Keep up to date with all the latest news happening in school at the moment.
Tuesday 19th May 15:55pm
Key Message: Stay Alert, Control the Virus, Save Lives
Total number of pupils in school today = 7
Total number of staff = 4
(Miss Jackson, Mr Hargreaves, Miss Martin, Mrs Davis)
Today's activities:
Go Noodle!
Building a circus tent
Colouring
Circus masks
Just Dance!
Monday 18th May 10:55am
Key Message: Stay Alert, Control the Virus, Save Lives
Total number of pupils in school today = 9
Total number of staff = 5
(Miss Jackson, Mr Hargreaves, Miss Martin, Mrs Davis, Mrs Humphreys)
Activities today:
Photos will be added to the gallery each day.
Friday 15th May 2020
Important announcement regarding pupils’ possible return to school
Firstly, thank you for letting our school know of your feelings on a possible return to school from 1st June following the Government’s announcement on Sunday evening. Children from Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 are now being given the choice of returning to school from this date, but only if it is safe and feasible to do so, since every school context is different. The information which you have kindly provided us with has allowed our school leadership team, staff and governors the time to try to carry out risk assessments and look at various options to see whether it is going to be possible for our school to reopen in some capacity for these children, but at the same time ensure that it is safe to do so. The safety of our children, staff and everyone’s family are of paramount importance and this will be the first and foremost decider on whether our school is able to open for these pupils and if so to what extent.
I know many of you have already expressed serious concern over the safety of reopening and how it is going to be possible for primary school children (especially the Reception children) to socially distance and the emotional effect this could potentially have on them. The teaching and learning taking place in classes would not be formal and rigorous as would typically be the case and teachers and teaching assistants would also have to adhere to the social distancing rule of 2m. The typical day, should we reopen, will be very different for our children in order to protect them and the people they come into contact with. Advice we are receiving has been gradual and progressive since the announcement, with all schools having no notice prior to the announcement of what safety measures are being advised. Therefore, your help in giving us this early information at least gives us an initial starting point to risk assess and determine the nature of a possible return.
In addition to the Reception Class, Year 1 and Year 6 pupils, the Government has expressed that critical worker children are also eligible to take up the school’s provision which has been the case since 20th March. There is also the expectation now that all vulnerable pupils attend school, unless it is not safe or appropriate to do so. These children of course, also add to the risk element within school since pupil numbers will be ever increasing and with the Key Stage 1 building out of operation until possibly September, space will be at a premium if we are to ensure everyone keeps to the 2m social distancing rule.
During the course of the next few days, the staff and Governors of the school will be working on the safest model we can put into practice and we are hoping to outline the risk assessment and plan (should the school reopen) by 3pm next Friday, in order for parents to have time to think things through themselves. The ultimate choice will lie with parents and we will support any decision you come to. The Government has already stipulated that parents will not be penalised for non-attendance. We of course are very much missing our children hugely, but at the same time need to keep them and everyone safe.
Please continue to view the school website daily, since we are putting the latest updates on there as more information from the DFE and Lancashire come through.
Please keep safe and take care everyone. You are in our thoughts and prayers constantly.
Yours sincerely
M Proctor
14th May 2020
For children in Year 2,3,4,5 including critical workers and vulnerable children
Dear Parent/Guardian,
I write to you to provide a further update following the Prime Minister’s announcement on Sunday evening, stating that primary school children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 can return back to school from the 1st June 2020 if it is feasible. Firstly, I would like to thank you all for your patience and understanding.
On behalf of all the staff and governors, I wish to express that even though your child’s year group is not yet returning to school from the 1st June 2020, you are all very much in our thoughts and prayers. Staff will continue to provide home learning and support throughout the coming weeks via the school website and using Google Classroom. As stated by the government, “Our ambition is to bring all primary year groups back to school before the summer holidays for a month if feasible…”
As soon as we learn more details and are in a position to plan further steps, we will inform you immediately.
Over the recent months school has been open for the children of ‘critical keyworkers’ and this provision will remain in place until further notice. We kindly ask that if you still require this emergency care you continue to inform us of your requirements by email as you have been doing to: head@st-john-augustine.lancs.sch.uk ,by ringing the school office or telling a member of staff who has been looking after your child.
It is of vital importance that we know this information in order to make safe, accurate and robust plans for school from the 1st of June 2020 onwards. Therefore, we thank you in anticipation of your prompt reply.
There is a continuing expectation that vulnerable children of all year groups will attend school, where it is safe and appropriate for them to do so.
Once again, I ask you for your patience as the information and guidance may well change as time progresses. Please note that Government wording includes phrases such as “if feasible”, “if possible”, and “conditional review”.
Thank you for all your support and understanding at this very difficult and challenging time. We hope that you and your family /friends are all safe and well.
Yours sincerely
M Proctor
13th May 2020
Children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 6
Dear Parent/Guardian
I write to you following the Prime Minister’s announcement on Sunday evening, stating that primary school children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 can return back to school from the 1st June 2020. Firstly, I would like to thank you for your patience and understanding whilst waiting for information from school. As a school we have had to wait for government and local authority guidance in order to plan our way forward. Information is still being sent to school and we anticipate that this will continue for the next few weeks. I therefore, once again ask you for your patience as the information and guidance may well change as time progresses. Please note that government wording includes phrases such as “if feasible”, “is possible”, and “conditional review”.
