Newsletter 17- 12th June

Dear Parents/ Carers and CHILDREN of Tudor Primary,

Once again, I hope all members of our Tudor community are safe and well. We are now two weeks into our final half term of the academic year and it has been great to see such high percentages of children return to our school. In fact, we are exceeding national statistics in regard to the numbers of children who are choosing to return and feedback shows that parents have been happy with our efforts to make the return as safe and as effective as possible. Within our plans and approach we have been honest in that it is not as simple as saying if a situation is either safe or unsafe, it is about doing ALL that we can to ensure that risks are minimised and the wellbeing of children is at the forefront of our minds. We are certainly fortunate to have a large and open school site and, in this instance, having multiple buildings is an advantage. Children are able to access and leave a classroom without use of shared corridors. In fact, even though we have high numbers of children, I still have to do a number of tours of the school to remind myself that the children have returned- without using the internal communal areas, it remains a quiet school. Children are clearly finding the atmosphere supportive in helping them settle.

To provide some additional information, 65-70% of children have returned to in-school provision and we are maintaining high levels of bespoke interaction with our young learners at home. Whilst it is pleasing to receive a huge amount of positive communication about how Tudor is responding as a school, it has been rather disappointing to be informed about some ill- informed comments that have been made about some of the staff team’s efforts on social media. Please be assured that the COMPLETE team at Tudor remains engaged with the children and ALL have shown high levels of commitment to the children. In fact, it is fair to say that I have insisted that some of them reduce their own expectations that they place on themselves. All in our teaching team remain available and accessible to respond to any concerns/ issues that you may have. Whenever they have seen the need, they have been highly proactive in ‘going that extra mile’ and visits to homes/ sharing of additional support strategies are commonplace. Please do recognise that if you do want something extra from us and/ or you want our help don’t hesitate to contact us. An email or phonecall to the school is the better option rather than a comment on facebook or whatsapp. Please do think before you post. In many ways, it is a shame that I am unable to offer tours of the school at present- I believe all would be extremely impressed at the lengths that #TeamTudor will go to for your children.    

From Monday 22^nd June- Year 2 and Year 5 to return as next stage of phased reopening

The next stage of our phased return to school will now be for children in year 2 and year 5. As shared above, our blended offer of 2 days of learning in school and 3 days of home learning activities has been well received so far. Numbers continue to increase and this approach that we have formulated means that there are no limits on the number of year groups that could return. Whilst we are guided by government directives, we do aim to offer EVERY child some time in school before the end of the year. Each learning space has a significantly reduced number of children and even though we remain unable to guarantee consistent 2m social distancing for children our classrooms remain inviting.

Do refer to the information below for which 2 days your child is able to come to school. Please understand that not all classes have an equal ‘spread’ of surnames. Those families that have children in different year groups who may ‘need’ to come in on different days will be contacted by the office. We will not be able to meet requests from parents to adjust their allocated days. Additional information remains on our website.

Class                            Cohort 1 Surnames                              Cohort 2 Surnames

2Q                                A- K = Monday/ Tuesday                     L-Z= Wednesday/ Thursday

2R                                A-Ma= Monday/Tuesday                     Mo-Z- Wednesday/ Thursday

5W                               A- L= Monday/ Tuesday                      M-Z= Wednesday/ Thursday

5X                                A-M=    Monday/ Tuesday                   N-Z= Wednesday/ Thursday

2 days of in-school provision will be supplemented with additional home learning.

Children in the final remaining year groups (Year 3 and Year 4) can still expect the high quality of the Tudor Home Leaning that they have been engaging with so far. However, due to the fact that teachers will be teaching classes in school (in their own year groups or our high number of key worker children), we will be unable to sustain the amount of personalised interaction and bespoke support. For example, whilst Miss Grundy may be teaching a key worker group, Miss Sentance will be managing the home learning for ALL of year 4. This reduced capacity will mean that feedback will not be as detailed but please be assured the activities and opportunities will remain Tudor-tastic!

Key Worker Children- helping our community

From June 22^nd, we will continue to be open to key worker children and those that meet those criteria as set by government. If your child is in one of the year groups that is reopening your child will attend school in their year group (on the set days) but you will STILL be able to access key worker support on the other days. We are unable to meet further applications at present for this provision but, if required, do contact the school and we will continue to monitor the capacity and reallocate when we are able to.

Important- we must maintain our standards as more children return to school

I am sure many of you have seen how the responses of people and their differing perceptions to danger have changed over the past few months. As we become more ‘comfortable’ in these times, there is the potential for us to lower our expectations. Please do ensure that you read the guidance that we have for Tudor Primary on our website. For example, please do not hang around the playground/ front of school at drop off or collection. I know this sounds rather cold to read but this will help us get children into their classrooms quickly and effectively. Please do not arrive before 8.45am as children and parents are more likely to interact with each other if you have to wait for doors to open. School will obviously become busier with each returning child and we must keep our Tudor standards high.

As this newsletter has highlighted, we have been thrilled with the feedback from the vast majority of parents. There is little doubt that with each passing day, home schooling and engagement of children becomes more difficult. After all, the timetables and rotas that were drawn up back in March and April are rather old now! Until the day when all returns to normal, we pledge to do all that we can. Keep that partnership going- we are stronger together!

Stay safe everybody- and stay #TeamTudor!     

Mr Weightman