Children settling well into new year, some changes to collection times, being safe in school...
Newsletter 2- 2020/21
Thursday 17th September
Dear Parents/ Carers,
We should all feel very proud how the children of Tudor have settled in at school this term. In fact, it has been one of the most settled starts to a school year I can remember. There have been numerous comments from parents about how happy that they are to see their children return to school- when you see the fun that they have in class and on the playground it is easy to see why.
Our new Reception cohort have made a phenomenal start and the early years team are super excited about their potential. We were able to deliver a ‘socially distanced’ introductory meeting about how to support children at home- the partnership between home and school is obviously so vital. I shared the fact that, for the time that children are awake before the age of 16, only 19% of the time is spent in a classroom. The role of parents will always be the biggest factor in the life chances of our young learners and we always pledge to work with you in our support of them. Let’s all be TRULY ASPIRATIONAL for the children of Tudor- they deserve the BEST!
Check out the super work from our 'Toy Stories' theme-the children are LOVING it!
Adapting and refining our approaches- CHANGES to the end of the day.
As you know, we introduced an extended window for drop off/collection to allow easier movement around the site. Whilst it works well in the morning it has been less successful in the afternoon. This is because large numbers of parents are collecting the older children from their classes at the start of the 10 minute window at 3.05- this has resulted in MORE footfall on the site. From Monday 21st September, children in year 4, year 5 and year 6 will remain in classes until the normal finish time of 3.15. There can still be an early collection for children in Reception, Year 1, Year 2 and Year 3 from 3.10. With the additional exit points (including exit gate on the grass path near the storage garages and the exit gate on the Foundation stage playground), leaving the school should be a stress free experience! Gates will be opened no earlier than 3.08pm in the afternoon so please do not arrive before this time and only enter the site through the blue road gates. We continue to request that only one parent per family comes onto the site. To confirm:
Morning- all year groups to enter school between 8.45am and 9.05am (registers CLOSE at 9.05)
Afternoon- Reception. Year 1, Year 2, Year 3- collection between 3.10pm and 3.15pm.
Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6- children to leave classes at normal time (3.15pm)
We obviously encourage the older children to be more independent when leaving school but we continue to INSIST that the children come back into school if their parents have not met them at an agreed point. If a child has not been collected (because a parent is stuck in traffic/ running late), they are to be collected from the school office.
SRE Policy- delivering new expectations…
Back in May, the school shared our draft policy with parents for the new government expectations for the Sex and Relationships Policy on the school website. Comments and questions were received from parents and this remained ‘pinned’ as a key news item until the start of September. To provide parents with a further opportunity to look at the information of the new document, we will continue to share the document on the website until the end of September. We obviously want to clarify/ respond to individual enquiries and you are able to contact the school via the inco@ or admin@ emails. Further information is available at: http://www.tudor.herts.sch.uk/page/?title=PSHE%2C+Relationships+and+Sex+Education&pid=53
Flu Vaccinations
These will take place on Thursday 22nd October. You will also receive a separate letter giving you further information on the vaccinations for all children from Reception to Year 6. Whether you will opt in or opt out of the vaccinations, the form should be returned to school- please add your child’s NHS number to the form too. Thank you in advance.
Supporting the ‘Tudor Office Team’
The school reception/ office area is obviously a core part of the school. When using the school reception area, we request that only two family groups are using the area at any particular time. Please queue outside of the door until you are able to enter. Thanks in advance for your understanding. Please do use the website when finding out about school information though- we are very proud of it and it has everything that you need to know!
Finding out what is in store for your child…
We continue to share key information via the year group section on the school website. Do make sure you look at this because it will highlight some class/ year group information about how things are organised. It also provides examples of work as well as those news items that are year group specific. Don’t forget our school twitter page too. You don’t have to be a ‘follower’ to use it- just search https://twitter.com/TudorPrimaryHH and I’m sure you’ll enjoy the content that is on there. The Tudor Sport twitter page at https://twitter.com/TudorSport is also really impressive- Mr Higgins is always keen to share the positive impact of sport and activity!
EnergyKidz- socially distanced after school care!
Our after school care provider is back at Tudor. By using our large hall, the EnergyKidz team are able to deliver their high quality provision until 6pm each day. Booking of spaces can be made online at: https://www.energy-kidz.co.uk/breakfast-and-after-school-clubs/hemel-hempstead-tudor-primary-school/
Ensuring our (safety) standards remain HIGH!
It is clearly apparent that the health situation continues to influence our lives. Whilst we are unable to predict what is going to happen, I remain committed to Tudor being as safe as possible for all our young learners. As a parent and as a Headteacher, I do feel that we have got the balance about right at Tudor and I firmly believe that school is the right place for children to be at present. The impact of non- attendance on a child’s mental health and wellbeing would be of a far greater risk and I am keen to work with all of you to ensure that your children’s needs are being met. Our year bubbles remain consistent and we have a full risk assessment in place with clear expectations that we have a duty to meet. If we are faced with a partial/ full school closure again at any point in the future I know that the teaching team would continue to exceed expectations…
Do make sure you are aware of the guidance that schools must follow/ implement if your child shows symptoms. Key things to recognise includes that a high temperature is defined as one above 37.8 degrees. Here is a link to the latest guidance which remains prominent on our website:
http://www.tudor.herts.sch.uk/news/?pid=3&nid=1&storyid=1102
Children should be in school and I trust our actions as a school demonstrate that we put the safety and wellbeing of your children FIRST. Whatever the situation, that will always be our KEY consideration. If you want to seek clarification/ further information (on anything!) I pledge that school leaders will continue to be visible and accessible. Let’s all aspire for Tudor Primary to be the best school around…
Mr Rob Weightman/ Headteacher