Helen White

St. Peter’s Catholic Voluntary Academy

MILL LANE, EARL SHILTON, LEICESTERSHIRE, LE9 7AW

TELEPHONE (01455) 843840

www.stpetersprimary.org

  02/10/ 2020

Dear Parents

Unfortunately, at the end of the school day yesterday, one of our parents was clipped by a car. The vehicle was a grey Audi A5 and was travelling at about 10MPH. Our parent was standing on the pavement by the middle gate and the wing mirror of the car hit his arm. Fortunately, our dad was not badly hurt. Had it been a child’s head being hit by the wing mirror this could have been a very different story.   

This morning I stood outside the school on the raised bank, on the other side of the road, to get an overview of what is going on at the beginning of the day. Below is a list of observations which concern me and are potentially putting our children in danger. 

• Children (mainly yr 5 and 6) are being dropped off at the carpark gate and are being left unsupervised, before their time to come into school.

• These two cohorts of children mainly stand in the middle of the drive (which is theoretically the middle of the highway). They do not stand on the pavement.

• This driveway is where cars either drop children off, or turn around; It is a busy piece of road.

• Cars parked over the entrance to residents’ driveways, blocking access.

• Cars stopping on the zigzag lines outside the school.

• Some children on the pavements, who are standing with their parents, are playing close to the road while parents are chatting.

• Although most parents are socially distancing, some are not.

I contacted the police this morning to inform them about the incident yesterday. I have asked for a police presence to help with the parking situation and we are contacting the Baptist Church to ask if we can use their car park again. Please consider parking opposite Ashfields and walking across the park to get to school. 

I have decided that yr. 1 and Reception parents should come and stand on the infant playground, on their child’s side of the rope to deliver and collect their children. Please wait with your child until the teachers open their external doors for the children. This will give the parents at the middle gate much more room to spread out along the dark green fence and keep closer to the boundary. Please distance yourselves from other parents and keep your children with you. 

I have contacted Highways about the addition of a pavement at the driveway by the staff car park, as there is currently only a pavement on one side. Parents who use this gate who would like to stand on the netball court with their child are welcome to do this. However, children who are not with an adult should only be arriving at their allocated times 8-45-8.55 for yr 6 and 8.55-9.05 for yr 5. Please be aware that staff may be arriving in their cars before 8.45, please be vigilant and stay on the pavement when crossing the car park to get to the netball court. School is not responsible for children until their drop off time and neither should other parents be approached about supervising someone else’s child. It’s just not fair to put parents in this position.

Again, thank you to all the parents who have and continue to ‘park and stride’ or walk to school. Thank you for wearing your masks and socially distancing. Keeping children safe is everyone’s responsibility.

On another note, please can I remind parents that children need to have a coat in school from now onwards. These must be navy blue or black, as should hats and scarves. The children will change into winter uniform as we return after the October half term. Please tie up hair which is long enough to be tied up. Makeup and nail varnish is not allowed.

Finally, on behalf of the PTFA thank you for all your bags of clothing etc. this morning. The bags were collected first thing and they left a cheque for £52.80, such an easy way to raise money and it gave us all the opportunity to have a clear out at home too.  

Thank you for your support. 

                                                    Yours faithfully

                                                                   Helen White

                                                                        (Headteacher)

25.09.2020

Dear Parents and Carers,

I now have the children’s baseline tests results to hand. In light of these results I have decided not to contact individual parents to report on how their child performed in these tests. As expected there are gaps in the children’s knowledge. This is a trend which all schools are picking up.

We will work hard on closing the gaps which are evident and rather than report now, teachers will produce an interim report for each child at the beginning of November (this will replace the Parents’ Evening appointments which we usually hold at that time of year).

We are noticing a larger number of children who are not completing homework at the moment. Please can you support us in encouraging the children to do their homework as this will help accelerate their learning.

In anticipation of your support, thank you.

                                                   Kind regards

                                                    Helen White 

07/09/20

Dear Parents,

Thank you for socially distancing outside the school. Please can I request that once you have dropped your child(ren) off, or collected them from the gate, that you move away as quickly as possible. Some parents are struggling to pass by and have resorted to walking on the road, especially if they have pushchairs.

Thank you to everyone who is standing and waiting slightly further away, this really helps to space everyone out.  

Also, if you need to speak to the teacher, would you mind waiting until all the class have passed through the gate and are safely in, or out, otherwise you block the gate and the children can’t get through as easily.

Kind regards

Helen White

28/08/20

Dear Parents,

I am really looking forward to having the children back at school on Tuesday. My staff are very aware that some children may feel apprehensive about returning to school after five months away from us and we are ready to help aleviate any anxieties they may have. 

In order to try and give you all the information as clearly as possible I am going to bullet point information below. 

Information already shared with parents, in my letter from the end of last term and still current is in green below, please refer back to this letter for more information. Any additional points which you need to know are in blue.

Information already shared;

• we return to school on Tuesday 1st September

• children will return to their classes in ‘bubbles’ 

• assemblies will be virtual  

• children will be assessed to give us a baseline of their maths and literacy skills 

• lunches will be eaten in the classrooms

• please use wipeable lunch boxes not fabric ones

• the kitchen will provide packed lunches for children, except on friday which will be takeaway fish and chip day 

• lunchtimes will be shortened to 45minutes

• children will be assessed to give us a baseline of their maths and literacy skills 

• starting and finishing times of the school day will continue to be staggered

• If the children miss their arrival time, parents will have to wait until 9:10am and bring their child to the infant gate to deliver them to school.

• Parents who are more than ten minutes late collecting their child will be charged £3 for childcare, more than half an hour late £6 for each child.

• Children will need to wear their summer uniform when they return in September. They wear summer uniforms until the October break.

New information

• After school club and breakfast club will begin again on Tuesday 1st September, please book and pay online for the week ahead. Please read my separate letter regarding this information. 

• Mr Burgess will operate Sports Clubs from the outset, please book and pay online. You will now have to give permission, again online, and we must have your contact details (you will see all this when you go onto Parent Pay to book). Children attending Sports Clubs will be dismissed from the vehicular gates. Please wait there for your child to be brought to you by Mr Burgess. 

• Children will need a PE kit in school.

• Please return any school reading books which you may still have at home from last term. These will be placed by the children into a ‘dump box’ and left in quarantine. Children will be given reading books on a weekly basis. Please send reading books back to school only on a Wednesday, again for the children to place into a ‘dump box’. Children should not use their fabric book bags in school, some teachers are providing wipeable folders. 

• Children shouldn't need to carry a rucksack as they will have everything provided for them in school. They will only need to bring a lunch box and their reading books on  Wednesdays.

• Our school library is closed to the children

• We will continue to use Dojo to set homework for the children. Children will bring home a homework exercise book for them to use to record their homework in. Please upload a picture of the completed work and upload to Dojo so that the teachers can see what the children have done. Do not send the homework exercise back into school at this point. Pictures of the homework need to be of the recorded work, not photographs of the child sitting at a desk doing the work. 

• In addition to this set homework, children will be expected to learn spellings, on Spelling Shed, learn their times tables on Rockstars and complete their reading target from Wednesday to Wednesday. Homework detentions will be given in the usual way if children are not completing the work set.  EYFS have given separate instructions to the new children starting school.

• The new Parent Pay system is now fully up and running. This new system requires additional information from you such as permission and contact updates, if you are paying for trips or clubs. Parents will need to pay for toast on a half termly basis, from next week onwards. Lunch and wrap around care needs to be booked and paid for in advance too and at the very latest by midnight on the Sunday for the coming week.  

• Children must arrive at their stated bubble time, I have had several requests from parents asking if they can bring siblings/groups at the same time. I have unfortunately had to refuse all of these requests. 

I understand that it is an inconvenience for parents to have to ‘hang around’ outside the gates waiting for a start/end time. However staggered start and drop off times are expected as part of the government guidelines and the CMAT’s Risk Assessment. Last term, families were incredibly supportive in helping with this. Parents moved away from the gates, often to the other side of the road, or back to their cars while they were waiting and spaced themselves apart especially while waiting at their gates.  This all helps to keep the bubbles separate from each other and the children as safe as possible. 

Please will only one parent drop off and collect from school. 

• Next week there is no fruit being provided for the infant children. Please provide your child with fruit for their break time snack.

• If it is likely that your child will need a change of clothing because of accidents etc, please can you send in spare clothing in a named bag to be left on your child’s peg in school.

• Class Dojo will be used to set work in the unlikely event of a positive COVID test and a bubble having to close.

• Please can I remind parents that children have to be symptom free to attend school. If a child is on Calpol for any reason they cannot attend school during this period of time as this may well mask COVID symptoms such as a high temperature.

• Parents cannot come into school while we are in bubbles, unless we have an emergency to deal with. 

            Thank you for being so supportive in helping with all of these changes. 

            Enjoy the bank holiday. I look forward to seeing you next week.  

                                                               Regards

                                                             Helen White

Breakfast Club and After School Club 

25/08/2020

Dear Parents and Guardians,

This week I have received notification from our CMAT that we are allowed to reopen our wrap around care provision, Breakfast Club and After School Club.  I will offer this provision as safely as I can within the guidelines given to schools, so there will be a few changes in place whilst we are following the ‘bubble’ system. 

Breakfast club will start at 8am, not at 7.45am. After School Club will have to finish at 5pm, not 5.15pm as before. The reason I have had to shorten these sessions are because my staff who run the clubs also all work in classrooms throughout the school day. Whilst we are in the bubble system these staff, along with all other staff are partly responsible for the lunchtime supervision of their class bubble. Staff are only getting short breaks throughout the school day. 

Breakfast and ASC snacks will remain the same as before. 

KS1 and EYFS will be given half of the school hall, and KS2 children will be given the other half of the hall, in an attempt to reduce the number of children from one larger bubble to two smaller bubbles. 

Activities will change slightly too, Breakfast Club will be restricted to chatting, reading and a yoga activity, this plus their breakfast will easily fill their time before school starts. 

ASC will be allowed to play outside, read their book, and will be allowed to bring in a plastic bag with their own tabletop games or colouring. Electronic games will not be allowed to be brought in and children will be responsible for their own resources brought into school. They will be able to watch a film/cartoons etc on the big screen. 

When parents come to drop off/collect their child, the playground gate will be left open unless there are children playing outside being supervised by staff. If the gate is open, please bring your child to the external hall door/come to the hall door but do not enter the building. 

Our charges for our wrap around care have not increased for several years now. From next week, After School Club will cost £7 per session and breakfast club will increase to £4 per session. This still offers excellent value for money. There will be an additional charge of £5 if parents are ten minutes (or more), late collecting their child. Please pay electronically through Parent Pay. 

I hope this provision goes some way to addressing your childcare needs before and after the school day. This provision will start from Tuesday 1st September. Thank you for your support once again. I am so looking forward to seeing the children back in school and getting back to a normal routine as soon as possible.

                                                          Kind regards

                                                            Helen White

 19.06.20

Dear Parents,

Can I remind you that there are still a number of end of year school reports which haven’t been collected from school. Collection times are any time between 9.30am and 2.30pm. Please buzz the gate and the report will be brought out to you.

Sadly, Mrs Loveitt has decided that she cannot return to teaching.  Mrs. Loveitt has been poorly for such a long time; she has been an amazing teacher while she has been at St Peter’s. I am very sad that she will be leaving us at the end of this term.