It is with this in mind that we will continue our difficult task of planning our next steps. In order to do this, we request that as parents you inform school of your intentions to send your child/children back to school from 1st June 2020. Government guidance states that “children and young people in eligible year groups are strongly encouraged to attend.” In addition, the government information states that “there is a continuing expectation that vulnerable children and young people of all year groups will attend educational or childcare provision, where it is safe and appropriate for them to do so.” We completely understand parents’ concerns/reservations and differing views on this matter.
It is important to state that safety is our number one primary concern and all safety measures recommended by the government will be put stringently into place at school. In following the government guidelines, ‘where we can keep children in small groups 2m away from each other we will do so.’ This will mean that there will be a limited number of places within each classroom and the dining hall. Therefore, it is paramount for risk assessing and planning purposes that we now determine how many children will be returning to school so that a comprehensive weekly plan can be formulated.
We thoroughly appreciate that this is short notice but as a matter of urgency please can all parents of the eligible year groups, those parents of vulnerable pupils and those with an EHC plan to email school to inform us if it is your intention for your child to return or not, it is imperative that we receive a reply from all parents/carers. There is a continuing expectation that vulnerable children of all year groups will attend school, where it is safe and appropriate for them to do so.
Please email: head@st-john-augustine.lancs.sch.uk or telephone school on 01254 392717
.
We are asking that these replies are sent to school by 12pm Thursday 14th May 2020.
Once we have collated all responses we will then use this to risk assess and put a carefully considered plan into place before providing you with further information.
Further information for parents can be found at:
We once again thank you for all your support and understanding at this very difficult and challenging time. We hope that you and your family /friends are all safe and well.
Mr M Proctor
Wednesday 13th May 9:49am
Key Message: Stay Alert, Control the Virus, Save Lives
Total number of pupils in school today = 8
Total number of staff = 5
(Mr Proctor, Mr Hollinshead, Miss Middleton, Mrs Halliwell, Miss Mortimer)
Reception, Year 1, Year 6 Pupils:
We are currently working on a risk assessment in school to see whether we can safely allow a number of pupils back into school from 1st June onwards. Decisions on how many children we are able to allow back in school from this date will be taken by the school and will be based on how we can keep children of primary school aged children and their families safe. Please keep up to date with this website page and text messages over the course of the next few days as clear updates will be given, once the school has determined the safest course of action. I appreciate your patience on this matter, and I do also completely understand the many concerns many of you are expressing.
M Proctor
Monday 11th May 2:41pm
Key Message: Stay Alert, Control the Virus, Save Lives
Total number of pupils in school today = 7
Total number of staff = 5
(Mr Proctor, Mr Hollinshead, Miss Middleton, Mrs Halliwell, Miss Mortimer)
I know that many of you will be thinking and reflecting on the Prime Minister's announcement last night and wondering how this may affect schools on 1st of June.
All I will say at this stage is that there are a lot of conditions that will have to be met before our school is able to accept pupils from these classes from June 1st as the Government hopes. At this stage as there are a lot of variables and things to consider – not least of which that we haven’t actually seen the detail yet of the Government's plan. We do however know that the proposed date of 1st June for at least some Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 pupils is a possibility, but only if certain criteria is met. I do understand that many of you will be feeling apprehensive about this decision and how children are able to be kept safe.
Once the details of the possible return for these classes has been provided to schools and we have a clearer picture of how this will look, I will update parents accordingly. Please do not ring the school to try to ascertain the answers to questions you have about 1st June, since we, as every other school, simply do not know yet.
Our school of course has currently only the Key Stage 2 building in operation for the next few weeks, which will mean that the KS1 building will remain out of use until the construction work is completed. The start date for this has now been confirmed for 18th May, which is good news for us all.
Friday 8th May 9:53am VE DAY
Key Message: Work from home, Protect the NHS, Save lives.
Total number of pupils in school today = 3
Total number of staff = 4
(Mr Proctor, Mrs McLeod, Miss Davis, Mrs Ainsworth)
Message from Mr Proctor
Dear Parents/Guardians,
I hope that you, your family and friends are all keeping well. All the staff here at school are missing you all a great deal. We really appreciate the messages that you have been sending us, it is wonderful to keep in touch this way. We are always amazed at the really interesting and creative things that you have been doing. We equally understand how difficult it must be for you as parents/guardians if you have to do your own work at home as well. We would like to say a heartfelt thank you for all that you are doing.
We do hope that the current timetable of work on Google Classroom is a little more straight forward than it has been in previous weeks.
If you do have the internet and would like further activities to do, the following websites may be of use since there are many online teacher video clips to help you.:
https://www.thenational.academy/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize
This Sunday our country is expecting an announcement regarding the next phase of ‘Lock down’, it is important to say that at this point in time, we as schools have no indication of how and when schools will reopen.
Please understand that any plans will need to be very carefully considered so it will be necessary for us to have time to understand, consider and put the requirements of the Government and Local Authority in place. Please be reassured that we will do this as quickly as possible and in turn inform you as soon as we are able to do so. I thank you in anticipation of your patience regarding this matter.
May I take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy weekend and hope that you have a lovely Bank Holiday today. We realise that many schools are closed today, but we are still open for critical worker families.
Kindest regards
M Proctor
Schools reopening speculation
DFE Announcement
Schools are closed to all but the children of critical workers and vulnerable children. The Secretary of State has been clear that this will remain the case until the scientific advice says it is safe to do otherwise.
The NEU has today (7 May) said it will be vital for the Government to gain the trust of parents before schools reopen to all pupils, while a survey from the charity Parent kind suggests 9 in 10 parents would be unhappy with schools reopening soon after lock down ends.
6th May, there was speculation that an announcement would be made on reopening schools either today or over the weekend.
