Some information that may help your decision...
We have been delighted with the (overall) number of families that have decided to send their children back to school.
Our own offer of provision is assisted by the fact that we have a large and open school site and all classrooms have their own access. Some parents have asked for further information how we are organising the day. Here is one of our responses to an email- I hope the information is helpful if you are unsure about sending your child to school:
(COPY OF EMAIL SENT TO A FAMILY TODAY)
Thank you for your email.
Both ***** and ***** are more than welcome to attend school – their places are available for them whenever they need/want them. We would just need a couple of days’ notice to double check the seating arrangements but no more than that.
An important consideration is that, as the DfE advice states, primary aged children cannot be expected to remain 2m apart. We will aim to ensure our school expects (and implements) high standards of care and safety but we obviously cannot guarantee that children will remain socially distant from each other. In the classrooms desks are positioned with social distancing in mind, and lunch time seating is outdoors, sat far enough apart to allow for social distancing, whilst still remaining “social” with the others in their group. Hand washing throughout the day is mandatory, particularly when entering the building from an outdoor activity. All lunch and breaktimes have been adapted, ensuring that the younger part of the school has first break and lunchtime, whilst the older children remain in lessons, then the older children come out when the younger ones are back in doors. This, along with minimal equipment outdoors, means that distancing at play remains fully achievable.
I have spoken to both the teachers from your children’s classes; and other teachers around the school regarding your second point of the children’s mental/emotional state. Without exception, every teacher has told me how happy the children are being back at school, being able to chat to friends, run about our large field in PE with Mr Higgins, and generally have that learning experience in an environment that gives them a change from home. We have had new year groups back in today (Y2 and Y5) who have said that it has been the best day of lockdown so far! Children naturally want to run about and see friends, and are usually reasonably adaptable, and I can honestly say that it has been beneficial for all so far, including my own two children who have both returned for 2 days a week. I appreciate that not all children are the same; so if ***** or ***** return and are finding things tough, then please contact the school to discuss – at the end of the day it is still very much a choice to send your children in, so you can currently reverse any decision, and keep them back at home again if you feel it would be best; but please do keep in contact throughout.
Regarding lunches, packed lunches are very much allowed – I think our website message was a bit misleading. No UNNECESSARY bags are allowed in the school, however a packed lunch would definitely be classed as necessary, as would a water bottle. However FYI, the lunches are as follows:
Week 1: (w/c 15 June, 29 June & 13 July)
Monday = Cheese and Tuna packed lunch
Tuesday = Burger, Veggie Burger, Cheese packed lunch
Wednesday = Burger, Veggie Burger, Cheese packed lunch
Thursday = Ham, Cheese and Tuna packed lunch
Friday = Ham, Cheese, Tuna packed lunch
Week 2: (w/c 22 June & 6 July)
Monday = Cheese and Tuna packed lunch
Tuesday = Quorn hot dog, Ham packed lunch
Wednesday = Quorn hot dog, Ham packed lunch
Thursday = Ham, Cheese and Tuna packed lunch
Friday = Ham, Cheese, Tuna packed lunch
Once school is over I will ask the teachers if they can take some photos/videos of both the classes and upload to Seesaw so that you can see the layouts etc.
Hopefully this is of use; but please do continue to ask any questions that you have, we are happy to help. ***** and *****, along with yourselves are also welcome to pop in during school hours to see the school whilst it is open if it would help – if so just let us know and I will arrange with one of our school leadership team for a convenient time.
I trust the above shares our commitment in supporting all the children at Tudor Primary. The feedback so far for our school returners has been super. As well as LOTS of smiles, it's great to hear comments like, 'Today was AWESOME', from children when they are being collected.
Do also look at our school twitter feed. This has a lot of current (and updated) information about how our school is responding in these 'different times': https://twitter.com/TudorPrimaryHH
We will continue to do all we can for EVERY child at Tudor.
And we will try to make each new day better than the one before...