August 25th 2020
Autumn Term 2020
We are really looking forward to the start of the new school year next week. The media continues to debate different practices and scenarios, which can at times be overwhelming and alarming; I would like to reassure parents that we have followed the strict guidelines and employed all of the safety measures recommended. It is possible that there may be further changes made before we open next week and I will send out any updates necessary.
Staff will be in school on Tuesday 1st September for an INSET day; if you would like to speak to myself or your child’s teacher on that day, please telephone 01768 864 612. Alternatively, please email admin@st-catherines.cumbria.sch.uk and your query will be passed on to the appropriate member of staff.
The children will start back on Wednesday 2nd September.
Here are a few reminders of the arrangements and expectations which will assist in the smooth start to the term:
Entry Points and Start times Times have been allowed for entry to be swift with minimal crossover
KS2 (Y3 (Class3) – Y6)
Staff will be on duty at the KS2 Gate to supervise entry and hand washing.
Y6 8:30am KS2 Gate Pupils walk around the building to Class 4 door
Y5 8:35am KS2 Gate Pupils walk around the building to Class 4 door
Y4 8:35am KS2 Gate Pupils enter through Class 3 door
Y3 (Class 3) 8:40am KS2 Gate Pupils enter through Class 3 door
KS1 (Reception - Y3 (Class 2) )
Main Playground Gates will be opened at 8:35am. Please wait in your designated area of the playground for a member of staff to call the pupils forward.
Y3 (Class 2) 8:35am Main Gates onto top end of the playground near to Class 2 gate
Y2 8:40am Main Gates onto top end of the playground near to Class 2 gate
Y1 8:35am Main Gates onto the bottom end of the playground near to Class 1
Reception 8:45am Main Gates onto the bottom end of the playground near to Class 1
The KS2 Gate and Main Gates will be locked at 8:55am. If you are late, please telephone 01768 864 612 and wait by your allocated entrance for a member of staff to become available to let your child in; you may have to wait as the staff will be supervising handwashing and teaching. Entry for pupils is not allowed through the main entrance.
Exit Points School will finish at 3:15pm
KS2 will exit from the KS2 Gate and a member of staff will be on duty to ensure pupils are safe.
KS2 pupils with younger siblings will meet their parents on the playground. Please keep your family together and be patient exiting the playground.
KS1 pupils will be dismissed from their Class gate. The Main Gates to the playground will be opened at 3:10pm for parents to safely congregate.
We will continue to follow good hand hygiene and ‘Catch it, Bin it, Kill it’ as essential combative against the virus in school and also guidelines for classroom resources, movement around school and shared spaces. This is a term of coughs and colds, so caution is advised. We have procedures in place if a suspected case arises and plans for the possibility of a temporary closure. A full closure is extremely unlikely but we feel it is better to be prepared, therefore, we will be sending out a short questionnaire next week to give us a clear view of the needs and wishes of our families.
Thank you for your continued support and enjoy the final week of the holidays.
Best wishes
Angela Hill Headteacher
Dear Parents,
I have emailed the information needed for September 2020.
Here are the headlines:
The last few weeks, working Bubbles in school has given us an insight into how we can operate in September. Please read the information carefully and follow the instructions for your Class. It is going to be a complicated process if people do not follow the procedures planned. On entry to school, all children will be washing their hands thoroughly before taking their seat in the classroom.
Entry Points and Start times (The Year Groups are for September 2020.)
Staff will be on duty at the KS2 Gate and supervising entry and hand washing.
Y6 8:30am KS2 Gate Pupils walk around the building to Class 4 door
Y5 8:35am KS2 Gate Pupils walk around the building to Class 4 door
Y4 8:35am KS2 Gate Pupils enter through Class 3 door
Y3 (Class 3) 8:40am KS2 Gate Pupils enter through Class 3 door
Main Playground Gates will be opened at 8:35am. Please wait in your designated area of the playground for a member of staff to call the pupils forward.
Y3 (Class 2) 8:35am Main Gates onto top end of the playground near to Class 2 gate
Y2 8:40am Main Gates onto top end of the playground near to
Class 2 gate
Y1 8:35am Main Gates onto the bottom end of the playground near to Class 1
Reception 8:45am Main Gates onto the bottom end of the playground near
to Class 1
The KS2 Gate and Main Gates will be locked at 8:55am.
If you are late, please telephone 01768 864 612 and wait by your allocated entrance for a member of staff to become available to let your child in; you may have to wait as the staff will be supervising handwashing and teaching.
Entry for pupils is not allowed through the main entrance.
Break and Lunchtimes
A rota has been developed to limit the number of pupils in the school hall. Classes have designated areas on the playground and the field where they can play. Classes have their own equipment which they are allowed to use and there will be strict hand hygiene measures in place.