The Sun, Telegraph, Guardian, and Mirror all run pieces about schools reopening with different angles as outlined above.
Our position remains clear that no date has been set for the reopening of schools to all pupils.
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson has not set a date for schools reopening.
Schools will remain closed, except for children of critical workers and vulnerable children, until the scientific advice indicates it is the right time to re-open and the five tests set out by Government to beat this virus have been met.
We are also working closely with the sector as we consider how to reopen schools, nurseries and colleges and will ensure everyone has sufficient notice to plan and prepare.
VE Day
Activities for VE will be taking place in school with the two children we have in school.
FSM:
Future vouchers are now handled by the DFE associated voucher scheme: EDENRED. They will be the ones who will now be processing your voucher codes so that they can redeemed by our families. Once they have been processed the codes will be emailed to the parents who are eligible. From our school's experience with this scheme, it has taken a significant period of time for the codes to be processed.
The National Oak Academy
The DFE have provided a wonderful resource for helping families with online learning. We have had a look at this as a school and we would highly recommend this learning resource to help parents who are struggling with the Google Classroom set up. I hope everyone can appreciate that many of these online tools and learning platforms have been thrown together very quickly and there may well be glitches or difficulties navigating through these. If you would like to have a look at The National Oak Academy as an alternative resource then feel free to do so. From our experience it is proving to be quite an easy website to use and many other schools are also using this. Use the following link:
https://www.thenational.academy/
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Thursday 7th May 9:40am
Key Message: Work from home, Protect the NHS, Save lives.
Total number of pupils in school today = 9
Total number of staff = 5
(Mr Proctor, Mrs McLeod, Miss Davis, Mrs Ainsworth, Miss Tiaba)
FSM: Voucher codes will be sent via email to parents direct from Edenred Select (a company the DFE use). Codes will not be sent from school. Please do not contact school for these codes as we will not be sent these from Edenred. Once you have received your voucher code then this can be redeemed at a supermarket from the given list. Information on how to do this is available on our school website under [Parents, Letters, COVID].
VE Day: Tomorrow is Bank Holiday VE Day. We are undertaking activities in school to celebrate this special day. Photos will soon be available on the school website. Some class teachers have also placed some activities for you to do at home via their class pages or on Google Classroom.
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Wednesday 6th May 11:22am
Key Message: Work from home, Protect the NHS, Save lives.
Total number of pupils in school today = 9
Total number of staff = 5
(Mr Proctor, Mrs McLeod, Miss Davis, Mrs Ainsworth, Miss Tiaba)
FSM: There are still Vouchers left over from this weeks' allocation which have still not been collected. Vouchers only have a short validity period so if you have not collected them please come to the school office where they can be collected. Parents from now on will have to redeem their own vouchers. Further information can be found below:
Redeeming your vouchers
Parents: We have now put the document on our PARENTS, LETTERS, COVID page on how you can redeem upto 4 weeks of vouchers for your child. ie: upto £60 per child.
Tuesday Communication:
Number of messages received: 1 (celebration of pupils work sent into school [KS1])
Teachers email correspondence
Teachers have kindly offered an option to parents to be available for email queries regarding home learning, concerns or just to simply upload and celebrate children's work via their class pages. They are hoping to respond to queries each week.
Teacher's emails
Miss Martin EYFS: miss.martin@st-john-augustine.lancs.sch.uk
Miss Middleton Y1: miss.middleton@st-john-augustine.lancs.sch.uk
Mrs McLeod Y2: mrs.mcleod@st-john-augustine.lancs.sch.uk
Mr Hargreaves Y3: mr.hargreaves@st-john-augustine.lancs.sch.uk
Mrs Jesson Y4: mrs.jesson@st-john-augustine.lancs.sch.uk
Miss Jackson Y5: miss.jackson@st-john-augustine.lancs.sch.uk
Mr Hollinshead Y6: mr.hollinshead@st-john-augustine.lancs.sch.uk
Update on the KS1 building
We are hoping that the contract company will begin work again on 11th May, but we are also awaiting confirmation of this on Friday.
Message to our pupils:
We are all thinking of you in school and we know that you will be trying your best with your online learning, google classroom or your Joe Wicks physical activities. If you are worried that you are falling behind your friends with your school work, you mustn't, as everyone is feeling the same and doing very similar tasks and activities at the moment. One thing you must remember is that this situation will not last for ever and it will come to and end soon. For our Year 6 children, I want to say not to worry about getting together at the end of the year should you not return back before the summer holidays, come what may, we will organize a whole class get together in some capacity.
Stay safe everyone and thank you for your support.
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Monday 4th May 1.21 pm
Key Message: Work from home, Protect the NHS, Save lives.
Total number of pupils in school today = 5
Total number of staff = 5
(Mr Proctor, Mrs McLeod, Miss Davis, Mrs Ainsworth, Miss Tiaba)
FSM vouchers are available for Tesco today and tomorrow (Same arrangements as the last two weeks with parents picking up in alphabetical order.)
This week parents will be asked to order their own vouchers which can be for up to 4 weeks [£60 per pupil]. If you are in doubt of how to do this please ring the school office on Wednesday. Information will be sent to those parents who are eligible in order for them to redeem their vouchers.
For parents wanting to make enquiries for home school learning or to speak about issues regarding their children, either myself (Mr Proctor) or Mrs McLeod will be available on Tuesdays to try to answer your concerns. Please be aware we only have very few staff in school, so emails are preferable, but calls can also be made.
