All the latest information relating to school.

• Letter to Parents

  Fri 29 May 2020

  29th May 2020

   

  Dear Families.

  As I have said many times to lots of different families over the last few weeks, social distancing in school is very hard to maintain.  Some of our older children can maintain 2m distance but some of our children do not understand or want to stay a safe distance from their peers. As such we have managed the school by considering the very particular needs of our school cohort and so far the children have been happy and successful in school.  This has been aided by the staff meeting the needs of your children.

  I thought you would like to know what actions we are currently taking as part of the risk management in school to protect your child and the staff as much as we can.

   

  DURING THE SCHOOL DAY                                                                                                                      

  • Classes have been paired together. As of 1^st June we have made sure all pupils are with their regular classroom teams or one other class team with whom they are familiar. This will help with consistency of emotional care
  • There will never be more than 24 children in the school at any one time and these children will be spread around different areas of the school.
  • The children will be in groups of no more than 4 children with 3 staff. Occasionally there are only 2 or 3 children in the group.
  • The staff are spilt into 2 teams and only one team is in school at any one time.

  • Windows and doors are propped open for ventilation whenever it is safe to do so.
  • Outdoor play is encouraged in different areas for each group of pupils.
  • Pupils will be outside as much as possible.
  • Handwashing is happening frequently and consistently with the support of the staff.
  • There are no whole school gatherings, e.g assemblies,
  • All meals are eaten in classrooms.
  • No visitors are allowed into school during the school day unless it is essential repair work.  As from 1^st June any work that is needed to be done in school will take place out of your children’s hours and all areas will be cleaned down after the work is complete.
  • Several rooms have been locked and are no longer available to the pupils.

   

  ARRANGEMENTS AT HOME

  To support our efforts in school, families should remember the following:

  • Households MUST ensure they maintain the social distancing rules. If families are known to be breaking these rules, parents will be asked to keep their child at home /away from school for up to 14 days.

  • Your children should wear clean uniform every day.
  • Packed lunches should be in a small lunch bag or plastic container.
  • Children should remove their clothes as soon as they get home and have a shower or a bath on returning from school each day.

   

   

  If there is a confirmed case of Covid19 in school then my actions would be in line with the guidance provided by the Government and Public Health England.

   

  GUIDANCE IF THERE IS A SUSPECTED OR CONFIRMED CASE of COVID 19

  • When a child, young person or staff member develops symptoms compatible with coronavirus, they should be sent home and advised to self-isolate for 7 days. Their fellow household members should self-isolate for 14 days. All staff and students who are attending an education or childcare setting will have access to a test if they display symptoms of coronavirus, and are encouraged to get tested in this scenario.
  • Where the child, young person or staff member tests negative, they can return to their setting and the fellow household members can end their self-isolation.
  • Where the child, young person or staff member tests positive, the rest of their class or group within their childcare or education setting should be sent home and advised to self-isolate for 14 days. The other household members of that wider class or group do not need to self-isolate unless the child, young person or staff member they live with in that group subsequently develops symptoms.

   

  LOCAL AUTHORITY TRANSPORT

  The LA Transport Team will consider the protective measures they can put in place on school vehicles.  The school does not hold responsibility for the transport but is working very closely with them at all times.

   

  If there is anything else you would like to discuss with me then please call school next week and I would be very happy to speak with you.

   

  Mrs Murphy

• Plans Moving Forward - Updated

  Fri 29 May 2020

  29th May 2020

   

  Hello Families.

  I wanted to share with you a provisional plan for the next 7 weeks in school.  As ever, I am mindful of the latest Government guidance and the management of the risks in school.  This could impact on our plans and therefore can I remind you that what I am sharing could change at very short notice.  I will endeavour to keep you as up to date as possible.                                                                                   However, we hope that in the next half term we can achieve the following:

   

  1st June for 4 weeks	Every child in the school will get an offer of some days back in school to ‘touch base’ with friends, the staff team and the building. During this time transition support will happen for our Y6 children to their new high schools wherever possible.
  29th June for 2 weeks	No Y6 children in school. Transition time for our own children in school. We will hopefully be able to let your child spend some time with their class teacher for the next school year.
  13th July for 1 week	Preparing for Summer for all children. Every child will be offered at least 1 day in school this week to say goodbye before the summer holidays begin.