Exit Points School will finish at 3:15pm.
KS2 will exit from the KS2 Gate and a member of staff will be on duty to ensure pupils are safe.
The Main Gates to the playground will be opened at 3:10pm for parents to safely congregate. KS1 pupils will be dismissed from their Class gate. KS2 pupils with younger siblings will meet their parents on the playground. Please keep your family together and be patient exiting the playground.
I will be in school during the Summer and will share any updates that are needed.
Thank you.
Friday 3rd July
We are currently scrutinising the guidance published by the Government yesterday, but at first glance, it would appear that our original plan which I shared on Tuesday, will be able to go ahead in September. The document for parents is listed below.
We will be giving close consideration to entry and exit points and staggered breaks and lunchtimes and carrying out a full review of our current risk assessment. I am planning to share a full overview in the week beginning 13th July.
On a personal note, thank you very much for the cards and messages I have received following Mum's passing. It is a great comfort to our family to know there are so many prayers being said.
Best wishes
Angela Hill
Tuesday 30th June
Recent Government reports have indicated that classes will be returning as normal in September, we are awaiting further guidance but I wanted to share our plans:
September 2020
We are changing the way we organise our classes so that the children benefit from being taught in smaller, more focussed groups. We have also taken into consideration the inevitable impact the lockdown has had on the children’s learning and emotional well-being.
The staff have been developing a Recovery Curriculum which focusses on the essentials of:
This curriculum will run initially for the first six weeks, followed by detailed assessments which will give us a solid Baseline from which to track the children’s progress and further adapt to their needs.
The classes and staffing will be:
Class 1 Reception: 13 pupils Year 1: 14 pupils Total: 27
Teacher: Mrs Grice Support Staff: Ms. Baird, Miss Rudd
Class 2 Year 2: 20 pupils Year 3: up to 7 Total: up to 27
Teacher: Miss Elliott Support Staff: Miss Monaghan
Class 3 Year 3: up to 12 pupils Year 4: 19 Total: up to 32
Teacher: Mrs Jones Support Staff: Miss Campbell
As you can see, this year, we have split the Y3 Class. However the children will be taught as a whole Y3 group for a number of subjects. I will be sending out more detailed information to the Y3 parents.
Class 4 Year 5: 18 pupils(am only) pm only Y6: 17 pupils Total: 35 pm Teacher: Mrs Proudfoot Support Staff: Mrs Reay, Mrs. Glen
Class 5 Year 6: 17 (am only)
Teacher: Miss Davies Support Staff: Mrs Glen
If you have any queries or concerns, please contact me at school.
Best wishes,
Angela Hill Headteacher
Tuesday 23rd June
We are looking forward to welcoming our Y1 pupils back to school from Monday 29th June.
Here are the necessary practical arrangements:
All Y1 pupils will enter school via the playground. The large gates will be open from 8:40 - 8:50 am, please respect the social distance on the playground. Miss Elliott will then call the children forward and they will be taken straight to wash their hands ready for the start of the day.
At 3:15 pm, the gates will be opened for the Y1 parents only and Miss Elliott will dismiss the children from the classroom door. This may take a little time, please be patient.
Reception pupils will enter and exit by the KS1 door as usual.
Key worker & Y6 will enter and exit by the KS2 door as usual.
All school lunches to be ordered through Lunchshop, only packed lunches are available until the end of term. Children are allowed to bring a packed lunch from home, if you prefer, and a water bottle.
All children are to dress in sportswear with trainers or comfortable shoes as they will be outside for a lot of lessons. The weather has been very changeable so the children will need to have had sunscreen applied before school and probably a raincoat on any given day!
The children will be taught in their Bubbles and breaktimes and lunchtimes are staggered to ensure they have enough space to eat lunch and play.
If you have any further questions, please give me a call: 01768 864 612.
Thank you
Mrs Hill
Tuesday 16th June 2020
Dear Parents,
We are really pleased at how smoothly the return to school has gone so far.
We are currently running 3 Bubbles:
We are still planning for a Y1 Bubble from Monday 29th June, however, I am aware that numbers for the Key Worker Bubble are beginning to increase. It may be that if the number of places for the Key Worker exceeds 15, we will need to split into a KS1 Key Worker Bubble and a KS2 Key Worker Bubble, which will in turn mean that we will not have the space or staff to have a Y1 Bubble at all.
In order for me to plan ahead and give fair warning to the Y1 parents and children, please contact me before Thursday 18th June, if you know that you will require a Key Worker place before Friday 17th July, when the term ends: 01768 864 612 or head@st-catherines.cumbria.sch.uk.