We are fully aware that our pupils will be experiencing a great deal of worry at the moment and to let let them know we are all thinking of them. You are all doing an amazing job with your home learning tasks and sending in some lovely photos. Hopefully, things won't stay like this for too much longer and then we can get back to seeing you all again.
Google Classroom Home Learning
For the past few weeks, we have made a great addition to the home learning provision which is accessed via entering the login details for Google Classroom.
Here tasks for the week will be ‘assigned’ to pupils and once they have been completed or attempted will change status to ’Turned in’. It has taken our staff sometime as well to get used to this facility to help with home learning and is now getting to the stage where we are more confident in setting tasks.
By using the Class then ‘Instructions’ menu children should be able to access the online material set by their class teacher and submit this as ‘turned in’.
Please note the following:
The school website will also be an additional option for extra material as well. I know many of you like to send in the photos.
(Search: Home - Children - Gallery - 100 Challenge).
Friday 1st May 11.05 am
Key Message: Work from home, Protect the NHS, Save lives.
Total number of pupils in school today = 5
Total number of staff = 5
(Mrs McLeod, Miss Martin, Miss Jackson, Mr Hargreaves, Mrs Clemson)
Thank you to all of the children who have taken part in the 100 Challenge. It has been lovely to see your photographs/ videos.
Check out the gallery to see the challenges that have been done so far!
(Search: Home - Children - Gallery - 100 Challenge).
Thursday 30th April 11.30 am
Key Message: Work from home, Protect the NHS, Save lives.
Total number of pupils in school today = 7
Total number of staff = 5
(Mrs McLeod, Miss Martin, Miss Jackson, Mr Hargreaves, Mrs Clemson)
This morning we have been completing different 100 x challenges to celebrate Captain Tom Moore's 100th birthday! Have a look in the gallery to see which challenges we have completed.
I have also uploaded the challenges that have been sent in to the gallery too. Remember if you complete any of the challenges email your photographs to Mrs McLeod.
(Search: Home - Children - Gallery - 100 Challenge)
100
To celebrate Captain Tom’s 100th birthday we are going to do 100 laps of the playground!
Can you do …?
If you manage to complete any of the challenges email your pictures into school.
mrs.mcleod@st-john-augustine.lancs.sch.uk
Wednesday 29th April 9.20am
Key Message: Work from home, Protect the NHS, Save lives.
Total number of pupils in school today = 6
Total number of staff = 5
(Mrs McLeod, Miss Martin, Miss Jackson, Mr Hargreaves, Mrs Clemson)
A new national free telephone helpline for parents and carers has been created to provide personalised support and advice on home learning to support pupils until schools re-open.
StarLine, a sector-led initiative supported by voluntary sector partners and the Department for Education, offers parents and carers personalised advice and support from a team of qualified teachers, education and parenting experts. Available to all parents and carers of school children nationwide, a team of education and parenting experts will share tips, techniques and resources to help young people continue their learning while schools are closed, and to support family wellbeing. Parents and carers will be guided to help their children create regular routines and study habits, offering practical steps to take and access to quality resources.
StarLine is open six days a week and covers all areas of the curriculum across all phases of education. In addition to qualified teachers, callers can speak to experienced education and parenting experts who can provide support and advice on behaviour, wellbeing and help for pupils with special educational needs or disabilities. All calls are confidential, and advice is available six days a week by phoning 0330 313 9162. For more information visit www.starline.org.uk
Tuesday 28th April 9.25am
Key Message: Work from home, Protect the NHS, Save lives.
Total number of pupils in school today = 6
Total number of staff = 5
(Mrs McLeod, Miss Martin, Miss Jackson, Mr Hargreaves, Mrs Clemson)
FSM vouchers are ready to collect as they were last week. The pick up times are:
Monday 9:30 until 12:00 = Surname's of children A to G
Monday afternoon 1:00 until 3:30 = Surname's of children H to M
Tuesday 9:30 until 12:00 = Surname's of children N to S
Tuesday 1:00 until 3:30 = Surname's of children T to Z
This week's vouchers are for ASDA. The following week will be the last week they are picked up from school and will be then valid for TESCO. Parents will then register for their own vouchers online and collect them for their own children. They can be ordered up to 4 weeks at a time (£60 per child). The school will let you know when you are eligible to do this.
Monday 27th April 11.30am
Key Message: Work from home, Protect the NHS, Save lives.
Total number of pupils in school today = 6
Total number of staff = 5
(Mrs McLeod, Miss Martin, Miss Jackson, Mr Hargreaves, Mrs Clemson)
FSM vouchers are ready to collect as they were last week. The pick up times are:
Monday 9:30 until 12:00 = Surname's of children A to G
Monday afternoon 1:00 until 3:30 = Surname's of children H to M
Tuesday 9:30 until 12:00 = Surname's of children N to S
Tuesday 1:00 until 3:30 = Surname's of children T to Z
This week's vouchers are for ASDA. The following week will be the last week they are picked up from school and will be then valid for TESCO. Parents will then register for their own vouchers online and collect them for their own children. They can be ordered up to 4 weeks at a time (£60 per child). The school will let you know when you are eligible to do this.
Sunday 26th April 19:55pm
FSM vouchers are ready to collect as they were last week. The pick up times are:
Monday 9:30 until 12:00 = Surname's of children A to G
Monday afternoon 1:00 until 3:30 = Surname's of children H to M
Tuesday 9:30 until 12:00 = Surname's of children N to S
Tuesday 1:00 until 3:30 = Surname's of children T to Z
This week's vouchers are for ASDA. The following week will be the last week they are picked up from school and will be then valid for TESCO. Parents will then register for their own vouchers online and collect them for their own children. They can be ordered up to 4 weeks at a time (£60 per child). The school will let you know when you are eligible to do this.
