Newsletter 10 or Remote Learning Edition no.2:

Thursday 14th January 2021 

Dear Parents/ Carers,

Welcome to our second newsletter of 2021. It has not been long since our last one but we are keen to further enhance our communication between home and school during this period of school closure. We want you to know that we remain WITH YOU and available for any advice or support during this period of remote learning.

Well done Tudorites!

The teaching team have been delighted with the overall response so far. As you have been informed, each classteacher has been removed from any class cover in school during this period so that they remain fully able to engage with all the children in their class. Each year group will be setting interactive lessons that have been fully ‘Tudorised’ so that they support learning for all children as well as meet those areas of learning and development that are so vital to your children. As the vast majority of you are experiencing, the more your child interacts with school, the more that they will gain from our approach.

Our core offer of daily interactive learning support has been further supplemented with the provision once again of high quality pre-printed materials for children in Reception, Year 1, Year 2 and Year 6. The learning packs have had great feedback as they can provide further help and guidance to revise and extend different areas of learning. Whilst we have not provided packs for all children in year 3, year 4 and year 5, do contact the school if you would like some to be ordered for your child. As we have always said, if there is anything you need, just ask and we will try to help as much as we can.

The interactive lessons have really inspired the children. It has been pleasing to see that recent Ofsted guidance on high quality remote learning appears to match our approach very closely. By using interactive lessons that can be paused, revisited and delivered at the speed of the child’s choice, the outcomes will be much improved. Remember that the teachers will be on hand to provide that individualised and bespoke feedback too- the children need to know that there really will be response to their efforts!

The learning that the children are presented with is also further supplemented with a super menu of additional activities to keep your family supported. As well as The ‘Hemel Joe Wicks’ (that’s Mr Higgins!) and other lessons/ assemblies/ challenges/ support materials set by the wider staff team (not year group specific), we really believe that the children of Tudor Primary get a great deal. Check out the School Provision for Spring 2021 section of the website- it shares the impact of our approach. We DO want to set the highest standatrds. The next announcement further evidences the TRUE TUDOR commitment we have to the community in which we are all part of- we hope you like it…

Something we are very proud of (and excited about)…

Following feedback from the school community during the last lockdown (as well as using our own experience!), we are very aware of the additional pressures that parents and carers are under during times of school closure. There is also a lot of evidence that this colder, wintery period is more challenging due to the fact that gardens/ open spaces are not as accessible- the impact on our wellbeing can be extreme. It is not an exaggeration to say that teaching one child (or more) of your own at home feels more difficult than teaching 30 (unrelated!) children in a classroom. So what can Tudor do to help? We really hope the following is of interest… and helps!

To provide additional support and advice to parents and carers in the delivery of home learning, we are proud to be one of the first schools nationally to offer free, high quality materials that parents can access in the form of guided online learning. Alongside a high quality provider https://www.guideeducation.co.uk/ you can access the support materials using the free resources option. I am wary of using words like ‘training’ or ‘course’ as I know that Tudor have the best parent community already- it’s just about making things easier or being able to consider different approaches. I am in close contact with the course designer and the company is keen for feedback too. It is COMPLETELY free and there will be no related marketing material. There is some super content and it is very easy to access and use- to complete it in full would only take a couple of hours in total- as a parent myself I can assure you that the content is really useful. You may just want to dip in and out of different sections. Even if you just take one thing from it then surely it would be time well spent! Feel confident to have a go. Here is a snapshot of some of the content:

https://www.guideeducation.co.uk/parentsupport

Be assured that such offers of support will not (in any way!) replace our personal commitment to you. From class emails, ease of contact with the office team, our dedicated pastoral team, home deliveries, phone calls and more, #TeamTudor will continue to be highly accessible to you all.

INCLUSION at Tudor- a message from Miss Reading, our Inclusion Lead:

I am organising a virtual coffee morning; ALL parents and carers are welcome. You may want to use this opportunity to share advice and tips about how you are surviving lockdown and managing home-schooling, or just to see some familiar, friendly faces during this time. If you would like to join Tudor's first ever virtual coffee morning on Tuesday 26th January at 9.30am, please do contact me via email me at: inco@tudor.herts.sch.uk or phone the school office and I will send you the link, it would be great to see you! Please do have a look at the 'SEND/Family Support Links' section of the website as I have recently added several leaflets, giving details about online courses for parents which cover a range of topics. You will also find the latest newsletter from DSPL8, which provides links to useful resources and information to help support your child with their home learning. Stay safe- I hope to see many of you on the 26th Jan!

We look forward to seeing you all again soon. Stay safe and stay #TeamTudor.

Mr Weightman                      #TeamTudor