Next year I have had to do a little shuffling to accommodate Mrs. Loveitt’s vacancy. So from September, all classes will keep the same teachers and support staff with the exception of years 3 and 4.

Mrs. Preston will become the year 3 class teacher; she will be supported by Mrs Power. Year 4 will be taught by Mrs. Fincham, at the beginning of the week, and Mrs. Pagliari at the end of the week. Miss Roper will be the year 4 Learning Support Assistant.

Due to the fact that we have had no time to put the transition in place for any of our children,  I am going to use the first three days of next term solely for the new EYFS children starting school (this is presuming that in September we are returning to school).

Dependent upon the Covid situation, only EYFS (who will be further directed by the EYFS team) will be starting back at school on the 26^th August. Any/all other children will be returning on Tuesday 1^st September. I am obviously waiting for additional guidance from the government about how we reopen in September, whether this will be for all or only some of the children.

Enjoy your weekend and keep safe.

Helen White

Dear Parents, 

You all know how impressed I have been with your hard work in home schooling your children during lock down. I know it's not been easy and I appreciate the challenges especially for those parents who have been working from home and supporting their children's learning. Thank you to everyone who has managed to keep this up. I promise you, your children will benefit from having this continuity in their learning.

As restrictions are being gradually lifted however I have noticed a reduction in the number of posts from homes onto Dojo. Staff here are working extra hard to respond to work being posted, even though we all have daytime school commitments as well as the home/school learning to keep on top of. 

Yesterday, we only had 6 children post from home from year 2., 13 children from year 3, 11 children posted from year 4,  and year 5 had posts from 21 children. It is the same children posting schoolwork from each class each day. Can I remind everyone that even though the government is relaxing the restrictions, it is still term time and children still need to be learning at home if they are not in school. Also, please check on the older children who sometimes post their own work; they must be completing the compulsory set work. Some of them are being very selective in their choices of tasks and are opting out of doing the Maths and English tasks which are so vital. 

I am feeling increasingly anxious about the gap that is growing for the children who are not engaging with school work. They are going to be so much further behind their peers when they get back to school. All of the children will have catching up to do when they get back to school,  but the children who have not engaged are going to find the challenge even greater. 

Please can I encourage you, especially if you have started to feel deflated, to continue to support your child(ren) in their home learning.

If you would like to continue to support your child through the summer holidays you may wish to order CGP revision booklets. We can order these for you through school. Mrs Mitchell will set up an order and payment method tomorrow on Parent Pay. Please see below for prices for bundles. If you would like to order books yourself, they are available on the CGP website. I can recommend that these books are in line with the National Curriculum for the children's ages. 

1).New English Targeted Practice Book Bundle: Phonics - Reception Books 1-5       £16

2).Year 1 Home Learning Bundle: Maths and English

This Home Learning bundle for Year 1 contains:

• E1W11 - KS1 English Targeted Question Book: Grammar, Punctuation & Spelling - Year 1

• E1O11 - KS1 English Phonics Buster - for the Phonics Screening Check in Year 1

• E1CW11 - New KS1 English Targeted Question Book - Year 1 Comprehension – Book 1

• MPF1Q11 - New Maths Home Learning Activity Book for Ages 5-6

• MXP11 - KS1 Maths SAT Buster: 10-Minute Tests (for the 2020 tests)                       £18

3).Year 2 Home Learning Bundle: Maths & English

This Home Learning bundle for Year 2 contains:

• E2CW11 - KS1 English Targeted Question Book: Year 2 Comprehension - Book 1

• E2TS11 - New KS1 English Targeted Study & Question Book - Year 2

• EXPG11 - KS1 English SAT Buster 10-Minute Tests: Grammar, Punctuation & Spelling

• M2ARXW11 - New KS1 Maths 10-Minute Weekly Workouts: Arithmetic - Year 2

• M2R11 - KS1 Maths Targeted Study & Question Book - Year 2                                  £20

4).Year 3 Home Learning Bundle: Maths & English   

 This Home Learning bundle for Year 3 contains:

• E3W22 - KS2 English Targeted Question Book: Grammar, Punctuation & Spelling - Year 3

• E3VSXW21 - New KS2 English 10-Minute Weekly Workouts: Spelling & Vocabulary - Year 3

• E3RQ21 - New KS2 English Targeted Question Book: Reading - Year 3

• MPF3Q21 - New Maths Home Learning Activity Book for Ages 7-8

• M3Q24 - KS2 Maths Targeted Question Book – Year 3                                                 £22

5).Year 4 Home Learning Bundle: Maths & English

This Home Learning bundle for Year 4 contains:

• E4W22 - KS2 English Targeted Question Book: Grammar, Punctuation & Spelling - Year 4

• E4RQ21 - New KS2 English Targeted Question Book: Reading - Year 4

• E4HHW22 - KS2 English Targeted Practice Book: Handwriting - Year 4

• M4XW21 - New KS2 Maths 10-Minute Weekly Workouts - Year 4

• M4Q24 - KS2 Maths Targeted Question Book – Year 4                                                  £22

6).Year 5 Home Learning Bundle: Maths & English

This Home Learning bundle for Year 5 contains:

• E5W22 - KS2 English Targeted Question Book: Grammar, Punctuation & Spelling - Year 5

• E5RQ21 - New KS2 English Targeted Question Book: Reading - Year 5

• E5XW21 - New KS2 English 10-Minute Weekly Workouts - Year 5

• M5XW21 - New KS2 Maths 10-Minute Weekly Workouts - Year 5

• M5Q24 - KS2 Maths Targeted Question Book - Year 5                                                  £22

7).Year 6 Home Learning Bundle: Maths & English

This Home Learning bundle for Year 6 contains:

• E6W22 - KS2 English Targeted Question Book: Grammar, Punctuation & Spelling - Year 6

• E6RQ21 - New KS2 English Targeted Question Book: Reading - Year 6

• E6XW21 - New KS2 English 10-Minute Weekly Workouts - Year 6

• MLFW23 - New KS2 Maths SATS Question Book - Ages 10-11

• M6TXW21 - New KS2 Maths: Times Tables 10-Minute Weekly Workouts - Year 6

• M6MM22 - KS2 Maths - Mental Maths Buster (with audio tests)                                        £22

I have just heard that free school meal vouchers are to continue over the summer holiday. If you think you may be eligible for free school meals, please ring Mrs Mitchell in the school office. 

Unusually, we still have a few spaces available for our Reception starters for September this year. If you have any friends who would be interested in sending their child here, please can you ask them to ring me during school hours, ASAP. 

Thank you for your continued and ongoing support.

Keep safe and God bless you all.

Helen White

For Key Worker Parents Only

Dear Parents, 

As I have had a slight increase in requests for the childcare at St Peter's, I have had to split the key worker group into two bubbles from Monday. This will also mean that there is space for any other key worker requests in the future. 

So from Monday 8th June, Years 4 and 5  key workers' children will be in Bubble 1 (in their current year 4 classroom) and children from Years 2 and 3 will be in Bubble 2 (in yr 3 classroom).

The starting and finishing times will remain the same for both bubbles, 8.45-2.45. Bubble 2 however will use the middle gate (by the corner of Reception Class). The adults, who have been overseeing the key worker group this week, have also been split between both bubbles. 

Have a lovely weekend.

Keep safe 

Helen White

29th May 2020

Dear Parents, 

Thank you for being patient whilst waiting for this information about your child’s group and timings. Staff have worked hard to implement this new structure and I didn’t want to share this with you until the government made the decision yesterday that schools would definitely be opening. 

Each year group has been split into two groups, Bubble 1 and Bubble 2. From the lists below you can see which bubble your child has been allocated to. Even children who we know won’t be returning to school have been allocated a bubble, so that if parents do change their mind, they can see where their child will go. 

Please prepare your child for their return to school, by sharing this information with them.

In order to facilitate social distancing during drop off and collection, the timing of the school day has been staggered (details in the table below). In order for this to work efficiently, it is imperative that you are punctual. Children will be expected to go straight to the external door of their classroom, not wait on the playground or line up waiting for a bell. You will be allowed a ten minute period to deliver and collect your child, from the time stipulated below. If you are late bringing your child at their allocated time, you will have to wait until 9.30am before dropping off your child. If you are more than ten minutes late collecting your child from their allocated time, our usual childcare costs will be charged to you, following our normal late collection procedures/policy. 

The groups below have been selected very carefully by class teachers. They take into account gender, ability and friendships. The decision made by your child’s teacher is an informed one which has been made in the best interests of the children. They are now fixed groups. 

More updates

Since my last letter to you, many parents asked questions and were also able to contribute some great ideas to help keep the children safe. Some of these ideas along with more vital information is listed below:

• Reading books will not be issued, children will not need to bring book bags as no equipment other than lunch boxes will go to and from school

Please use a plastic lunch box (not the fabric type), these can be much more easily and thoroughly washed.

• We will not be applying sunscreen to children so please show them how to apply it themselves. Alternatively, please apply long lasting sun cream, before school,  which will last all day 

• All children will need a sun hat/cap. Please make sure these are clearly labelled. 

• If you are happy for your child to wear trainers all day then this would be great. The children will then be ready for play and P.E. lessons, without the need to change shoes. Please send them to school wearing their trainers. Please ensure that your child can fasten their shoes they wear to school by themselves. 

• Any communication between home and school must be done either via telephone or email. Just to remind you, parents will not be allowed on the school site. 

• Unfortunately, we cannot provide toast until further notice. 

• Children may bring fruit for their breaks, I will let parents know when the free infant fruit is made available again.

• The water fountains have been taken out of service therefore it is important for the children to bring in their own water bottles. These can be refilled in the classroom sinks. All the water in school from the cold taps is drinking water. 

Most Recent guidelines for people concerned that they may have contracted the virus.

• From 28th May, anyone with symptoms will be tested and their close contacts will be traced. 

• Testing now includes the under-fives. 

• Anyone with a new, continuous cough, a high temperature or a change in their sense of smell or taste is asked to immediately report these symptoms and book a test at nhs.uk/coronavirus or call 119. 

• If the test is positive, NHS Test and Trace will contact the person and they will be asked about recent interactions, including household members, and those they’ve had direct contact with or within two metres for more than 15 minutes. 

NHS Test and Track service 

• Anyone who is identified as being in close contact with someone with a positive test must stay home for 14 days, even if they have no symptoms. (Other members of that household do not have to self-isolate if there are no symptoms). 

• At the moment this is not a legal requirement and is advisory, but it may become a legal requirement if people don’t follow the rules. 

• The NHS test and trace app is still not ready and is expected to be rolled out ‘in the coming weeks’. 

Regards

Helen White 

IMPORTANT MESSAGE RELATED TO THE RE-OPENING OF SCHOOLS

Wednesday 20th May

Dear Parents,

Partial Reopening of School

I hope you are all well. I am sure you will have heard the Prime Minister’s announcement last weekend regarding his ambition to reopen schools from June 1st, subject to certain conditions.

Firstly, I am sorry it has taken time for me to write to you about this. The guidance provided by the government regarding this has been changed every day since the announcement, making it tricky to plan. There is a lot of detail in this important letter.

We are looking forward to welcoming all of our children back. However, we want to ensure that we do this in a controlled and safe way. We have been working in school, as well as taking advice and clarifying our understanding with our CMAT. This has involved making detailed risk assessments, writing protocols that take account of all the latest government guidance, and trying to find a way forward that meets the expectations of the government and is as safe as possible.

From Monday 1st June, we plan to offer school places to Year 6, Year 1 and Year R. in addition to the current groups of key worker’s children and some vulnerable children.