Tuesday 21st April 2:51 pm
Key Message: Work from home, Protect the NHS, Save lives.
Total number of pupils in school today= 5
Total number of staff = 5
[Mr Proctor, Mr Hollinshead, Miss Yates, Miss Mortimer, Miss Middleton]
The majority of vouchers have been collected from school yesterday and today, however we still have a few unclaimed. If your child is eligible for free school meals then the voucher can be collected between now and Friday.
We are hoping that there will be a full set of vouchers for next week provided by the DFE, but as yet we have received 82 of the 88 needed.
Looking ahead to WC: 11th April parents will need to apply for these themselves to give families more chance of receiving these on time. In order to do this you will need to make sure that the school has an accurate upto date email address otherwise you will not receive them. When parents are able to order their own, they will be able to order up to 4 weeks for each child. ie: up to £60 per child. This is something the school has not been able to do up until know due to DFE restrictions.
Online learning resources:
The government has now set out online learning resources. This information will be available on this website tomorrow.
Monday 20th April 10:40am
Key Message: Work from home, Protect the NHS, Save lives.
Total number of pupils in school today= 4
Total number of staff = 5
[Mr Proctor, Mr Hollinshead, Miss Yates, Miss Mortimer, Miss Middleton]
The vouchers are ready to collect as described in the Friday's message.
Monday 9:30 until 12:00 = Surname's of children A to G
Monday afternoon 1:00 until 3:30 = Surname's of children H to M
Tuesday 9:30 until 12:00 = Surname's of children N to S
Tuesday 1:00 until 3:30 = Surname's of children T to Z
On the Parents, Letters, COVID page we have put on some activities which have been recommended for children's physical activities.
Friday 17th April 6:35pm
Key Message: Work from home, Protect the NHS, Save lives.
Total number of pupils in school today= 3
Total number of staff = 4
[Mr Proctor, Mrs McLeod, Mrs Ainsworth, Miss Ali]
FSM update:
FSM Collection: [Available from Monday]
We have worked around the clock to ensure that we have vouchers for next week. The good news is.... we do!
We have 86 vouchers each worth £15 per pupil for those pupils eligible for FSM. These will be available for collection on Monday and Tuesday next week. In order to ensure there is social distancing we have made the decision to stagger the collection of these vouchers on the surname of children (not the parent's surname).
So with that in mind...
Collection times next week from the school office:
Monday 9:30 until 12:00 = Surname's of children A to G
Monday afternoon 1:00 until 3:30 = Surname's of children H to M
Tuesday 9:30 until 12:00 = Surname's of children N to S
Tuesday 1:00 until 3:30 = Surname's of children T to Z
The vouchers are valid for until the 7th May 2020 and can be used at the ASDA store in Accrington.
A reminder that the vouchers are for children's meals and are not allowed to be used for cigarettes or alcohol. A text will be sent to all parents of children who are eligible.
Again, apologies for the delay, but we really have been working with the DFE morning until night to ensure that they are ready for next week and have only arrived today.
Thursday 16th April 11:29am
Key Message: Work from home, Protect the NHS, Save lives.
Total number of pupils in school today= 1
Total number of staff = 4
[Mr Proctor, Mrs McLeod, Mrs Ainsworth, Miss Ali]
FSM update:
FSM Collection: [Not yet available]
We are starting to make better progress with the DFE and the processing of FSM and are hoping that all orders will be ready for collection from school on Monday for those pupils eligible for FSM.
We have a total of 86 FSM orders to process. The only delay currently is that we are simply waiting for these vouchers to be emailed to school so that parents can collect them on Monday/Tuesday. A I do apologise for the wait for these to come through, but we are simply just waiting for the DFE to email them to us now. As soon as they are ready for collection from school I will inform you via 1) This website 2) text.
Please make sure the school office has your email address, child's name and that it is accurate.
Process for collection
The process for collection of the vouchers will be that parents will be asked to come to school, sending one parent to collect, keeping social distancing rules. We will aim to stagger the collection points throughout Monday and Tuesday (alphabetical order). EG: Surnames A-G (Monday morning), (H-M) Monday afternoon, (N-S) Tuesday Morning, (T-Z) Tuesday afternoon. Please wait for your confirmation text or website announcement before coming to school for collection, as we still have not received any as yet from the DFE.
Wednesday 15th April 1:35pm
Key Message: Work from home, Protect the NHS, Save lives.
Total number of pupils in school today= 5
Total number of staff = 4
FSM Vouchers:
We have been trying to process the vouchers for parents, but it has become apparent that the DFE Voucher system's site cannot handle the pure volume of schools trying to order the gift vouchers and as such their site continually crashes or takes an age for the page to update.
At this moment in time I cannot guarantee that the vouchers will be ready for next week either.
We will persist with the scheme for the moment , but looking towards the week commencing 27th April parents will have more chance of receiving their voucher (upto 4 weeks worth [£60] per pupil) by providing school with their email address. There has been a text message sent to parents today asking for email addresses so that we can enter these directly in to the system.
All schools nationally are in the same position and are in a national database queue.
Tuesday 14th April 10:00am
Key Message: Work from home, Protect the NHS, Save lives.
Total number of pupils in school today= 3
Total number of staff = 4
FSM vouchers: We are actively trying to speed up the process to access the vouchers for our families, but there seems to be a delay with the company that are supplying the vouchers. We will continue to try today.
