Keep up to date with all the latest news happening in school at the moment.
Good morning KS1 & Reception
Unfortunately owing to current Covid 19 restrictions and school closure many pupils have missed out on the opportunity to learn to ride a bike training.
I am delighted to invite any non-riders to our free summer holiday sessions. We will be providing all the necessary equipment which will be cleaned by our team and parents will be asked to sanitise with our wipes before your child uses the equipment.
These sessions will be approximately 2 hours and parents must remain with their child to assist learning as our instructors will need to keep as socially distant as possible.
We are struggling to confirm the exact locations around the county, again owing to Covid restrictions only just being lifted. I need to ask you to follow either of these 2 links for a more up to date invitation:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/go-velo-holiday-sessions-20129268401 web page which has a link to all course for adults and children or https://www.govelo.co.uk/book-a-course/
There is no cost for any of this training. All instructors are First Aid qualified and are DBS (CRB) checked.
Good morning KS2
Unfortunately owing to current Covid 19 restrictions and school closure many (especially) Year 6 pupils have missed out on their Bikeability cycle training.
I am delighted to invite any Year 5, 6 or 7 pupils to our free summer holiday sessions. Level 1 & 2 will be delivered together with Level 1 first in the morning followed immediately by Level 2 which will run over 2 consecutive day after which on the 2nd afternoon Level 3 will be on offer to those wishing to advance.
Your own equipment will be required; we are not able to lend any equipment and cycle must be in working order. This year owing to Covid conditions we are not able to handle equipment.
We are struggling to confirm the exact locations around the county, again owing to Covid restrictions only just being lifted. I need to ask you to follow either of these 2 links for a more up to date invitation:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/go-velo-holiday-sessions-20129268401 web page which has a link to all course for adults and children or https://www.govelo.co.uk/book-a-course/
There is no cost for any of this training. All instructors are First Aid qualified and are DBS (CRB) checked.
1st July 2020
Dear Parent/Carer,
As you will know, we have desperately been trying to look into ways to bring our Year 6 pupils back before the end of term. We have found the logistics of this to be very challenging, since we only have half the space which we normally would have had, with already quite a number of pupils from critical worker families in the bubble classes.
However, due to the kindness from these parents, they have managed to find alternative arrangements for the last day of term, Monday, 20th July. This means that Mr Proctor, Mrs McLeod and Mr Hollinshead will be able to take two groups of up to 15 pupils for the last day, so that at some point they will at least all see each other and be able to ‘catch up’.
We are intending to invite the children into school using the church entrance and lining up at 2m intervals at 10am on the Monday morning. During the course of the day there will be a series of activities centred around their memories of St John with St Augustine’s, and an opportunity to share memories using online technology and to have a celebratory social distancing lunch. At the end of the day (2pm), it would also be nice if one family member came to make a parade of honour (2m distancing) and perhaps bring wooden spoons and a pan to cheer them through their journey from primary to secondary school.
Some of the activities we have planned so far are involving, letter writing to each other, video messages, handing out of hoodies, message balloons, music party lunch, a memory quiz and an end of day parade. If parents or our pupils also have some ideas which they would like us to consider then please email them to Mr Hollinshead. Any suggestions though would also have to adhere to the latest government guidance and therefore we cannot promise that these can go ahead.
The suggestions above are going to allow our children to have a wonderful last day and are intended to leave them with lasting memories. All our year 6 children are invited and we really hope that all of them will be able to make the last day! We have missed you all so much.
Year 6 last day:
Start 10am: Finish 2pm (lunch included).
School uniform (we thought that they might like to wear this on the last day!)
One family member to attend the parade at the end @ 2pm.
Yours sincerely,
M Proctor
Headteacher
15th June 2020
We have now uploaded our video messages onto the Welcome Screen (from Mr Proctor) and onto the Class Pages (from our class teachers).
For our new families who will be joining us in September we have uploaded video and Powerpoint Messages onto the Key Information Page.
New developments across Lancashire
As part of our risk assessment at the moment we will not be in a position to welcome back further pupils until the last week of term, where by we are hoping to bring back our Year 6 pupils. LCC have today announced that some schools in Lancashire will be in a position to do this if their risk assessment deems it safe to do so. This is unlikely to be the case for our school, since we still have the KS1 building out of operation until the end of July. If this situation changes we shall update the families this would effect.