Please be assured that we are putting the safety of our children, our families, and our staff absolutely paramount in all of this planning, and we will follow the government guidance stringently. We understand that some parents are anxious about this return, and if any parent decides they wish their child not to return at this point, we will respect this.  In order to help you make the right decision with regards to your children, we would like to provide you with information on how the school day will look. 

To make it possible to open schools, the government have acknowledged the fact that it is impossible for young children to socially distance but have instructed schools to put this in place ‘where possible’ . Instead, the government is hoping that by having children in smaller teaching groups, the chance of transmission will be lower. They have a slightly greater chance with Year 6, but it will still be very difficult. Therefore, children will need to be taught in “bubbles” of no more than 15. This may not be with their class teacher.

The class split will be decided by their class teacher and based on the children’s needs and friendship groups. After day one, these groups will not be flexible, the children in school will have to stay in their group, with the same adults who are teaching them. The children will not mix with other groups, even at playtimes and lunchtimes.

This aims to protect children and staff from any cross-infection. We are also not expected to use PPE except for the administration of first aid, carrying out intimate care, or dealing with a sick child.  

Hygiene in School

Hand washing will be imperative throughout the school day. We will revisit hand washing routines set up before lockdown: Children will wash their hands they arrive, before and after visiting the toilet, before and after eating, returning to class from outside, and finally washing their hands before leaving at the end of the day. Younger children will wash their hands before and after moving between activities. Children will also be asked to wash hands if they cough or sneeze. Doors will be propped open, so that they are touched less. Surfaces which are likely to be touched will be disinfected throughout the day. 

Children will be working on a labelled chrome book, or individual whiteboard. They will be provided with their own equipment to use for writing. Infants may work on paper to practice handwriting but teachers will not be marking work. All feedback will be verbal.

Equipment in the infant classes will be cleaned regularly. All soft/fabric equipment and soft toys  will be removed from the classroom. Much of the equipment that is normally available in Reception will no longer be available such as sand, jigsaws, playdough, mud kitchen etc.  Children will not be bringing reading books home. Outside equipment will only be used if it can be cleaned. 

If a child or adult at school displays symptoms of the virus e.g. starts to cough, develops a temperature, they will be sent straight home. Children will be isolated until their parent collects them and will only be allowed to use the disabled toilet whilst waiting to be picked up. Other parents will not be informed of this action. Parents will only be informed about a positive test result within a group/bubble. At which point, more information about testing, track and trace etc. will be available. 

Starting and finishing times

Starting and finishing times will be staggered in order to avoid congestion at the gates. I will let you know before the start whether your child will be starting at either 9am or 9.15am and whether their finishing time is either 3pm or 3.15pm. We will be using all three of our gates to collect and dismiss the children and your punctuality (once you know your time), will be imperative to getting the children in and out of school safely. 

Yr 6 will be using the vehicular gates. Half of EYFS and half of Yr 1 will be using the usual gate, the other children will be using the middle gate (which we don’t use very often). Please bear with us while we sort out the groups and let you know. Children will enter and exit the building via the external classroom doors. 

Only one parent should drop off and collect children from school. Parents will not be allowed on the school premises. They should hand children over to one of the adults in their group at the start of the day.  They should wait outside the gates for the children to be handed back to them at the end of the day. From the 1st June there will be no breakfast or after school clubs running until further notice. 

Staff will be able to help from a distance if children become upset about returning to school, especially on day one. 

Key Workers

We are seeing a slight  increase in our key workers’ children attending school, and anticipate a further increase in June. If one or both parents are key workers, and you think you will need your child to attend at some point during this term, please could you let us know, by email, by Friday 22nd May. We will assume children that have already been attending will continue to do so. We only have a set number of places. People who have returned to work, because they cannot work from home, are not classified as key workers and are not entitled to childcare at school, this would be a limiting factor in you deciding if you can indeed return to work.  Remember if there is an adult at home who can look after the children, then this is where the children should be as this is the safest place for them. We may ask for proof of employment.

Clothing in school

On the 1st June, I will not expect children to wear their school uniform. I would rather they wore their own clothes which could be easily washed and that they wore clean clothes everyday.  Hair must be tied back for girls and makeup or jewellery will not be allowed. The children will not be expected to change for PE lessons, but will need their sport shoes in school for these lessons. Please ensure children are able to change shoes independently as staff will not be able to help with shoe laces etc. 

Mr Burgess will be the only adult who will teach all the groups, this is because he will only teach children outside where it will be much easier to socially distance. Children will be taken to him and collected from him, he will not teach PE if it rains. 

Outside learning has been encouraged by the government. Please ensure that you put sun cream on your child before they come to school if it is sunny, as staff will not be able to apply cream to children. Please send your child with a labelled cap or hat for them to wear outside. 

Food

Packed lunches will be provided for all the children in EYFS and Yr 1 as part of their universal free school meals, and for any children in year 6 who are entitled to free school meals (FSM). Vouchers will not be made available to these three classes from the 1st June. Vouchers will continue for any FSM children who are not in these year groups. If parents of children in year 6 normally pay for a school dinner, please book in advance in the usual manner, but please be aware that there will be no hot food available, they will receive a packed lunch. Lunches will be eaten in classrooms or designated spaces outside, if the weather permits. 

Home Learning

We are delighted by the hard work everyone has been sharing on Class Dojo. We can see that children and their parents are really working hard in this very difficult time. 

I plan that remote teaching  will continue for both the children from the year groups who are not  invited back to school, and also for the three classes Reception, Yr 1 and 6 (for parents who have decided to keep their children at home and continue with home learning). This will need to be reviewed mid June.

Although the work will be planned and shared on Dojo by your child’s class teacher, be mindful that because there will be staff in school teaching, there will be likely fewer comments on your child’s work. It may not be your child’s teacher or LSA doing the majority of the commenting as we have had to shuffle staff about in order to cover groups. 

All of these plans are subject to any changes in DfE advice.

I am sorry that this is such a long update, but felt it was important to share as much of our planning as possible. 

Kind regards

Helen White

St. Peter’s Catholic Voluntary Academy

MILL LANE, EARL SHILTON, LEICESTERSHIRE, LE9 7AW

TELEPHONE (01455) 843840

 www.stpetersprimary.org

Tuesday 28^th April 2020

Dear Parents/Carers,

I know this is a difficult time. My staff are working extremely hard running their virtual classrooms in order to offer their pupils some of the school work which they are missing. It is so important that we give the children the best possible opportunity with their work so that they are ready for the next phase of their learning, whether that is a move up to another class at St Peter’s, or a change of school from St Peter’s to secondary school.

You have been made aware of this letter via text message as your child is one of thirty five children across the whole school whose work we are not seeing on Dojo. I know that what I am asking may seem a little overwhelming, but my request is that you find a few minutes each day to write a few sentences on Dojo to tell us which of the work your child completed that day.  Parents who are using Dojo are telling me that the feedback the children are getting from staff is amazing and that it really helps to motivate the children with their school work.

I know that some of the older children are managing to post some of their own work to us and this is fabulous, but we have a couple of these children who are avoiding the core areas, maths and literacy, and only focussing on the creative tasks, please check.

Although Mr Wright is still poorly this week, there is still plenty of work for year one to complete and post back to us and I have the year one team overseeing this for me. 

If you need any support with Dojo, please contact your child’s class teacher via email, all addresses are available on the school website.

Keep safe.

Helen White

Morning everyone, 

I've just been looking at some of your portfolios and reminding myself of all the lovely tasks and the hard work you have been doing on Dojo over the past couple of weeks. I am just overwhelmed with the support we have received from parents.

Last week 622 messages and comments were posted from school onto our St Peter's Dojo site and we received 3,300 photos and videos of the children's work. Everyone, staff, parents and our children have been working incredibly hard. So, I think it is time for a break.

Over the next two weeks I have asked my teachers not to set anywork for the children. My staff need a break as much as my families. However, there will be a number of tasks which will be set today to help to keep the children busy over this two week period. It is called Easter Boredom Busters!

It seems strange to close by wishing you all a happy Easter. Despite the laughter shared in so many of the videos of the children, we seem to have too much to be concerned and worried about to be happy at the moment. This time we have together is a rare gift, the rush of our normal daily lives has come to a halt. Use this time to play games and work on projects you have never had time for. Teach your children kindness and grace, show them how to cope in a time of crisis and steer them towards God. Pray together as a family.

Stay safe all of you and yes have a Happy Easter.

Mrs. Helen White

CORONAVIRUS UPDATE

18/03/2020

Dear Parent or Guardian,

We are awaiting an announcement by the government at 5 p.m. today therefore we are unable update you at this moment in time. However, our staff are working hard to develop strategies for learning in the event of closure. They will continue to work with your children online throughout this closure and it's therefore imperative that online communication is working efficiently. If you can not communicate with your child's class teacher via Class Dojo, it's imperative that you let us know as soon as possible. We have a technician who works for us on Thursday afternoons who can adjust accounts if necessary. A broadband connection is ideal, however it is possible to pick up ClassDojo through a 4G connection on a mobile device. We will be able to provide more clarity after the Government announcement tonight but in the meantime it's imperative that we set up online communication channels. 

Kind regards,

Mrs. Helen White

CORONAVIRUS UPDATE

17/03/2020

We would like to say a big thank you to all of our parents for the support they are providing during this epidemic. We are extremely proud of our children and staff and there is a strong sense of teamwork in the school. We have risk assessed everything we do and have put as many measures in place as possible in order to keep the children and staff safe.  We are aware that communication is vitally important so will update this page as soon as we have new information to share. We are assessing our provision on a daily basis in line with government recommendations and will keep you updated. 

We are aware that some parents are worried about the implications of long absence on the attendance figures for their children and the possibility of being fined. Please be reassured that we are considering each case individually and consulting the Local Authority for advice. It’s very important to follow government guidelines exactly.

May we remind you that parents are not allowed beyond the foyer internal door or the small gate on the right of the Reception building. We have still got one or two parents entering classrooms with their child at the beginning of the day and it’s an important part of our current risk assessment. Please pick up after school children from the external hall door - staff will bring the child to you. Mr. Burgess has been asked to bring sports club children to the infant playground at the end of his sessions. Please wait there until he arrives. 

Our teachers are currently working really hard to put together home learning packs for their classes to be implemented in the event of school closure. We are also investigating ways of communicating with your children at home in order to take the pressure off parents. Class Dojo will be the main line of communication so please inform us if you are not receiving Dojo messages - they will be an essential part of your child’s education if we close. We have been asked by parents of self isolating families to provide work now - please be patient with us - this is being worked on as a matter of urgency and we will inform you when this is ready.

Kind regards,

Mrs. White

URGENT - CORONAVIRUS ADVICE

16.03.20

Dear Parents and Guardians,

You will already be aware that the UK has moved into the next stage of the Government’s action plan against Coronavirus (Covid-19) which is ‘Delay’. This means that there are changes in the guidelines issued to schools and the wider UK population. 

Here at school, our priority is keeping children and staff safe. We are not simply waiting for the school to close. We are putting many changes in place which will help curb the spread of the virus. Many of these changes are linked to less contact with people outside our own school community and restricting larger gatherings. Obviously, hygiene is of paramount importance and we will focus on the children’s and the school environment’s cleanliness. 