Monday (Bank Holiday Monday) 2:54pm
Key Message: Work from home, Protect the NHS, Save lives.
Total number of pupils in school today= 2
Total number of staff = 4
Voucher system:
The latest information on the voucher system for FSM children is still pending. The school is still awaiting processing of this scheme from the distributor.
Recipe: We have uploaded a recipe of the day which you may want to use with your children. (Letters/Covid section of the website).
Flag Day:
We have uploaded a project for world Flag day in the Parents/Letters/Covid section of the website which I thought would be a useful initiative for parents and families.
Off the Shelf RE activities
If you click on the link below there are lots of ideas to be creative.
The idea is that the children can choose any picture they find interesting to look at and discuss. They follow this by reading one of the two suggested Bible stories/text. They can then explore the story, it’s meaning and impact through a variety of activities that are of course ‘Questful’!
The resources contain activities that are suitable for children in Yr1 – Yr6 The children can decide which activity suits them best. This hopefully makes the resource all age/family friendly and therefore can be enjoyed by siblings together:
https://www.bdeducation.org.uk/schools/teacher/collective-worship/offtheshelfreresources/
Serial Mash Reading resource for home learning
One resource in particular which is now available to us is Serial Mash. This is a reading resource which is based around a book. The book is split into chapters which has 4-6 activities.
Furthermore, Purple Mash also have a 'Remote Learning section' where activities have been set. A pre-made resource you can direct your children to as it is within Purple Mash.
Be a Home Hero:
Uploaded today....Discussion activities on Coronavirus (Parents/Letters/COVID)
Easter Activities: (NEW)
· If following links online, parents should monitor that children are sticking to that page only and are keeping safe online(eg. some of the texts are You Tube links) [PARENTS/LETTERS/COVID]
Friday 3rd April 2020 10:04am
Key Message: Work from home, Protect the NHS, Save lives.
Total number of pupils in school today= 2
Total number of staff = 5
School will be open as usual for Critical Worker Families over the Easter Holidays.
Support over the Easter Holidays
I have placed on the [Parent] [Letters] [Covid19] section of our website information to support any family who is going to be struggling over the Easter Holidays. There is support out there to help. Please read the information provided. There is a simple form to complete but then support can be accessed. We have also received notification from the Critical Families who need school for next week. A FSM will be arranged for these families who are already eligible.
Vouchers
The voucher system which the Government is currently organising is expected to be made available for 20th April. I shall try to find more information today then post on this page.
Thursday 2nd April 2020 4pm
Key Message: Work from home, Protect the NHS, Save lives.
Total number of pupils in school today= 3
Total number of staff = 6
Greg James is giving away the first Kid Normal book as an audio book for FREE on Amazon.
Click here:
I am hoping to place more information on here today regarding a new Reading resource we have been made aware of and also upload some new home learning photos as I received some more over night. I am currently trying to find more information regarding FSM and how the voucher system is going to operate. Again I will place on here as soon as I know. I hope you are all well.
M Proctor
Wednesday 1st April 2020 2:48pm
Key Message: Work from home, Protect the NHS, Save lives.
Total number of pupils in school today= 6
Total number of staff = 6
TIGTAG
We have received an email from TIGTAG explaining that parents and children can access from home. If you follow the links below you should be able to obtain use the resources. These will allow fast access to Tigtag and Tigtag Junior without the need to log in. No one will be able to view the list of teachers or admin panel just the videos and learning materials etc.
Tigtag World
https://www.tigtagworld.co.uk/hi/U347F1GBN7HI?next=/
Tigtag Junior
| https://www.tigtagjunior.com/hi/U347F1GBN7HI?next=/ |
Free School Meals:
We have received information today on how to set up an e-code voucher system which is intended to start after the Easter Holidays. It would seem that the school would bulk buy the e-codes then make them available for parents to collect from school, since many of our families do not have email addresses. Once the system for collection becomes clearer I shall let parents know. Hopefully this will happen before Friday afternoon. There are a range of supermarkets available, but it would appear Asda or Tesco are the closest ones to our school. Vouchers will not be able to be exchanged for cigarettes or alcohol.
Tuesday 31st March 2020 3:31pm
Key Message: Work from home, Protect the NHS, Save lives.
Total number of pupils in school today= 5
Total number of staff = 6
Free School Meals (FSM) can be picked up from the Library before 2pm today. Last Day for Collection!
LCC have contacted schools today to state that parents will be going on to a voucher system soon for FSM and will be allocated a voucher e-code which can be used in a selection of supermarkets. Further info on this tomorrow.
I have placed a child friendly information pack under the [PARENTS], [Letters] section [COVID 19] for parents to talk to their children about the virus. Of course to begin with, children will think being off school is a great idea, until the realisation creeps in that they have to stay inside and cannot just go out to play like normal. They will also be worried about what they hear on the news and through adults talking to one another. This booklet may help you talk things through so that they have a good understanding but are also less worried... Hope this helps.
Some photos of home learning have been sent to me for displaying on the website, which are now under the Letters heading too. Please state that you give permission also for sharing if you wish them to go on here. Thank you. They look great by the way, with Lego, paintings and sports (Boxing!!) going on at home.. Wow you are all amazing. Well done to those children who sent photos in..
Lynne Mortimer is continuing to contact parents who need support and help from school. She has been amazing this week and has also supported one or two families with drop off parcels for FSM children who simply could not leave the house.
Keep safe everyone... you are all doing an amazing job keeping your children occupied through this difficult time!