M Proctor
8th June 2020
Dear Parents/Carers,
I understand that at the moment parents and children are deeply frustrated as to what is happening with schools, particularly when there is a differing outlook, not just around the country, but also around the north west too. As it currently stands, the R value in the north west of England is still above 1 which is worrying from a safety point of view. We want to reassure our parents that the message we give to you is as transparent as possible and aims to give you a clear understanding of which classes we are likely to be opening up to.
We are currently only open to pupils of Critical and Vulnerable families which have been identified by the school and we are gradually phasing in Bubble Classes over the course of the next few weeks. Our intention at the moment is to try to also bring back Year 6 in the last week week of term, but this is not guaranteed and will depend on the risk assessments taking place along with discussions with our Governors and school adviser.
There is an expected announcement from Lancashire today with advice to the majority of Lancashire schools, but our school operation at the moment is very different from most, since the KS1 building will be out of operation and will not be finished until the end of July.
Unless there is a statutory requirement for our school to receive more pupils or there is a relaxation from the DFE on social distancing, it is unlikely that the school will open up to more pupils other than Year 6 for the last week of term, by which time we would already have 5 Bubble Classrooms operating in school.
Following the LCC advice today and after speaking further with our Governors, I shall give you a further update on this situation.
Our Class teachers are now going to be placing a short video message each Friday on their website pages to make further contact with you all and let you know that we are missing you greatly and to offer a personal message to their classes.
Keep safe everyone.
M Proctor
Headteacher
Since the message above, we have received further updates from Lancashire which states:
"I am writing to let you know that our Director of Public Health has reviewed his guidance that schools should not welcome more pupils and has determined that it should not change.
Although the number of new cases has decreased, Lancashire and the North West has a high number of cases compared to many other regions in the country.
Similarly, although the weekly death count in Lancashire is showing a downward trend, a consistent decline is not being seen in all areas, and in recent weeks we have seen an increase. It has also been widely reported that the R value for the North West is above 1. "
28th May 2020
Dear Parent/Carer,
I hope that you and your families are safe and well. Thank you so much for all of your patience, understanding and co-operation whilst we have been trying to formulate our cautious plan for a possible phased return. As you will be aware Lancashire have now made a statement last night, which is advising schools in Lancashire not to reopen to more pupils from 1st June. This is because Lancashire does not meet all five of the government's tests which would allow pupils to return safely.
We will regularly review the situation and provide further information when it becomes available. As it stands, we will only be continuing to open to our 'Vulnerable' and Critical Worker families as we have done so since 20th March.
The safety and welfare of our whole school family is paramount within all aspects of our planning. Therefore, we have decided, in consultation with the governing body, that it is vital that we take very cautious, stringent, and vigilant steps to ensure the safest possible phased return to school.
Please note that there is the possibility that no further children return before the end of the summer term, unless the advice from Lancashire changes.
Once again, we wish to thank you for your continued support of school during these unprecedented times and realise that this is a very frustrating period for all our families. There is nothing better that we would like than to see all our children back in school. We miss you all.
Regards
M Proctor
Headteacher
Dear Parents and Guardians,
I hope that you and your families are safe and well. Thank you so much for all of your patience, understanding and co-operation whilst we have been trying to formulate our cautious plan for a possible phased return. As you will be aware Lancashire have now made a statement last night, which is advising schools in Lancashire not to reopen to more pupils from 1st June. This is because Lancashire does not meet all five of the government's test which would allow pupils to return safely.
We will regularly review the situation and provide further information when it becomes available. As it stands we will only be continuing to open to our 'Vulnerable' and Critical Worker families as we have done so since 20th March.
The safety and welfare of our whole school family is paramount within all aspects of our planning. Therefore, we have decided, in consultation with the governing body, that it is vital that we take very cautious, stringent, and vigilant steps to ensure the safest possible phased return to school.
Please note that there is the possibility that no further children return before the end of the summer term, unless the advice from Lancashire changes.
Once again, we wish to thank you for your continued support of school during these unprecedented times and realise that this is a very frustrating period for all our families. There is nothing better that we would like than to see all our children back in school. We miss you all.
Regards
M Proctor
Headteacher
Thursday 21st May 14:15pm
Key Message: Stay Alert, Control the Virus, Save Lives
Total number of pupils in school today = 8
Total number of staff = 4
(Miss Jackson, Mr Hargreaves, Miss Martin, Mrs Davis)
Wednesday 20th May 14:50pm
Key Message: Stay Alert, Control the Virus, Save Lives
Total number of pupils in school today = 8
Total number of staff = 5
(Miss Jackson, Mr Hargreaves, Miss Martin, Mrs Davis, Mrs Humphreys)