Here are the changes which we have already decided upon and which are being implemented from today

Procedures from 16th March 2020: (Including the new government guidelines just released. From 5pm today)

• Scheduled handwashing for all- on arrival at school, before eating, after playtime, before lunch, after lunchtime, before hometime. Following government guidelines - 20 seconds, with soap. 

• Remind children about good hygiene. Remind not to touch eyes, nose and mouth if they can. Cough into arm (or tissue and bin it). 

• Staff to clean door handles, handrails and ‘push’ sections of doors at regular intervals throughout the day. Doors will be propped open to limit the number of times they need to be touched. 

• Teachers will consider use of resources - there is so much sharing that we cannot avoid but for example, EYFS are not providing a playdough activity this week as it would be the perfect place for germs to spread. 

• The drinking fountains will be out of use - the children must use their own container only.

• Teachers sanitise hands before and after marking exercise books.

• Keyboards to be wiped down before and after use.

• All assemblies will be cancelled 

• Staff training or meetings outside of school will be cancelled or carried out electronically.

• All outside agencies who come in to work with the children, who may work in other schools, will be cancelled. Parents will be refunded if this has financial implications.

• Any parent who comes into the foyer must sanitise their hands on arrival. Parents will not be permitted into school unless there is an emergency. 

• The school library will be closed from today. The children will be given a selection of books to take home. The children may be asked to write a book review as part of their work at home in the event of school closure.  We will keep a list of who has borrowed what. 

• EYFS and Year One parents may no longer come inside the building to drop off their children or collect them. All parents remain outside when dropping off and collecting pupils. 

• Sandwich children will eat their lunches in the classrooms until the weather improves enough for them to picnic outside. 

• Where possible, pupils will be given their own pencil/pen rather than everything being used from a communal pot.

• Parents’ Evening will be replaced by a short interim report which will report attainment grades and effort grades. There will only be telephone conversations in exceptional circumstances. 

• If we remain open and you wish to speak to a teacher, please email or make a telephone appointment as we are limiting visitors in school. 

• No more school trips will be booked for the foreseeable future. We cannot inform parents about the two residential trips at this point as we are waiting for the companies to make decisions regarding the viability of the trips. The status of refunds depends entirely on who made the decision to cancel a trip. If the school or the company cancel, funds are returned. If a parent cancels and the trip is still running, there will be no refund. 

• Our own wrap around care, breakfast club and after school club, will continue as this is staffed by ourselves.

• Extra curricular activities will vary. The sessions which we run through our own staff will continue. Sessions by Mr Burgess and the booster sessions which are in house will continue, as will knitting. However, any activities run by outside agencies will stop from today e.g. Mr Hastings, Rock Steady, the Science group all PE inter school competitions will cease. Refunds will be given for these.

• Swimming, unless the leisure centre cancels, or unless we have staff shortages, will continue but we will increase the hand washing. The leisure centre has increased their hygiene. 

• We will be working on how teachers can set tasks for pupils to carry out at home in the unfortunate event of the school being closed. See notes below.

• In the event of staff absences, we will not be using outside agencies to cover classes, we will prioritise where we place staff on the needs and ages of the children. Your child may have another member of staff working with them, who does not normally take on this role.

• Please leave the school premises as soon as possible when you drop off your child in the morning and pick them up at the end of the day. We would like to minimise the amount of people gathered on the playground. 

• We will quickly attempt to purchase an accurate and reliable digital thermometer to use in school. 

As a school we will aim to operate as normally as we can, with the above changes implemented. We are not allowed to make the decision to close unless we are advised to do so. We are following government guidelines. 

Key points to note are;

• Households who have a member with a new, persistent cough and/or high temperature should self-isolate for fourteen days. If your child needs to be off school for the above reasons, please ensure that you inform the school of the circumstances (using the absence line, as normal) so that we are aware. Please ensure that the contact details we have for your child are up to date. 

If you phone your child in sick due to the above symptoms, you will have to keep them at home for the fourteen days quarantine period, even if they seem well again during this period. 

Anyone showing any possible symptoms should follow the advice of Public Health England / the NHS (via the online service / NHS 111) and inform us. The full advice for self-isolation is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-stay-at-home-guidance.

In the event of the school being closed:

Teachers are preparing ‘remote learning’ so that we can continue to direct the children’s learning. Class teachers will be setting work for students electronically. We envisage setting daily tasks, but ones which will not monopolise the home computer, as we are mindful that adults may need to access this in order to work from home. Children will be given a folder, so that they can collate all of the work which they complete at home and this will be looked at by their teacher, on their return to school. Teachers will keep in contact with children via secure online platforms. 

In the first instance, work will be set via Dojo. Instructions within Dojo may direct some children (year four upwards) to open their Google account to access additional work. The beauty of Google is that the teachers will be able to see what the children are recording at home and be able to give feedback. Both platforms will be used, but Dojo will be the ‘first port of call’ and will be used to signpost to other websites or platforms.

It is therefore necessary that we have all parents connected to class dojo (there are still one or two who are not accessing this). If you have been unable to connect, please inform your child’s class teacher. 

Pupils already have access to their own Google account and use it regularly at school on our Chromebooks. We advise all parents to ensure that year 4 pupils upwards can access their account from home, and to contact the school as soon as possible if they require support in setting this up. It will be too late to do this if the school closes. In the event of school closure we will reinforce the use of the ‘Google virtual classroom’ which will provide an invaluable platform for learning. 

These will be key resources for pupils in the event of a school closure. As long as your child has access to a mobile device which can receive data, they will be able to continue their studies. If this is not the case, please let the school know. 

                                                                  Kind regards

                                                                   Helen White

24.02.20

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Today at about 3pm you may hear the church bells ringing at Ss. Simon and Jude's Church. These are for our past pupil, Cameron Hill, who attended St Peter's 2002-2009.

Cameron was tragically killed before half term in a car crash. He was a beautiful young person and he used to enjoy ringing the bells at this church as one of his hobbies. As a mark of respect for Cameron the bells will ring for about half an hour.

Cameron's funeral is today. Please keep Cameron and his family in your prayers. When you hear the bells please pray for them. RIP 

Helen White

!4th February 2020 

Dear Parents and Guardians,

After half term, we welcome back Mrs Carter from her maternity leave. Mrs Carter has been coming in over the past six weeks to begin to get to know the children in Reception. She will be teaching Reception at the beginning of the week and will be replacing Mrs Preston, who is moving to year four.

This half term holiday we will be sending all of the PE kits home and indoor shoes. Please take this opportunity to check that plimsolls still fit and are not broken. A lot of the children are walking around in shoes where the Velcro doesn’t fasten anymore or the heels are trodden down and are just not safe to wear.

There are still a handful of children who are not wearing navy or black coats. When purchasing new coats, please ensure that they comply with our school uniform policy.

P.E. KIT 
P.E. bag with logo* 
White tee shirt with logo* 
Pumps for indoors, trainers for outdoors
Navy blue shorts 
Navy blue jogging bottoms for outdoors

Trainers are not allowed in school, other than for P.E.
No jewellery except watches and stud earrings allowed in school (which must be removed for PE).

Winter Uniform (to be worn after the October break until the Easter holiday)

Girls

Navy blue skirt/pinafore or navy blue trousers

Blue shirt and school tie*

Navy blue jumper/cardigan with school logo*

White socks or navy tights

Black Shoes (Boots allowed but under trousers only)

Plain navy/black coat

Plain navy/black/school* hat

Plain navy/black gloves and scarves

Blue hair accessories

Boys

Mid grey trousers

Blue shirt and school tie*

Navy blue jumper with school logo*

Grey socks

Black shoes

Plain navy/black coat

Plain navy/black/school hat*

Plain navy/black gloves and scarves

Please make sure all of your children’s items are labelled clearly.  There is a table full of lost property outside under the canopy from this academic year. Please have a look through this.

Finally, we seem to have a real problem with head lice in school at the moment. Let’s take this half term to see if we can rid ourselves of this problem. Hair needs to be washed and conditioned and a nit comb pulled through the hair whilst the conditioner is on. In order to get rid of these insects, this needs to be done at least once every three days (if you know your child has lice) and I would recommend doing it on a weekly basis if you haven’t seen any head lice, just as a precaution.

Enjoy your half term.

Regards

Helen White

Food in school

 7^th February 2020

Dear Parents and Guardians,

I would like to focus on school food in this letter and take this opportunity to outline what we offer throughout the day and the support you can give to us in getting this right.

Firstly, we have children who have allergies. We have their photos displayed for staff to see in our staffroom and our school kitchen; we also have a list (but no photos) in the first aid area. We are a nut free school, please be mindful of this when you are preparing packed lunches or sending in cakes for cake bakes etc.

Sweets/chocolates are only allowed when it is a child’s birthday. If parents wish to send in sweets for their child to hand out on this day, these sweets will be given out at the end of the school day for the children to take home. Please speak to either myself or the class teacher if you don’t want your child to be given sweets on these occasions.

Snacks at Break Time

Fruit is provided free to children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2. Reception children are given access to this on their snack table in the classroom, throughout the school day. Years 1 and 2 take their fruit at playtime (10.30-10.45am). Fruit is not provided for any of the children in years 3-6.

Toast and spread is made available at break time at a cost of £1 a week. The only difference to this is that in the Reception class the children make their own toast at their snack table and it is available at other times in the day. Children may only have toast and/or fruit at playtime, no other snacks are permitted

School Dinners

Our dinners are provided by Leicestershire Traded Services, who have recently achieved the soil association gold food for life award for the food they serve in schools. The food is cooked on site and is freshly made every day for the children. Children in Reception Class, Year 1 and Year 2 are provided with a free school meal every day (universal free school meal). In an attempt to stop the children becoming fussy eaters, I would like every child in these three classrooms to take up this offer. Our kitchen caters for children who may not eat food because they are allergic to it or for religious reasons, please let me know if this is the case for your child. My dinner supervisors are extremely skilled in encouraging the children to try food and clear their plates. In Key Stage 2, children are only provided with a school dinner if parents purchase it, or if the child is entitled to a free school meal. Please speak to Mrs Mitchell in the school office if you would like help completing a form for this.

Packed Lunches

When a child moves into year 3 parents can choose whether they wish to provide a packed lunch. Some items are not allowed in a packed lunch, Fizzy drinks, sweets or chocolate bars are not allowed. It is lovely to see some really appetising and healthy lunches which parents provide. If a child doesn’t finish their pack lunch we ask the children to take the remaining food home so that parents can see what they have eaten that day.

Breakfast Club (£3.50 per session 7.45am-8.45am)

Our breakfast club numbers have grown since we opened it a couple of years ago, it is now very popular. After half term, we will still be offering the same breakfast food, but with the increase in numbers at the club, we are going to have to alter slightly what is available to late comers. From 7.45am children will be offered toast or pancakes with jam or honey, they can also choose cereal, fresh fruit and yogurt. There will be milk, squash or water for them to drink. However, if a child arrives after 8.20am the hot food will not be on offer, they may only have cereal, yogurt and fruit. This is because the staff need leave the kitchen tidy and be ready to start the school day.  Please ensure that you arrive early if you want your child to have toast or pancakes in addition to the cold options.

After School Club (£6 per session, 3.15-5.15pm)

Introducing biscuits wasn’t popular with the parents when we tried this a few weeks ago. The food offered to the After School Club children is not meant to be their evening meal; it is to keep them going until they get home. Children are given toast with a sunflower spread. They are also offered a selection of fruit. They can have milk, squash or water to drink.

If you wold like to speak to me about any of the above information, please feel free.