Washing hands
Useful information regarding how to wash hands. [It is not important for the water to be warm, but it should be running water]. Follow the link below for further information.
M Proctor
Monday 30th March 2020 12:10pm
Key Message: Work from home, Protect the NHS, Save lives.
Free School Meals
PICK UP Accrington Library - St James' St, Accrington BB5 1NQ
On Monday 30 March families eligible for free schools meals can pick-up a pack for each child between 12 noon and 2pm at the pick-up point for their network.
The venues will also open on Tuesday 31st March from 11am – 2pm if families have not been able to collect on Monday.
This message has also been sent via text.
We have been made aware that people are sending out fraudulent emails asking for your bank details if you are entitled to free school meals whilst schools are closed.
We would never ask for your bank details in this way.
If you receive one of these emails please do not respond. Please pass this information on to other parents.
Total Number of pupils in school today = 8
Total number of staff = 6
At this time, more than ever, we need to stay connected and support each other.
Please send in your home-learning photos (if you would like me to place on the school website) and captions to:
head@st-john-augustine.lancs.sch.uk
Stay safe, stay home & stay awesome!
Friday 27th March 2020 3:00pm
Key Message: Work from home, Protect the NHS, Save lives.
Today we have 5 staff in school for 6 children.
If Critical Worker families on our list need to take up a place over the original Easter holidays, then please bring a note into school to state that is what you would require, whilst remembering this is only for essential reasons.
Lancashire is looking at providing a central hub system to be able to distribute FSM to our families. This is the same for all local schools.
Today's activities included the PE with Joe this morning, colouring and also creating rainbows for "There is always hope".
I shall try to obtain further resources for you this afternoon to do with the children. I hope you found yesterday's useful.
I have started a new page (under parents, Letters, COVID19 Home learning) for extra resources as well. Please don't feel pressured into doing all of these activities. They are on suggestions.
RE resources
Fischy Music (www.fischy.com) are broadcasting an online assembly live every Monday at 11am on www.youtube.com/fischymusic. You can catch up with the one they did on 23rd March on their web site.
Also Heartsmart are doing a daily broadcast along with activities, some are pencil and paper activities with instructions on screen, go to www.heartsmart.family for all the information.
This book is a child friendly story which explain the situation with COVID19
https://www.flipsnack.com/CSKidsBooks/what-s-going-on.html
For those of you who like a bit of structure in your lives; here's what various celebrities are offering you and your children for free daily to help with their education while schools are closed:
9.00am - PE with Joe Wicks https://youtu.be/6v-a_dpwhro
10.00am - Maths with Carol Vorderman www.themathsfactor.com
11.00am - English with David Walliams https://www.worldofdavidwalliams.com/elevenses/
12.00pm - Lunch (cooking with Jamie Oliver) https://www.jamieoliver.com/features/category/get-kids-cooking/
1.00pm - Music with Myleene Klass https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQh2wgJ5tOrixYBn6jFXsXQ
1.30pm - Dance class live https://twitter.com/diversedancemix/status/1241098264373592065
2.00pm - Live Q&A with Steve Backshallhttps://twitter.com/SteveBackshall/status/1243107937163325440 3.00pm - The Great Indoors - https://www.scouts.org.uk/the-great-indoors/ 4.00pm - Home Economics with Theo Michaels (Mon/Wed/Fri) https://www.instagram.com/theocooks
Thursday 26th March 2020 2:30 pm
Key Message: Work from home = save lives.
Today we have 7 staff in school for 6 children. (one less than yesterday).
New activity for home learning:
Journey Around the World. Please visit the Parents section [Letters] [COVID19] [Journey around the World]. This is a novel way of finding lots of exciting things out about places around the world including real life webcams of animals.
Adult supervision is recommended for online usage.
Activities today:
Joe Wicks fitness with pupils and staff, playing games outside, Lego building, Reading sessions and art activities. Children are working at safe distances and have been encouraged to wash their hands frequently.
Free School Meals:
We have been contacted today by LCC to state that the delivery date for next week is still to be confirmed. I will place the date on this website as soon as that comes through.
Easter Holidays:
We are going to remain open during the Easter holidays with skeleton staff to purely support our parents who have registered as a critical worker. We have 10 parents on our list. Our school will provide a safe place for children whose parents to continue to go to work.
Learning times:
Suggested times for your child to work at home: I have received an query asking how long is recommended for their child to work at home. We would recommend perhaps 2 hours in the morning and maybe anywhere between 1 and 2 hours in the afternoon, focusing on Reading, basic Maths skills, Physical activity and using our suggested materials which were sent home.
Lunches: All children are now asked to bring a packed lunch at lunch time.
Support: Lynn Mortimer (FSW) will continue to make contact with our vulnerable families throughout the week to check they are ok during this outbreak.
Picking children up from school.
If critical workers or parents of vulnerable children are able to pick children up earlier from school that would further help reduce the risk in school.
Wednesday 25th March 2020 10:50am
Today we have 7 staff in school for 9 children. (one less than yesterday).
Activities today:
Joe Wicks fitness, Dancing, Purple Mash, Lego building, Reading sessions and art activities. Children are working at safe distances and have been encouraged to wash their hands frequently.
Lunches:
In order to protect our catering staff, we are asking children to bring a packed lunch tomorrow, since there were only 3 requests today for hot meals. This will help keep our catering staff at home where it is safer.
Free School Meals
We still have 10 meals which have not been collected. It has become apparent LCC did not provide the 5 ready meals as we thought. So we have had to spread these out the best we can. The next delivery is expected on Monday (Hopefully).
