Rhydri Newsletter 16.7.21
Arrangements for September 2021
The Welsh Government letter to Head Teachers that was shared on Friday afternoon has made some things clearer but also raised more questions about how schools will be expected to operate in the new school year. Although the requirement for bubbles has been removed, at the same time, the new guidance that supports the WG announcement states that schools must ‘formally consider how to reduce contacts’. There is also the expectation that if there is a positive case a school will be able to (as we do now) notify TTP of all that child’s close contacts. We currently do this through our bubble / contact lists. However if these were totally removed we could be in a situation like many Comprehensives where whole Key Stages or even the whole school would possibly be asked to isolate and that is not something any of us would want.
Yards will still be zoned and play-times split to allow the children more ‘safe’ space in which to play. Lunches will still be delivered to the classrooms for the first part of the new term at least in order to maintain bubbles at the time of the day when there used to be the most mixing.
Breakfast Club should be able to open in autumn although additional measures will need to be put in place in order to meet the requirements stated in the Operating Guidance for schools as well as meeting the requirements of the world in which we find ourselves living in at the end of the summer break.
To ensure that the Breakfast Club is able to open safely and remain open the intended start date for the provision will be the second Monday of term – 13th September. The situation is changing so quickly that workable plans for this aspect of school provision can only be meaningfully prepared much closer to the time. There will be class groups and seating plans in place for Breakfast Club in order to aid with track and trace should the need arise. Should the situation change drastically by the beginning of September any plans for re-opening the Breakfast Club would have to be revisited and potentially postponed.
From the first week back (w/c 6th September) we will have to revert to our original start and finish times. Gates will open at 8.40am (giving a 20 minute window for drop-off before the school start time of 9am) for Bronze / Silver / Gold and 8.50am for Rainbow. Pick-up will be 3.25pm for Reception and 3.30pm for Bronze / Silver / Gold.
As has been the case this year, social distancing is still required for all visitors to school.
Breakfast Club (runs from 8am – 9am) will accept attendees from 8am - 8.30am.
As so much time has elapsed since the last time Breakfast Club was able to run they will need new application forms for all pupils who wish to attend whether they attended before or not. This is to ensure that their records / contact details are as up to date as possible. Although hosted on the school site Breakfast Club is mangaged by the Catering service. They will need a form per child meaning that siblings will have separate forms. These forms are available from the school office as well as being on the last page of the School Prospectus which is available on the school website. The forms can be handed in to the school office during the first week back in September.
Survey
As we did last year we would appreciate your time to respond to our survey on blended learning which has been expanded to cover aspects of provision such as homework and support. After the first lockdown we worked hard to address issues that we had identified ourselves as well as those identified by parents and children and we appreciated the constructive feedback we received in our last survey. The survey will be accessible through the link on our website.
Rhydri Leavers
Although we have not been able to give our Year 6 quite the send off we would have liked, thanks to the help of the Parish Hall and especially Mrs Schilling we enjoyed a unique and special Leavers’ Assembly yesterday afternoon. We will miss you all but know that you are ready to take that next ‘big’ step!
Rhydri PTA
We would like to thank the Friends of Rhydri Primary for their continued support and efforts in raising funds to the support the school. The Year 6 Leavers were presented with personalised hoodies funded by the PTA and have also enjoyed a subsidised trip to the Summit Centre for a day of rock climbing, archery and bushcraft. The PTA team also held a successful second hand uniform sale and still have plenty of items available, contact the school should you require anything.
Reminder - Notifying School of Covid Test Results
There is currently no change to the process in place. You will need to contact the school by e-mail or phone as soon as possible if a child’s test result comes back positive. If this is outside normal school hours please text Miss Lewis on 07825 952705.
Any notifications of class closures will be sent out via Text2Parents and posted on the Federation’s website. If you change your mobile number please let Miss Lewis in the school office know so that she can update your contact details.
This has been an unforgettable year for many of the wrong reasons! One message I would like to share is an important one when we are faced with all the negativity from the press etc. The children in both of our schools have returned with positivity and their results and work have been exceptional. The work carried out during lockdown with the combination of teachers working remotely and the home schooling you did has definitely paid off. Our children are in a great place to build on next year. I do not recognise the negativity I see in news reports and online about children being ‘lost’ when I look at our schools.
I hope that you all have a lovely summer. Thank you for working with us to try and keep everyone as safe as possible.