                                                                                                                    Regards

                                                                                                                   Helen White

Homework

Dear Parents and Guardians,

A social media site has come to my attention today where some parents from this school have been commenting about homework given out in some classes here at school.

At school teachers and I work extremely hard to try and accommodate parents’ wishes with regard to ‘the right amount of homework for children’, taking into consideration their ages and their abilities. We know we will never please everyone. Some parents tell us we give out too much homework whilst others tell us we don’t set enough work for the children to do at home.

Please see below our Homework Policy

Homework consolidates and reinforces skills mainly in English and Maths. It links to the learning which is currently being taught in your child’s class. School is very appreciative of the support which parents give at home to their child’s learning. Parents contribution to homework, both ensuring that quality time and by giving support to their children’s reading and spellings etc. has a huge impact on how well children progress in school and how well they attain.

AIMS

● to ensure consistency of approach throughout school

● to ensure progression towards independence

● to ensure the needs of the individuals are taken into account

● to ensure parents have clear understanding about expectations for themselves and pupils

● to build on the learning experience by reinforcement and revision

● to provide opportunities for parents and pupils to work together to enjoy the learning experiences

● to encourage children to develop long term strategies for future needs

● to prepare children for secondary school transfer

The type and amount of homework

This will vary according to the age of the child (details on class web pages). The main focus is on English and Maths although other subjects could be added as the child moves up the school.

In KS1 all children are expected to read to their parents at least three times each week, ideally every night.

In KS2 children are expected to read every day meeting the expectations set by their teacher. Spellings are to be practised every week. J2Blast practise (which can be accessed from any computer or mobile device) reinforces children’s times tables and number bonds. Children will also have a weekly Maths activity/Rising Stars sheet which reinforces work being covered in class. Additionally, class teachers may set ‘aim higher’ tasks which are designed to challenge pupils and enhance their learning. This is non-compulsory and will be rewarded if completed.

Whole school optional themed homework will be set on a half termly basis. Pupils will be asked to return the project on a stipulated day and completed work will be shared, celebrated and rewarded.

Sanctions

● In K.S. 2 children will be given a homework detention if they cannot produce completed homework.

● We recognise that there may be incidents where the teacher has to show discretions regarding homework.

● In all classes, if children consistently fail to do their homework, the teacher will contact parents to find out why in the first instance.

Homework guidelines will be reviewed regularly to ensure that they remain effective and contributing to the progress pupils make at school and their attitude to learning.

I stand by this policy. As you can see, we have put in a considerable amount of thought into it in order that the homework is useful and supports the children’s learning in school. We focus on basic skills which then help the children to access all other areas of their learning. The children who read regularly at home, progress faster than those who do not practise reading every night.

Homework will never be sent home unless the teachers have taught the children the foci first, we do not expect parents to teach the children, homework is about consolidating learning. The only exception to this will be if the older children are given a research task. All the children are given plenty of time to do their homework and the teachers tell the children to come back to them if they need more help in understanding the homework, but this has to be done before the day it is due to be handed in.

If parents are not happy with the homework being given, I ask that they please come and speak to me or the teacher about it. Public media sites are not the forum to complain about individual teachers and this has caused unnecessary upset for the very people who work hard to support and care for the children.

                                                                                                                    Regards

                                                                                                                   Helen White

 7^th January 2020

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Welcome back and happy New Year to you all!

Year 4 welcomes Mrs. Pagliari as their new class teacher for this half term. Mrs. Pagliari is a qualified teacher and has demonstrated to us excellent teaching skills whilst supporting us over the past few years. I am thrilled that she has decided to come back into the teaching profession. Mrs. Pagliari will be covering the class full time until February half term. After the half term break, Mrs. Preston, who is also now a qualified teacher, will be joining year 4 to job share with Mrs. Pagliari. Mrs. Preston won awards for her outstanding practice whilst completing her teaching qualification. This will be a great job share and I am very grateful to both these teachers.

Year 4 also welcomes Mrs. Power as their new Learning Support Assistant. The children have been getting to know Mrs. Power as she has been working alongside Mrs. Pagliari last term in preparation for this new role. I am pleased to be able to put together such a strong team mid-year.

Due to popular demand, toast has returned to after school club instead of biscuits. Thank you to the parents who expressed their concerns regarding too much sugar. The after school children will also be offered fresh fruit, milk, squash or water- plenty to keep them going until they get home. If you feel your son/daughter needs to have more healthy snacks for the After School Club, please feel free to send these in with your child.

Fr. Frank is putting together a children’s Mass for this Sunday. He likes as many children as possible to take part in this holy celebration. If you would like your child to be involved in the 11.30am Mass this Sunday, they need to be at the practice which is at 4pm this Friday at Ss. Peter and Paul’s Church in Earl Shilton. All are welcome.

The majority of the children are looking very smart in their uniforms this term, thank you. However, a few (walking around in their socks inside school) are telling me that their indoor shoes don’t fit them anymore. If you haven’t checked this holiday, please check now.

As usual, I am on the playground most mornings if I can be of any support informally. Please feel free to book an appointment if you would like to come and see me. Thank you for your continued and ongoing support.

Regards

29/11/19

Dear Parent or Guardian,

Thank you to all of you who have already filled in our home/school agreement – a reminder was sent out by text today and you can also access it via this link https://forms.gle/g5u3WTUBcWwVbFMo9   77 families have electronically signed the agreement up to now but it’s essential to receive a 100% response.

It’s our Christmas Fayre tomorrow! This is always a lovely occasion with quality Christmassy items for sale – all profits benefit the children and it really does help us to buy those little extras which make a difference. You are all very welcome between 2 and 4 p.m.

Thank you to those of you who park responsibly outside of school and arrive in time to do so – we have worked hard to alleviate this and it did improve for a time. However, we have had some complaints from parents about parking on the zig-zags and across drives which seems to be returning. May we remind you that camera vans from the education authority regularly patrol Mill Lane and offenders are contacted.

There are still tickets available for the Memphys Catholic school carol concert at DeMontfort Hall which is always amazing - it's when Christmas begins for many of us! It's a worthwhile occasion even if your children are not singing in it. Please contact the school office if you would like to purchase tickets. 

Don't forget our achievement assembly on Friday! Please try to send awards in advance as it helps us to sort through them before the assembly. 

We are working hard to improve topic related vocabulary across the whole school at the moment and you may have noticed an emphasis this in homework tasks. Mrs. Fincham and Mrs. Woolman would like to explain this more clearly to parents during a vocabulary coffee morning on Tuesday 3rd December between 9 and 10 a.m. They will explain why we are doing this and ways in which you can support your child. All parents are welcome. 

Further to my comments on payments in last week, we are still having problems with this. These payments relate to toast, after school club, breakfast club, trips and lunches, all of which should be paid for in advance. It is not practical to pay for them after the event as payment secures places. 

Kind regards,

Mrs. White

Dear Parent or Guardian,

We would like to say a big thank you for the response to our parent questionnaire - the software returned forms for 104 families which is a good representation of our school. Your views are important to us as we strive to make our school the best it can be. We are currently collating the results which we will share with you as soon as possible. We have already begun working on some of the issues raised in the comments section and hope that you can see a difference.

It's good to see the children dressed for the cold weather - thank you for following our dress code regarding coat colours - our children look really smart. Can we  remind you to follow this code also for hats, scarves and gloves - navy or black only please. 

Narnia day was wonderful! Thanks to those of you who sent your children to school wearing costumes - they were amazing and really added to the day. We raised £254 for library books!

May we remind you that our Christmas Fayre will take place on Saturday 30th November between 2 - 4 p.m. This is always a lovely christmassy event with high quality items for sale - including some which have been made by your children. 

Please check the parent calendar on the website for Christmas performance dates - we can hear some beautiful singing around the school already and you're in for a treat!

We have just rolled out our updated home/school agreement which is an important document. It is essential for all parents to view this and agree to the statements - even if you completed it last year. Please complete it by clicking this link if you haven't done so already.   https://forms.gle/nuyKnb2NFtDhovDP8  

Flu vaccinations - Please see our recently posted message which outlines the position regarding children who have not been well. https://saint-peters-catholic-primary-school.secure-primarysite.net/letters-home/ We were given very clear guidelines by the immunisation service which we would like you to follow. There's a particularly nasty strain of flu affecting local schools at the moment and we seem to have escaped it so far!

We would like to remind you that payments for After School club, Breakfast club and lunches should be made in advance. It is very difficult for our office manager to chase payments after the event, especially if they accumulate. We would also like to remind you that the panto payment deadline is looming (29th Nov). We would hate to leave your child behind! If you do not want them to go, please advise Mrs. Mitchell in the office and she will take you off the payment list. 

Mrs. Connor is collecting hats, scarves, gloves and toiletries for the homeless - please place donations into the container in the welcome area. 

Kind regards,

Mrs. Helen White

Dear Parent/Guardian.                                                                                                      Thursday 31st October 2019

Change of date for the end of the summer term.

In order to fulfil our statutory 190 days of school days this year, St Peter’s will close for the summer holiday on Tuesday 14^th July 2020.

If any parents have already booked holidays from the original date set, please bring in the evidence for this booking in order that I can authorise the absence.  

Regards

Helen White

Friday 4th October 2019

Dear Parent or Guardian,

Next week our classrooms will be open between 3:15 and 3:45 each day. Your child's work will be available to you and Class teachers will be able to answer general questions. They will save progress reports on individual children for the parents' evenings on Wednesday 23rd and 30th October. 

The booking system for our parent's evenings has changed - teachers and Mrs. Mitchell will no longer make the appointments. You will be required to use an online method which uses the same email address as the school money system. This will become live on Monday - Mrs. Mitchell will send you a text which links to a self explanatory booking page. If you have any problems with the booking process, please contact Mrs. Mitchell in the office.

Next week we will be saying a very sad farewell to a valued member of staff who has been working with us for over 20 years. Mrs. Clayton, who is currently one of the Year 3 learning support assistants, will be leaving St. Peter's to embark on a new venture. We are extremely grateful for the commitment and dedication she has shown through the years and we wish her every success for the future. 

It has been brought to my attention that a growing number of children are bringing mobile phones into school. We understand that they provide reassurance to children and parents but we are unable to take responsibility for them. Please be aware that children will be required to keep their phones in their bags and that they will not be allowed to access them during the school day. If the does attempt to use their phone during the day we will confiscate it and return the phone to a parent. 

Regards,

Mrs. Helen White

Dear Parents,                                                                               Friday 13th September 2019

I have noticed recently that there are increasing numbers of you changing arrangements regarding the collection of your child(ren) from school.

I understand that emergencies can occur during the day and parents sometimes need to alter their plans regarding who is collecting from St Peter's. However, to help us to keep children safe, please can I request that we have the following in writing from you;

If your child is regularly collected by anyone other than you the parents, please send in a note informing us of this. We will keep this reference, until you tell us of any changes to this arrangement. 

If you know before the day, for example if your child is going to play at their friend's house, and that someone else is collecting your child(ren), please put this in writing and send it into school, to the class teacher, on the day.

If an emergency situation occurs during the school day and you have to make arrangements for a friend or family member to collect your child, please telephone the office to let us know. We can then inform your child(ren) prior to the end of the day about what is happening . We can usually help with adhoc use of the After School Club if you are struggling to find someone to help.