Picking children up from school.
If critical workers or parents of vulnerable children are able to pick children up earlier from school that would further help reduce the risk in school.
Two more of the classrooms in school have been deep cleaned and shut down , so as you can imagine most of the school now is out of use.
I hope everyone is finding the home learning packs useful and they are serving their purpose. Looking ahead with this, we are intending to put further resources on the school website for ideas.
Other than that there is not a great deal to report on in school... everything here is very quiet.
Stay safe everyone.
Tuesday 24th March 2020 2pm
Firstly, I would like to thank people for their supportive messages we have received during this difficult time. This has been very much appreciated.
Today we have just 10 pupils in school with 7 staff. Everyone is being encouraged to wash their hands frequently and social distancing is enforced to adhere to the national guidelines.
If any parent who still has children in school and is able to collect earlier than 3:15pm then please ring the school office. Every little bit helps us to keep safe as it means we can start reducing the number of staff in school. Thank you.
Free School Meal Packs
The FSM parcels have now arrived at school (1:55pm) and will be available for collection from 2:15pm until 3:10pm. Packs contain fresh fruit, fresh vegetables, a pack of cereal bars and a ready meal. Please be patient with us as our staff have to pack these bags for you.
Please read the allergen advice on the packets before consuming. There may also be a risk of cross contamination during the packing process.
Packs can be collected from the hall entrance.
New resources:
Audio Books
David Walliams is releasing free audio books at 11am.
Please visit www.worldofdavidwalliams.com/elevenses or google "World of David Walliams" then look for free 11am audio books.
Cleaning:
The school is on partial closure today as various classrooms are being cleaned then shut down for use.
The two continuous key messages are:
Washing hands frequently
Keep to social distancing (at least 2m apart)
Monday 23rd March 2pm
Thank you to our parents who have supported the Government's request to keep your children at home. Today we only had 14 pupils in school.
The next stage is for the school to close down specific areas of the school for deep cleaning and these will be gradually shut off throughout school, leaving only limited areas in school. Staff and pupils are maintaining 2m distancing and are being advised to wash their hands frequently.
We are currently looking at how we can maintain staffing in school over the next few weeks and with that in mind we are going to produce a rota for staff to be in school.
Free School Meals
Firstly to apologise that the meals were not ready today for the 12pm. Lancashire have been struggling to get packs out to families due to the number of schools in Lancashire. Secondly, the operation for pick up has changed. There will now be one pick up each week. Please see information for parents (from LCC) under PARENT (COVID) (Letters) on this website. Today's drop off from LCC was cancelled and we have now heard that this will be tomorrow.
Sunday 22nd March 2020
I would like to say a big thank you for everyone's support during this really challenging time. As I am sure that you already appreciate, the timing of the news from the Government put schools under immense pressure to organize, learning packs and determine who was still eligible to attend school on Monday, particularly when guidance on Friday was ever changing. I would like to keep all parents informed on a daily basis (by 3pm) as to the situation with school and how this affects your child. If there is information further that you require, please contact myself via the office and I will try to find the answers to your questions.
For pupils in Year 6: If Friday was indeed their last day in school, I shall ensure that there will be arrangements made as soon as school returns to normal, for end of year celebrations etc, even if this means that this is from September onwards. I understand that children and their parents will be concerned that they have had their last day in school, but I shall endeavour to make sure that this is not the case.
Key Message: The severity of the pandemic, appears to be much more serious than it was first anticipated. Therefore, I urge all parents, to keep their children at home wherever possible in order to protect each other, particularly people with underlying health conditions and the elderly. Social distancing and hand washing are two of the most important elements in preventing the spread of the virus.
Tomorrow, Monday 23rd March:
Vulnerable Pupils
Children who have been identified as being 'vulnerable' have already been contacted via telephone and letter and must attend school on Monday. However, it is possible that some of these children will be contacted further to say that they no longer fit the latest DFE definition and may be asked to stay at home from Tuesday onwards.
Critical Workers
At this point, we are allowing all pupils who have been self identified by their parents, as being classed as 'Critical Workers'. However, their companies and supervisors will be contacted on Monday and where parents are not classed as Critical Workers, then pupils must stay at home from Tuesday onwards.
School Uniform:
Pupils who are attending school will be expected to wear school uniform so that if they are found outside of the school premise on their way home will be able to be identified by the emergency services.
School dinners
School dinners will be offered to all children who are attending school and to children eligible for free school meals.
For next week this will mean:
This offer will be available until the Government introduce an alternative option.
School Day
Within school we will try our very best to keep the children at a distance from each other when participating in their activities.
Picking up and dropping off at school
Please do not allow elderly or vulnerable people to pick up or collect children from school as this will pose a risk to themselves and goes against government advice.
Total number of staff absent at the moment: 5
This is likely to escalate if staff are subjected to the virus or demonstrate any of the symptoms. Reducing the number of pupils in school can help to keep staff in school.
23/04/20
Dear Parents / Carers,
With the uncertainty of the situation regarding when the children will be returning to schools (due to Covid-19), we have had to cancel the up and coming trip to Whitehough.
We haven’t taken this decision lightly, but as I’m sure you can understand, the current situation makes it extremely difficult to plan with regard to the risk assessments needed and arrangements with only a short time to go.
As partial / full deposits have been paid by parents/carers, these will be fully refunded in due course. This may take some time due to schools working under unprecedented circumstances and with skeletal staff.
Thank you for your understanding and support.
Regards,
Mr Proctor & Mr Hollinshead