Monday 20th April- Update-

WELL DONE!

What a super start!

Over 95% of learning packs have found their way to families and, after some initial analysis of engagement today, the learning platforms are proving effective and efficient to help children engage with their teachers and classmates. In fact, some classes are nearly at 100% already in respect of children signing up and being able to benefit from the online resources. Members of the school leadership team continue to seek ways to further enhance the experience for children and families and we remain available to offer support and advice- we really are here to help.

For children in key stage 2, the only issue we seem to be experiencing at present is that a few children are trying to log on using their OWN google emails (they may have created these already for YOUTube, etc) so do make sure you remind your children to use their school username and passwords. 

Here's an online video to help with GoogleClassroom too- we are happy to create more of these and we can also help on the phone and/ or by email:

https://www.loom.com/share/faf0d65656e946ab93b70c9e5b04f8a2

Seesaw has started brilliantly for Key Stage 1 and we are sure that this will also prove very popular.

Here are some 'Tudor-made' help videos from our website for SeeSaw- you may recognise the famous face ;)

http://www.tudor.herts.sch.uk/page/?title=Year+2&pid=32

We will continue to seek feedback from parents and some comments this morning related to parents feeling a little overwhelmed with what Tudor is offering. Please do recognise that we are all learning at the moment and we would rather be 'over-prepared' than feeling that we are not providing enough for children. Do not feel pressured to do everything- we obviously want children to be supported and engaged but we recognise that these new approaches will take a bit of getting used to. We remain confident, though, that Tudor Primary will prove to you that we are truly committed to helping your children progress academically whilst feeling a part of a school that cares. A sense of partnership and belonging is what school is really about and your children are sure to enjoy being able to share work and see what their classmates are achieving too...

We hope that children are valuing the books that we have given them and we obviously encourage them to maintain the standards of presentation that they are used to in school. We are proud of our 'Tudor standards' and we know that they all have the ability to maintain this quality.

Once again, well done everyone and thanks again for all the kind messages that the teaching team of Tudor are receiving.

 

Friday 17th April

These last two weeks have certainly been very busy in school. Whilst we would usually be taking things a little easier during the 2 week break, the school has been planning for the next period of Home Learning. This is likely to be a sustained period and no one is actually able to speculate with any confidence how long it will last. What we have been able to do is select what we feel are the best ways to support the families in our school community. This news update will explain a little more about what to expect. Please be assured that we are really confident in giving the children of Tudor a great deal whilst having a clear understanding of what parents and families require in being able to deliver these expectations in the home.

We have been actively seeking the views of parents and, whilst it has cost the school a great deal of financial investment, the use of pre printed materials alongside easy to use methods of communication will mean that all the children have good opportunities going forward to sustain their progress and feel highly involved in the learning process. The interaction from children has been really pleasing and we look forward to enhancing that during the summer term. Whilst some schools are providing printable materials, it must be recognised that not all families have printers and analysis led us to predict that 80% of our children would be disadvantaged if we focussed on such an approach.

In the Early Years, the use of 'Tapestry' continues to get superb feedback and the parents have proved themselves to be rather expert at using this online portal for Early Years education. Accessible on nearly any device, it really allows those early learning strategies to be supported. The substantial phonics packs that are available for collection will help revise, consolidate and extend their phonics understanding too. 

In Key Stage 1 (Years 1 and 2), the parents appeared to be thrilled yesterday with what they were able to collect from school. We have purchased a vast range of printed books for each child including maths, english, grammar, science support. As well as extra pens/ pencils/ paper, the packs are presented in a colourful box file to help the child feel that they can have their own little Tudor space at home. SEESAW is the online portal which is highly recommended- especially for helping the online interaction/ dialogue for younger learners. Again, it is accessible on all devices and feedback tells us that more children of this age are more likely to have tablet technology- perfect for use of SEESAW. In fact, it was pleasing to hear that a number of parents have already used the clear (pupil specific) guidance that accompanied the packs. We really have made it so personal for each child- the QR codes that each individual child receives makes it a simple process. Don't forget, though, that we are still alongside you all so do contact us if you would like further help.

In KS2, purchase of their own special home learning exercise books alongside (huge) investment in their own textbooks for maths (Y3-5) will mean that families are not reliant on creating their own resources. (PLEASE DO RETURN THESE TEXTBOOKS AT THE END.) Mr Crowder, our maths lead, is also planning to ensure that each year group in key stage 2 will be having similar maths foci. Therefore, if a parent is helping one child in year 5 with multiplication, the year 3 sibling will also have the same topic of study (but just at a different level). The maths text books also have 3 levels of challenge for each 'lesson'- the children should feel really confident to have a go. When they use their special exercise books, DO expect the children to organise and present their work just like they would at school- we want them to feel as much a part of Tudor that they always feel. GOOGLE CLASSROOM is our learning platform for KS2. It has more capability than SEESAW and is a perfect 'step up' for our older children. It is highly intuitive with other programs too so sharing work,etc is easy. Once again, families have differing operating systems on computers at home and we are committed to ensure an equity of accessibility.

The last point here is vital and we are determined to give EVERY child (and family) the best deal in these difficult times. We continue to offer a range of additional supports that different families and different situations require. Not once has a member of the Tudor staff questioned being asked to go that 'extra mile' and I feel extremely confident in the ability of our teaching team to support EVERY child in the next few weeks/ months. Over 300 care packages have been given to vulnerable people in the local area and it is quite apparent that 'Tudor' continues to have a reputation as a school that truly cares for the community (and further afield)...

We are all #TeamTudor and I would like to thank the vast majority of parents who are working WITH the school. Feedback overall has been amazing and the comments/ letters/ emails show that you value what we are doing at the moment. 

To any of those final families who have not collected their learning packs, do come and collect them or contact the school to arrange other means of delivery. Once again, we have a 'social distancing friendly' service operating at the front of the school. Miss Adams, our new teacher in Red Class will be there alongside Mrs Pamplin and other friendly faces of the Tudor team. Whilst we cannot shake hands or 'High 5' we can all say hello from a safe distance. In many ways, parents and children enjoyed this as much as receiving learning packs and chocolate treats yesterday... and rightly so!

Have a great weekend everyone.

Summer term starts on Monday. It can still be a GREAT one ;) 

#TeamTudor