The Class Teachers will be making telephone calls to the families who have not been able to return to school yet just to check in and see if there is anything else we can do to support.
At the time of writing this email, we have been given no guidance or indication of what will happen in September, but I will endeavour to keep you as up to date as I can.
Best wishes
Angela Hill
Tuesday 9th June Reception Parents
Good morning everyone,
We would like to share with you further details for the proposed return to school of the Reception pupils on Monday 15th June.
The safety of our school family is paramount and I would like to reassure parents that stringent risk assessments have taken place and essential measures have been instilled into the daily routines.
We want our pupils to feel safe and secure and return to the excitement and enjoyment of learning. With that objective in mind, Mrs. Grice and her team have been working hard to reorganise resources to promote safe practice.
How will the classroom look?
The classroom will look very similar; it will be split into the learning areas of Library; Investigation; Construction; Pattern Making; Role Play; Small World and Home Corner. There will be a daily resource box for each area, (Monday Box, Tuesday Box etc) which will be packed up at the end of the day and then isolated until the following week.
The outdoor provision has been extended and will include Musical Instruments; Large Construction; Obstacle Making; Bikes & Scooters and Water Play.
Dependent on the number of pupils returning, it is planned that there will be 2 mini Bubbles of up to 6 pupils in each, taking turns at being indoors and outdoors.
Please ensure that your child is dressed appropriately as they will be outside for large parts of the day.
Practical Arrangements
Entry and Exit will be through the KS1 Door at the top of the steps.
Pupils can arrive between 8:40am and 8:50am and collection at 3:15pm. Adults please respect social distancing on the driveway.
If you need to pass any messages, please telephone the office 01768 864 612, do not distract the teacher on duty as they will be focussing on the children.
Lunches are to be ordered through Lunchshop in the usual way. Pupils can bring a named water bottle (and packed lunch from home if you prefer) but no other bags or toys.
Non-uniform is acceptable but please remember to dress for changeable weather.
Please read through this information carefully. Mrs Grice will be telephoning each family tomorrow to discuss any issues or concerns and to gather numbers so that we can plan appropriately.
We fully understand parents anxieties about the return to school and we make no judgement on any decision you decide to choose.
Best wishes
Angela Hill
Thursday 4th June
We are looking forward to welcoming our Y6 pupils back on Monday 8th June.
Entry into school is through the KS2 door from 8:40am until 9am. This extended time will give us the time to safely bring the children into the building and establish the handwashing routine.
When the gate is opened, pupils only will be invited to come forward. Adults must observe social distancing at all times. Key worker children will enter through Class 3's door, wash their hands and go straight into Class 3 - just as they have this week.
Y6 pupils will walk around the side of the building and wait in the area outside of Class 4. There is lots of space for them to wait patiently, Miss Davies and Mrs Proudfoot with supervise the handwashing and entry into Class 4. Pupils are allowed to bring their own water bottle and a packed lunch. If you require a packed lunch from school, please order via Lunchshop.
At the end of the school day, the pupils will be dismissed from the same gate. This will take time so please be patient.
Please click on the Home/School Agreement below and share this with your child before Monday. We want the children to have a very enjoyable and productive end to their career at St. Catherine's. Y6 are expected to be in school from Monday to Friday and any disobedient or disruptive behaviour will not be tolerated.
Thank you very much for your continued support and kind messages.
If you have any queries, please telephone 01768 864612 or email admin@st-catherines.cumbria.sch.uk.
Wednesday 3rd June
Dear Parents,
Please click on the letter below for further details re: the phased opening of school.
Any queries, not answered in the letter below, may be sent to:
head@st-catherines.cumbria.sch.uk or telephone 01768 864 612.
Teachers will continue to update the website with learning resources. These resources will reflect what is being taught in the classes as the selected year groups return.
There is also a link below to the latest DFE guidance for parents.
Thank you.
Monday 18th May 2020
Dear Parents,
We are in the process of planning the phased return to school and I will be posting further information later this week.
St. Catherine's will reopen on Monday 1st June for Critical Worker's children. Please email me on head@st-catherines.cumbria.sch.uk, indicating the days needed.
Phased return of Y6, Y1 and Reception:
Thank you to the parents who have already contacted me to state their intentions, we fully understand if you do not wish your child to return immediately.
If you have a child in either of those year groups, please email me at head@st-catherines.cumbria.sch.uk if you do not intend to send them to school as this will help us tremendously in allocating staff and classrooms.
Very careful consideration is being given to the safety of our children and staff and I would like to thank you for the kind words shared in emails and telephone calls.
Keep safe and I will post updates as soon as I can.
Mrs Hill
Dear Parents,
This is the page I will use to communicate the important messages we need to send in order to prepare for the return to school.
Please click on the letter below.