Many thanks 

Helen White

Monday 2^nd  September 2019

Dear Parents

Welcome back.  It is lovely to have the children back safely; they are already working so hard and as usual the behaviour this week around the school has been superb. Also, welcome to all our new children and all the new families who have joined St. Peter’s. I am sure your child will be very happy here during their years with us. Thank you for all the kind words, gifts and cards which I received at the end of last term.

Sad news to start the term off with- during the holiday Mrs. Abela has decided to retire. Mrs. Abela has worked at this school since 2001 as both a Learning Support assistant and a dinner Supervisor. We would of course like to get her back to send her off with our love and blessings; I will of course let you know when this is arranged. If you would like to contribute to a retirement gift for her, please send any money in an envelope to Mrs. Mitchell in the school office.

Don’t forget that in an attempt to reduce the amount of printing and paper we use, most of the information we send home goes onto the school website. The website can be opened on tablets, phones and computers. Diary dates will shortly be added onto the website and therefore I will not include these in letters home. In addition to the school website (which contains all the statutory information), we have also introduced ‘Class Dojos’. Not only is this is the reward system to inspire children to work hard and behave, but it is also the easiest way for teachers to share with the parents activities, photos and events for the children they are working with. This system is only available to parents who have sent their email address into the class teachers and who have been added to the software.  It is not information which can be accessed by anyone outside of our school. If you haven’t been added, please email, or contact your class teacher(s) and ask to be added.

Supporting your child at home with reading/spellings/phonics is the best way to ensure that they reach the expected standard for their year group. The spellings and phonics will be relevant to your child’s needs. Sometimes spellings will be words which have been spelt incorrectly in their writing, sometimes they may be from the national curriculum list, or they may be the common exception spellings (the ones which break the spelling rules), all relevant to your child’s needs. As well as this English homework, Maths homework will be set. This work will match the classroom work for your child, so they will have been taught the skills but practising these skills will help to embed that knowledge.

Can I remind you all that payments for dinners, clubs and everything else is needed in advance and needs to be done via the school money website; there is a link from the school website to this address. Thank you for doing this for us, it helps to reduce the work in the school office.

The children look so smart in their school uniforms. May I remind you that long hair needs to be tied up using only blue and/or white hair accessories, no nail varnish is to be worn and children need to be in the correct Summer uniform until October half term – details are found on the School website.

There are still plenty of places in our breakfast club; there is more information on the school website. There is some availability for the afterschool club. Please contact the office if you would like to book your child into either of these clubs.

Finally, if any of you have a personal license for alcohol please will you let me know. This is something the PTFA are applying for and apparently these licenses do not run out! I have been told that it is better to have more than one person holding the license linked to our premises.

As usual, I am available to parents informally on the playground in the mornings. Please make an appointment to see me if you need more time or privacy. Thank you for your ongoing support.

                                                                                            Yours sincerely

                                                                                                      Helen White

                                                                                                           (Headteacher)

14.06.19

Dear Parents,

Unfortunately, the weather forecast for tomorrow isn’t looking too good, but the summer fayre will continue and we will have to move stalls inside. Please come along and support this event.

Next year there will be a couple of staff changes happening

Reception—Mrs. Moreton and Mrs. Preston (whilst Mrs. Carter is still on maternity leave).

LSAs Miss Boshor and Miss Roper (whilst Mrs. Hallam is on maternity).

Yr 1—Mr. Wright

LSA Mrs. Oliver

Yr 2 Mrs. Woolman

LSA Mrs. Smith

Yr 3 – Mrs. Fincham  Mon-Wed, Mrs. Loveitt Thurs and Fri

LSA Mrs. Payne

Yr 4 –Mr. Payne

LSA Mrs. Pagliari

Yr 5 –Mrs. Moore Mon- Wed, Mrs. Charity Thurs and Fri

LSA Mrs. Purser

Yr 6 – Miss Pritchet

LSA – Mrs. Leadbetter

Diary dates for events for the remainder of this term are on the school website.

Kind Regards

Helen White

Tuesday 12^th March 2019

Dear Parents,

Parents’ Evenings are coming up on Wednesday 20^st March and Wednesday 27^th March from 3.30pm – 6.30pm.

In order to help these evenings run as smoothly as possible, you are invited to come and look at your child(ren)’s work this Thursday 14^th  and Friday 15^th March and Monday 18^th and Tuesday 19^th next week.

Classrooms will be open each of these days for half an hour at the end of the school day. During this time, parents will be able to book their appointments for either of  the two Wednesdays on a first come first served basis. Any outstanding appointments, which need to be booked after this week, can be booked through Mrs Mitchell from Tuesday 19^th March; this is for parents who are unable to attend the open classroom sessions.

Unfortunately, teachers can only offer one appointment per child in their class. I look forward to seeing you all over the next couple of weeks when you are in school. 

                                         Yours sincerely,

                                               Helen White

                                              (Headteacher)

28/02/19

Dear Parents

Information about Momo

Momo has been around for the last 18 months and is not new. The media have managed to whip up a bit of a frenzy amongst parents. It was originally an app but that has been removed and it is now scary videos that are being distributed via WhatsApp, YouTube and online gaming (live streaming). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQhvzEUrsOA.

It is scary. A simple tip is to turn off ‘auto play’ on YouTube and ensure that your contact details are hidden on WhatsApp. Make sure the ‘no fill’ option is ‘on’ within Fortnite and all settings within your Xbox and PlayStation are closed.

Although MOMO is not nice, I agree with the article linked below, that the media have over-dramatised it. You should be aware that there are much worse things on YouTube than this - child porn within Pepper Pig, attacks, muggings, shootings and hard porn. Don’t spread the panic about Momo – get involved and supervise what your young children are watching, whatever it may be.

https://inews.co.uk/opinion/momo-challenge-game-deaths-suicide-moral-panic/?fbclid=IwAR2VmsP59BOWfZYNPeOkQuk5V7UdnO_Lnzztl_BhyQrqlGtLBT4Z4CN07as

My staff and I will only be addressing anything linked to this media concern if children raise it themselves in school. 

Regards

Helen White

Friday 15^th February 2019

Dear Parents

I can hardly believe that we are up to our February half term already, this term is whizzing by so quickly. The children have been superb again this term. I am always so proud of them especially when I show visitors around the school.  I always receive lovely comments about how friendly and well behaved the children are, they are an absolute credit to you all.

Mrs Carter begins her maternity leave in a couple of weeks. Mrs Preston will be covering her teaching time. Incorporated into the changes Mrs Moreton will swap her teaching and SENDco days around. So in EYFS, Mrs Moreton will work Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and Mrs Preston will work Thursday and Friday. I have also appointed Miss Roper to work in EYFS when Mrs Hallam starts her maternity, this will be during  the Easter break. The children in EYFS already know these adults, so I am hoping that the change in staff will be a smooth one.

As we finish for the break, please can I ask that when you collect your child(ren) today, you take their indoor shoes and their PE kit home too. A lot of the children have grown out of their pumps and as parents don’t often see these shoes, so you don’t often realise. Some of the PE kits are looking particularly grubby at the moment.

Please can I remind you to look at the school website with regard to the uniform list. Coats, hats and gloves should be plain navy or black. The PE kit is navy bottoms and a white tee shirt. Children may wear their fleeces outside for PE if it’s cold and even their coats if it’s really cold and they need them on for an outside lesson.

Have a lovely half term and enjoy your children being at home.

Regards

09.11.18

Dear Parents,

Last week I followed up on several complaints from parents about the quality of Enterprise Uniform. I contacted the company and shared these concerns. I feel that the initial quality of the uniform which was provided by the company is no longer available to us. To cut a long story short, Enterprise have’ pulled the plug’ on providing our uniform.

This week governors and I have been looking into which company, locally, could provide our uniform to us. We have looked at both price and quality. Hole in the Wall can offer us the best quality, price and service (11 Lower Bond St., Hinckley). They will therefore become our new uniform providers. Although the prices are slightly higher than Enterprise, the quality is superb.

Hole in the Wall have also said that they will come into school a few weeks before the Easter holiday and the October break with uniform (so that parents can try the sizes) and that these two big orders will be delivered back to school. They will also be around for the coffee morning for our new intake to do the same thing. I will let you know as soon as uniform is available.

Whilst sharing information with you about uniform, please remember that the children must wear navy or black coats. Girls may only wear boots under navy trousers (not black), not with their skirts. Hats, gloves and scarves should also be plain navy or black.

Parents’ Evenings are coming up on Wednesday 21^st November and Wednesday 28^th November from 3.30pm – 6.30pm. In order to help these evenings run as smoothly as possible you are invited to come and look at your child(ren)’s work next week. Classrooms will be open every day Monday –Friday for half an hour at the end of the school day. During this time, parents will be able to book their appointments for the two Wednesdays on a first come basis. Any outstanding appointments, which need to be booked after this week, can be booked through Mrs Mitchell from Monday 19^th November.

We have recently been reviewing our website alongside the company who host it. Our 'paperless' policy has worked well and our website is an integral part of that. Website statistics show that our calendar page is well used by parents so it's important for us to maximise its functionality. Please be aware that more information about each event can be gained by clicking on the relevant bar. Also, may we remind you that it's possible to link our calendar with your personal phone calendar.

Pantomime letters have been given to the children today: please look out for these and return with payment asap.

Regards

Helen White

(Headteacher)

7th September 2018

Dear Parents,

Thank you for your questionnaire responses; I have received 51 replies thus far. I will share my analysis in my letter next week. If you haven’t had chance to return your form, please use the online version over the weekend and I will include this feedback in the survey.

There isn’t much more to share with you since my letter last week, so in an attempt to keep information succinct, I will bullet point it below for you:

• With the exception of parents who stand and wait with dogs, please would parents come into the playground to collect their children. This is to help us keep the children safe.

• Please ensure that all your child’s clothing is labelled. We already have lost property which we cannot return because we don’t know who it belongs to.

• From now onwards, please will children who are late report to Mrs Mitchell in the office. Mr Phillips is often engaged with parents at the very beginning of the school day.

• A lot of schools may be having a Roald Dahl Day on Thursday next week, but we will not. We will be having our own themed day very soon and more information will follow.

• Children who have pierced ears and wear studs need to bring their own micropore to cover their earrings for PE if they cannot remove their studs themselves.

• Mrs Connor and I will be taking part in a CAFOD walk ‘Share the Journey’.  This is in response to Pope Francis’ call to highlight the plight of migrants and refugees. It will take place on Saturday 22nd September at 3pm, walking from the Briars to Crich Stand Memorial and back, finishing with evening Mass. Anyone is welcome to join us. Please talk to Mrs Connor or myself if you would like more information, or look at the CAFOD website.

As usual, I am available to parents most mornings on the playground if you would like to catch me informally.

                                                Yours sincerely,

                                                    Helen White

                                                    (Headteacher)

31/08/18

Dear Parents

Welcome back everyone. I hope you have all enjoyed the summer break and the lovely weather we have had. The children all look very smart and once again we have had a smooth return. The children are already working hard and as usual their behaviour is great.

From Monday we are no longer a maintained school. We become an academy, St. Peter’s Catholic Voluntary Academy, part of the St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Multi-Academy Trust (CMAT). This trust is made up of 22 other Catholic schools across Leicester city and Leicestershire, 18 primaries and 4 secondary schools. I have no intention of altering our logo which is on our school uniform and would like us to remain being known as St Peter’s, Earl Shilton.

Today you will receive a questionnaire about the school. This is to help us with our self-evaluation. I have kept the format the same as OFSTED’s. Please return this to me next week and by Friday 7^th September at the latest.

