What an amazing week it has been! We are delighted with the way the children have settled in to our daily routines, and how they have been completing great work and engaging with friends and staff again. We are so thankful for your support during this time, and we are proud of how you trust us with your children.

Collection and Drop Off

Thank you for your patience this week as we learn a new system for collection at the end of the day. Our priority is the safety of every child, and this system is working to improve that safety.

At home time, we will continue with the one-way system for those collecting children as this maximizes safety for all our pupils.

Actions from our review:

• We need to leave a gap for pupils leaving and adults arriving. We have very narrow gates and sometimes you will need to wait for other children to exit. We aim to bring everyone out as safely as we can, as this is our priority.
• Matting for the grass has been ordered but has yet to arrive. Please continue to be careful walking on the grass.
• Children who walk home on their own, especially from the main gate. Although Mr. Bailey and I are often out on duty, we cannot guarantee an adult will be there to meet them. Therefore, when deciding that your child walks home on their own please ensure they know where to go, what to do, and can do it safely. Year 5s who walk on their own may come out slightly before 2:35pm, as we will bring them out as soon as the road is clear.
• Bad Weather– if it is torrential rain, wind, snow etc. we will bring the children out just before collection is due. Currently we are coming out earlier at 2:25 to rehearse the routine. If the weather is bad, we will come out just before the designated time. Please make sure you arrive on time to collect them and that your child has a coat.
• Covid rates in Telford and our local area are still high. When this decreases, we will look to review our procedures again.

Finally, it is lovely to welcome parents through our gates again. I can’t believe it has been nearly a year that we last saw you all on site!

RED NOSE DAY

We will be fundraising and taking part in Red Nose Day this year on Friday, March 19th. All children are invited to come in ‘mufti’ (own clothes)- red items if possible. We cannot accept cash so please donate each pupil’s 50p contribution directly to our parent pay site or to the Red Nose Campaign. Please also note we cannot allow the wearing of the foam red noses, as when they are taken off they pose infection risks. https://app.parentpay.com/ParentPayShop/Foc/Default.aspx?shopid=2885

World Book Day Friday 26th March

We will be celebrating World Book Day in our school on 26th March (please note this is later than advertised and different from other schools). On that Friday, pupils are invited to come in dressed as their favourite book character. There is no pressure to buy special costumes as we welcome creativity and imagination. We have been waiting to make this annual event special and we will put on special reading events in school throughout the day.

Parents/ Carers Evening and progress reports.

Family SeeSaw is the primary place for you to regularly see what your child is learning and how they are making progress. We are unique in that parents can read and comment on their child’s work directly using this app. Over 95% of our families are linked in to SeeSaw. If you are not, we will resend the code to your Parent Pay email address or telephone number- please follow the link.

Before Easter, we will send out a brief progress report detailing your child’s areas of strength, progress made so far and their learning targets for the Summer term. This will help you support your child further. As part of this progress report there will also be an opportunity to book a 5-minute telephone meeting with your class teacher. We will let you know how to book a time slot nearer the time. During the recent lockdown, we know many of you found regular phone calls between you and staff useful, certainly as on-site face-to-face meetings are not allowed.

Holy Week 2021

We are disappointed we will not be able to present our traditional Easter production this year. Nevertheless, all children will be reading and rewriting the story of the Three Trees. This story links with the Christian stories of Jesus’s life and death on a cross. Look out for their creative writing on SeeSaw. As a Church School, this is a very important time for us to celebrate and we will be exploring more of the Holy Week and Easter story in classes during the last week of term.

Pastoral Support

If you need any support with establishing home routines, such as sleep, eating, or behaviour, please contact us. We can signpost you to courses, resources and offer professional advice.

In continued hope, perseverance and friendship,

Mr Fox and TEAM Donnington