You may have noticed from the term dates on the Local Authority website that schools close for two days during term time to allow for teacher days. Our two teacher days will be either side of the October half term, therefore the school will be closed on Friday 12^th and Monday 22^nd October. All of our term dates are on our school website for this year. It is likely that the Multi Academy Trust will have some input into future years’ term dates, so please don’t rely on the Local Authority dates when booking holidays for future academic years.

Friday assembly time has been changed. This is to give us as much time as possible to concentrate on the core subjects in the morning lessons; it has been moved to the afternoon. Most of them will start at 2.30pm so that hopefully you can attend prior to collecting your child(ren). Any big assemblies, like Harvest or Mothering Sunday, where every class takes part will begin at 2pm. Achievement assemblies will continue to be on the first Friday of each month at 2.30pm. There will no longer be an assembly every Friday morning, please refer to the school calendar on the school website. Good to be green and birthday stickers will move to Monday assemblies.

Please can I remind parents to be punctual when dropping children off and collecting children at the end of the day. From now onwards, if a parent is more than five minutes late in collecting their child(ren) then the pupil(s) will be placed in the after school care club and you will be charged £3 per child for the first 15 minutes. If you are more than 15 minutes late collecting your children) this charge will increase to £6. This includes collecting your child(ren) from any after school activities, including after school and sports clubs.

I have to thank you for prompt payments into the cashless system; this has worked extremely well since implementing it a few years ago.

Just a word of warning, highways will shortly be putting up parking restriction notices by our zig zag lines outside the school. This will mean that you can be fined by either traffic wardens or the Police if you stop on them. Please continue to park with consideration to our neighbours.

We will be holding a half hour evening session (for classes 1 to 6) on Wednesday 12^th September. This is for parents only to meet their child’s new teacher, get a better understanding of what will be covered this academic year and how you can best support your child with homework. There will be two sessions: the first at 6pm, the second at 6.30pm (teachers repeat the session). You will be able to look at the displays in the classrooms, look at some old SATs and test papers and ask the teacher general questions about the coming year. Mrs Coghlan will be running two safety sessions for parents in the hall at the same times. We have had to deal with a number of e-safety issues over the past couple of years and it is important that we work together on this to keep our children safe.

For homework, children are expected to learn weekly spellings, work on times tables and number bonds. There is also additional weekly work set by the class teachers and children should read every day. Please sign their reading diaries when you have heard children read at home, or for older children, on free readers, when you know they have read independently.

I will be holding an open morning on Monday 17^th September. This is for any current parents or parents who would be interested in a place for their child at St. Peter’s, either this year or in the future (we currently have no places in Reception or year 2). Please phone the office if you would like to come and look around.

From now onwards, my letters will not usually be sent home on paper, they will be uploaded to our school website with a text notification as usual. If you have a child in years 1 – 6 and you do not receive a text message today from me, please contact Mrs Mitchell in the school office so that she can add your number to our list.

I am, as usual available on the playground in the mornings if you need to catch me informally. Thank you for your ongoing support.

Yours sincerely,

Helen White

(Headteacher)

13.07.18

Dear Parents,

Thank you all for all the support we have had throughout this year. I hope you all have a great summer and this wonderful weather continues for us. 

I have had to make some last minute staffing arrangements for September. This has been unavoidable, I'm sorry I haven't been able to let you know earlier than this. In September Mr. Wright will be teaching year 1. He will have Mrs Hardman and Mrs Oliver supporting him. Mrs. Moreton will  moving to EYFS to job share with Mrs. Carter. This will give her more time to spend as our SENDCo, a role which is becoming increasingly more demanding. Mrs Pagliari will be moving to yr 3 to support the teachers in that class. 

Today we say goodbye to Mr. Knight, Mrs Chadwick (Miss Warren) and our sport apprentice, Miss Harvey. I would like to thank them for their hard work and commitment to St. Peter's and tell how much they will be missed by us all. 

I am incredibly proud of St Peter's, both the pupils and the staff. This year all of our results from EYFS, the Yr 1 phonics check, the Yr 2 SATs results and the Yr6 SATs results have exceeded the national expectations. I will post these results on our website as we return in September.  The children return to school on Tuesday 28th August. 

God bless you and your children.

Kind regards

Helen White

Friday 22nd June

Letter from the head teacher

Dear Parent or Guardian,

Wow! What an amazing week we've had! The children have thoroughly enjoyed enrichment week and some wonderful memories have been made. I would like to say a big thank you to the PTFA on behalf of the children and the staff - without their support this type of enrichment would not be possible. I would also like to thank Mrs. Woolman, Mrs. Coghlan and Mrs. Charity for researching and booking the activities. 

The auditions for 'St. Peter's has got talent' took place during the week and the class winners performed in our talent show on Friday morning. The winners of the talent show, who will perform in the summer festival, have been displayed in school. If your child has been selected, please let their teacher know whether or not they can attend at 6:30 on Wednesday July 4th. If they can't, we'll fill their place with the second place act. 

Year 6 will be embarking on their adventure holiday on Monday! Parents of year 5, please see the letter addressed to you in the 'letters' section of this site (the children have also been given paper copies). Due to the rising cost of the trip, we are considering a change and the letter explains the details.  

Please consult the parent calendar for further end of year events - we have a very busy time ahead! 

Kind regards,

                                Mrs. Helen White

Friday 15th June

Dear Parent or Guardian,

We would like to apologise for the lack of communication this week - the text messaging system has been down since Tuesday evening but the company have assured us that it will be restored during Friday. We will revert to paper copies of important letters if necessary.          

What an exciting time we have ahead! Please consult the parent calendar for an outline of events for the remainder of the term - below are some details regarding next week:

• Year 6 parents - You will see a new page in the 'News and Events' section of the website entitled 'Caythorpe Court'. This page contains the letters being given to the children on Friday. This information is very important and must be read by parents prior to our trip.

• Special ‘World Cup’ lunch on Monday! - Our caterers are serving a themed lunch on Monday which will be eaten outside as a picnic. The menu will include hot dogs and ice lollies! If Key Stage 2 children want to take part in this special lunch, payment has to be made before midnight on Sunday via our online system.

• Enrichment week - Please see the parent calendar for a program of events. This has been provided by our PTFA using funds raised and it looks really exciting! Please provide your children with the following:

  • Monday - Years 1 and 2 need to bring in a pair of wellies as the zulus are doing gumboot dancing with them!

  • Tuesday - Years R,1 and 2 need to bring in food and a teddy for their picnic. Their food should come into school on a paper plate which is clingfilmed. Please name your child's plate of food to avoid confusion.

  • Thursday - All children need to be dressed as world war 2 evacuees. At the end of the day you will 'choose' your evacuee from the playground!

  • Friday - Teachers will audition in the classrooms over the course of the week  for 'St. Peter's has got talent' which will take place during the morning. Children chosen by their teachers to enter will need costumes and music on Friday. All children will need materials for 'Den day' such as sheets, boxes and tape. They will also need a £2 donation towards 'Save the Children' as this is a charity event.

• St. Peter's has got talent! - This fun event is scheduled for Friday 22nd June. Each teacher will be auditioning children who wish to take part next week and 3 acts from each class will perform in the show on Friday. A panel of judges will then choose the acts to perform in our 'Summer festival' on Wednesday 4th July.

Kind regards,

              Mrs. Helen White

Dear Parent or Guardian,

At long last our new build is finished and we have moved in! After half term the temporary office will become a teaching space again and Mrs. Mitchell will return to the old office which has been refurbished. The main entrance of the school will return to the front door and you will no longer be able to enter school via the ramp or through the Year 2 classroom. Children who are late for school need to report to Mr. Phillips who will be in Mrs. White’s old office. Thank you very much for the patience you have shown during the build - hopefully the phone and data lines will be re-directed over the holiday and we’ll be up and running!

As stated in a text sent out earlier today, one of our children has been in close contact with scarlet fever. This child is not currently showing symptoms but we have been advised to notify our parents. Please familiarise yourself with the symptoms which I believe are similar to a heavy cold.

Have a lovely half term holiday with your children and we’ll look forward to a pleasant few weeks to wrap up the school year. Teachers are already working hard to produce end of year reports which will be distributed in July. Please consult the website calendar for yearly events which have been scheduled for the end of the term.

Kind regards,

Mrs. Helen White (Head teacher)

Dear Parents,

At long last we've got better weather! The children have enjoyed playing on the field this week and there's been lot of outside learning going on in the afternoons. May I remind you to put sunblock on the children if hot weather is forecast and our school caps are available from our supplier.

There has been a mixture of summer/winter uniform this week but we would like to see all children in summer uniform on Monday. Please see the uniform page on our website for a list of suitable items. Many of the girls are wearing a culotte version of the summer dresses this week. We are happy for the girls who already have them to wear these but please don't buy new ones until you have further notification from us.  I am currently working with the governors to authorise this change in uniform and we are working with our suppliers who have been asked to match the quality and price provided by other retailers. If this change is authorised, I  would like all of the culotte dresses to be the same. Mrs. Mitchell is also working with the supplier regarding the new polo shirts as they are a slightly different colour. We'll contact you regarding both of these matters as soon as we have more information. 

Thank you for being so patient while our phone lines have been intermittent. The phone company are working hard to re-route the lines to the original office and they assure us that the work will be complete soon. Our new build is looking lovely inside and we are very excited about it! 

Our children are very involved with our growth mindset project and they should be able to tell you all about it. Please see the special page on our website for more information. This page is updated regularly and it outlines the work being done with your children. If you wish to know more about this and how you can help, please speak to Mrs. Coghlan who is leading the project in school. We really do feel that it is making a difference. 

Please remember to check the parent calendar on this site for diary dates - this is a very busy term! The end of year dates have all been added. 

Kind regards,

Helen White (Head teacher)

23rd March 2018

Dear Parents,

I am concerned that the weather is too cold for the children to return to school wearing summer uniform after Easter. I believe that more cold weather is forcast for next week. Therefore I would prefer that all the children return wearing winter uniform until the weather warms up. This has been the first time I have had to make this decision and I hope it doesn’t cause anyone problems.

Thank you for your ongoing support, especially with all of the disruption caused by the building work. The new build is two weeks behind schedule due to all the bad weather we have had. We are due to have the new build handed over to us during the May half term.

I hope you all have a happy Easter. The children return to school on Monday 9^th April.

Yours sincerely,

Helen White

A belated welcome back and happy new year!

Tuesday 30^th January 2018

Dear Parents,

I have decided to bring forward Parents’ Evenings this term and fit these in before we break up for half term. This will ensure that parents are given up to date information about their child’s progress so far this academic year. If there is any additional support which can be done at home, you will have this in time for the holiday. These meetings will be next week on Tuesday 6^th and Wednesday 7^th February. You are invited to come and look at your children’s books this week on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday after school to see their work and displays, and to book your Parent Evening appointment for the following week (this list will be available in the classroom).

The children (and staff) are coping very well with all the disruption caused by the building work, especially year two, who have so many more disturbances because of staff having to walk through their classroom. I know it will all be worth it in the end!

Please have a look on our website for information on ‘Growth Mindset’. We started this new approach to learning when we came back in January with the theme of perseverance. In February, we will be developing this further and moving on to our next topic of resilience. Please ask your children about their understanding of these positive attributes.

You will find all the diary dates for this term on this website.

Yours sincerely,

Helen White

(Headteacher)

Monday 18^th December 2017

Dear Parents,

Sadly, Mrs. Haddow’s dad died this weekend. Please keep her and her family in your prayers. Mrs. Haddow will not be returning to St. Peter’s next term due to family commitments. We are very sorry to be losing Mrs. Haddow, she has worked at St. Peter’s for ten years and has always been a valued member of our school community. Mrs. Pagliari will be joining us after Christmas as the year one Learning Support Assistant.

On Wednesday this week will be joined by the ‘Living Nativity’. This group should have been with us on Monday last week. We have been very fortunate that they have been able to fit us in again at such short notice. Wednesday will also be Toy Day. Children are allowed to bring in a toy, but they need to be responsible for their own belongings and I recommend that they do not bring in anything which is precious or fragile as school will not be held responsible for any toys which get lost or broken.

The children will return to school on Tuesday 9^th January 2018. I hope you all have a very merry and blessed Christmas. Christmas Mass will be at 6.30pm on Christmas Eve at Ss. Peter’s and Paul’s in Earl Shilton.

Yours sincerely,

Helen White

(Headteacher)

Friday 8^th December 2017

Dear Parents,

This week, I have completed the recruitment process to replace Mrs. Jenkins, who is moving to another school with promotion. Mrs. Woolman will be moving to teach year 2 after the Christmas holiday. She has previous experience of working with this age group and will be an asset in this Key Stage 1 class.

In year three, I have appointed two very experienced teachers who will work as job share partners. Mrs. Fincham will teach on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and Miss Loveitt will teach on Thursday and Friday and will be in school on Wednesday afternoon to work with Mrs. Fincham. The children have already met these two teachers but will only receive this news today, before they leave school. These two teachers will be in school next week to receive handover information from Mrs. Woolman.

Thank you for being so patient regarding the disruption with the playground and the new build. We are finding the start to the day, even though we are squashed into a small space, manageable. However, the end of the day is not as easy to manage. Staff are finding the process of making sure all children leave with an adult (unless we have permission for other arrangements), much more difficult.

In order to keep the children safe, from Monday 11^th December, KS 1 children will be dismissed as normal. KS 2 children (years 3,4,5 and 6) will need to be collected from the external classroom doors by their parents. Please be aware that once children have been handed over to you they become your responsibility even though they are still on the school premises. Mrs. Jenkins will open the gate at the side of the Reception playground to let parents through to the KS2 classrooms. Last time we had to do this (during the last build) we had children waving at their parents through the window and being distracted by the adults outside; please be mindful that this is valuable learning time for them.

Finally, on Thursday 14^th December, at 5pm, families are welcome to come and join us to sing carols outside the Coop in Earl Shilton. Staff will be singing too and Mr. Payne has agreed to play the keyboard. Every year we have done this it has been really good fun and any money raised has gone towards PTFA funds. Please wrap up warm. The children look great in their school uniforms for this event. Everyone is welcome!

Next week we will have the school productions. Rehearsals are going very well and I am sure you will enjoy these plays. Times and dates are on the calendar on the school website.

Yours sincerely,

Helen White

(Headteacher)

Friday 27^th October 2017

Dear Parents,

Harry Potter Week has been a great success. Thanks you to everyone who has been involved in preparing and delivering this to the children.

Parents’ Evenings are coming up. Next week (Monday –Friday) I would like to invite you to come into school at the end of the school day to look at your child’s work and their classroom. During this time you will be able to book your parents’ evening appointment for the following weeks Wednesday 8^th and 15^th November from 3.30-6.30pm. If you child attends after school club every day of the week, please feel free to ring the school and book your appointment.

Flu immunisation will happen on 23^rd November. Everyone who wants their child to receive this should have already returned their forms .

Regards

Helen White

Friday 13^th October 2017

Dear Parents,

School is closed for half term from Monday 16^th to Friday 20^th October. When the children return, they need to be wearing winter uniform please. Details of the winter uniform are on this website. Please can I remind you that hats, gloves and scarves need to be plain and in either black or navy. Girls may only wear boots under their trousers.

The lost property has been moved to the top playground, so that parents may access it more easily. If you look through this, please make sure you put clothing back into the bins when you have finished.

From next half term, I will be implementing changes made to the behaviour policy. If a child is given a red card, I will text the parent to inform them that this has happened, on the day of the incident. Red card letters will no longer be sent home. Children will be given a lunchtime detention on the day of the incident, or the following lunchtime if the incident happened in the afternoon. If a child has been given a red card they will not be allowed to attend any extracurricular activities which happen outside of the school day for that week.

There have been a couple of concerns from staff about children coming back into school at the end of the school day to collect items or use the toilet. When a child needs to return to their classroom or come back in to school for any reason, please bring them in and supervise them. Children and parents need to come through the main entrance after the children have been dismissed, as the classroom doors will be shut.

I would like to ask your help with packed lunches. At the moment, we expect children to eat their sandwiches before they start on the sweet things like cake or yoghurt. Some children have a huge amount of food in their packed lunches. Please could parents only put in food which they expect their child to eat at lunch. Please do not give them a selection of food to choose from, as this makes it difficult for us to work out what is expected of them and they miss valuable playtime. Any food which is not eaten will of course be sent home as usual. If infant children are not eating, they will be sent outside to get some playtime at 12:30, as by then they will have had between thirty-five and forty-five minutes of eating time (depending on which infant class they are in). Please continue to keep lunchboxes healthy.

Unfortunately, I still cannot tell you which children, from the choir, will be able to attend Young Voices. However if you would like to access the music and moves please go to www.youngvoices.co.uk Go into the children’s room and put in the code YVConcerts2018.

Fr Frank has invited any child who would like to be involved in Sunday Mass on Sunday 5^th November to meet with him at Ss Peter and Paul’s Church on Friday 3^rd November at 4pm. He will practise readings and prayers etc. with the children at that meeting.

Our building work is due to start in November. This should take about six months and will cause us a lot of disruption. I have been told that we will have to move out of all of our admin rooms. The top playground will be taken over entirely by construction. So, we will have to start using the other gate (at the corner of the EYFS/Reception building). The school office will be moved into the separate room in the EYFS block. I will give you more details of how the changes will be managed nearer the time.

I hope you all have an enjoyable half term break.

Yours sincerely,

Helen White (Headteacher)

Dear Parents,

On Friday 29th September, at 9am, we will be celebrating our Harvest Assembly. Each class will be taking part to thank God for the food we have. All parents are welcome to attend. Every year we ask each child to bring something for the harvest table. We are not having a Harvest Mass at church this year, as we have only just celebrated Education Sunday. This year the produce from the harvest assembly will be sold to parents after the assembly and the money raised will be sent to Hope House Orphanage in Nigeria. There is more information on this website about Hope House and why we are linked to it.

                                                       Yours sincerely

                                                                 Helen White

Friday 8^th September 2017

Dear Parents,

This will be the last weekly letter I will send home. I have received such positive feedback from parents regarding the new website; my letters will only be posted on the website from now onwards. I have managed to set up my phone to have our website linked to a screen icon which takes me straight into it; you would be able to do this too, for ease of access. I will of course keep sending out text messages to remind parents of events in school.

• Sadly, Friday 22nd September, will be the last day for Mrs. O’Brien at St. Peter’s. Mrs. O’Brien has worked at the school for six years and has supported many of your children in KS1. She is going to university to train as a speech and language therapist. I think she will be an amazing therapist, as she is so skilled and works very hard. Our loss will be their gain and I wish her well in her new venture.

• This Sunday, 10^th September, Education Sunday, school will be involved in Mass at Ss. Peter and Paul’s RC Church, Melton Street. Mass starts at 11.30am and everyone is welcome. Please be there by 11.20am at the latest, as this gives us the time to hand out readings etc. Children may wear their own clothes this time and do not have to be in school uniform.

• Next week, on Wednesday 13^th September, we will be having a parents’ evening so that parents can learn about their child’s new school year. Teachers will be sharing their expectations and informing parents about how they can support their child’s learning. It is very important that parents come along to these sessions; you will be given the opportunity to ask questions about the year ahead/homework/planned trips etc. The first session will start at 6pm and will be repeated at 6.30pm (for years 1-5). Parents who have children in year 6 will need to attend a session at 6.30pm; this is a longer session and will over run.

• Wednesday 13^th September is also Roald Dahl Day. The children are not dressing up this year; instead they will be involved in Roald Dahl activities throughout the school day.

• Please sign the ‘St. Peter’s Home School Agreement’, which is towards the front of the Boomerang Book if you haven’t already done so. There is also, the email and internet policy which needs signing and the media consent form, all at the front of the Boomerang Book (four signatures in total).

• I am still concerned about the safety of our children outside the school gates. The road is inevitably busy at the beginning and end of the school days. There are a number of ways we can help to keep our children safe: Firstly, the Baptist Church has kindly agreed that parents can park in their car park at the beginning and end of the school day. Please don’t stop on the zig zag yellow lines to drop children off. Please park considerately if you are not using the Baptist car park as we are still managing to upset the local residents by parking on the pavements and across their drives. Staff will not allow any children out of the gate unless they are accompanied by the adult who is collecting them. The only exception to this is if a prior agreement has been made between a parent and myself and I have written consent or if a parent has a dog and is waiting beside the gate to collect their child. Finally, it would be very helpful if children who have been collected don’t go in and out of the gate between parents and friends on the playground as this makes the job of monitoring children leaving the school more difficult for my staff. We do not qualify for a lollipop person.

• One of our pupils, George, has requested that we run a chess club on one of our lunchtimes. This is a lovely idea and in order to facilitate his request, I am asking if you have any chess sets which you could donate to school. Also, if any parents or grandparents would like to be involved in this club on a weekly basis it would be greatly appreciated. Please contact me if you can help.

Yours sincerely

Helen White (Headteacher)

Friday 1^st September 2017

Dear Parents

Welcome back.  It is lovely to have the children back safely; they are already working so hard and as usual the behaviour this week around the school has been superb. Also, welcome to all our new children too and all the new families who have joined St. Peter’s. I am sure your child will be very happy here during their years with us. The children look so smart in their school uniforms, I am so proud to be the Headteacher of this school. Thank you for all the kind words, gifts and cards which I received at the end of last term.

I hope you have had the time to look at the new school website. It is very easy to navigate and it looks so much better than our old one. The new website (same address) can be opened on tablets, phones and computers. Diary dates are all on the new website and therefore I will not include these in letters home.

Homework will change this term. ‘Bingo homework’ is being replaced with work which complements the work being done in the classroom. There is an expectation that all children will read every night. Supporting your child at home with reading/spellings/phonics is the best way to ensure that they reach the expected standard for their year group. The spellings and phonics will be relevant to your child’s needs. Sometimes spellings will be words which have been spelled incorrectly in their writing,  from the national curriculum list or they may be the common exception spellings (the ones which break the spelling rules), all relevant to your child’s needs. As well as this English homework, Maths homework will be set. This work will match the classroom work for your child. They will have been taught the skills but practising them will help to embed that knowledge.

Can I remind you all that payments for dinners, clubs and everything else is needed in advance and needs to be done via the school money website; there is a link from the school website to this address. Thank you for doing this for us, it helps to reduce the work in the school office.

There are still plenty of places in our breakfast club; there is more information on the school website. There is some availability for the afterschool club. Please contact the office if you would like to book your child into either of these clubs.

As usual I am available to parents informally on the playground in the mornings. Please make an appointment to see me if you need more time or privacy. Thank you for your ongoing support.

Yours sincerely

Helen White

(Headteacher)