   

  I tried to contact all families before the end of last term.  If I haven’t managed to catch you then I will be trying again from Monday 1^st June onwards so watch out for my call.

  Thank you again for your continued support during these challenging times.

   

  Mrs Murphy

• Plans for the Summer Term

  Fri 22 May 2020

  18^th May 2020

   

  Dear Families

  I wanted to write to you all to give you the latest update about school and our role in supporting our children and our families.

  Willow Grove has been open to children of key workers and our vulnerable children since the beginning of this Coronavirus lockdown.  We have had between 15 and 20 children in most days and have managed the safety of everyone in the building, staff and children alike, in the best way possible following guidance from the Local Authority, Government and Public Health England.

  The Government has now asked schools to gradually increase the number of pupils they are open to and to aim to have a larger number of children in school by the end of the summer term.  You will have heard the passionate discussions being had by all parties as to whether it is safe to bring larger numbers of children back into schools.

  In moving forward with the Governments decision I have considered the following:

  • The safety of the children and the staff on a daily basis.
  • Our ability to maintain the recommended social distancing guidance.
  • Calls to families that tell us that our children are missing being in school and in an increasing number of cases our children’s mental health is suffering.
  • Guidance from the Government.
  • Guidance from Public Health England.

   

  I have drawn the following conclusions:

  • The safety of our children and staff is paramount to any final actions and decisions taken by me and the senior leaders in school.
  • It is absolutely true that the majority of our children are unable to maintain the recommended social distancing guidance and that as nurturing adults it is very hard for us not to comfort a distressed child or to physically intervene to support emotionally if it is necessary. 
     
  • All of our children have some level of additional needs and the current situation of lockdown is very hard for them to understand and tolerate.  Our children do not cope with change well and most are comforted with familiar routine and familiar adults in their home and school life.  Currently they cannot have their normal routine and whilst initially this seemed manageable it is now clear that the children are struggling with not being able to have some normality in their lives. 
  • The guidance from Government is plentiful and is sometimes released many times in a day.  It is constantly updated and reviewed.  As head teacher I read whatever information I can and am continually reviewing and tweaking our routines and support for everyone in the building at school.  Moving forward this will not change.
  • Public Health are available to consult with on any issues for school and we are in contact with the Local Authority when necessary. 

   

  Taking all of the above into account I have spent the last week creating a plan to move us forward.  As of the 1^st June:

  • We will have 6 classes in school each day.
  • 2 of these classes will be for our Y6 children only.
  • The class sizes will not go above 4 children in each class.
  • Before the end of this Summer Term every child in the school will have been offered some days in school to ‘touch base’ with their classrooms, teachers and teaching assistants and some of their classmates.
     

  Over the next week I will be contacting you all to talk about whether you would like your child to spend some time back in school before the Summer holidays, even if it is only for one or two days. 

  As parents you will be aware of the risks involved in sending your children into school and as head teacher I cannot tell you that there is no risk.  It is your decision and we will support you with whatever you decide.  We are working hard to make the school as safe as possible but there is still a risk for everyone.  There will be no fines issued if you choose to keep your children at home and we totally understand if this is your choice.

  If you would like to talk about this with me then please feel free to contact school.

  Yours sincerely

   

   

   

  Joanna Murphy

  Headteacher

• Time for another update.

  Fri 01 May 2020

  Hello Everyone.  

  I thought I would just check in with you all.

  The school is still very quiet and I really don't like the empty rooms and corridors. I much prefer it to be busy and noisy.  I am hoping we can get back to some sort of normality soon.  We are watching the Governments guidance and we are waiting for some indication as to how and when we can start to plan your children's return.  I think that the return to school will be slow paced and gradual.  I will work to support our Y6 children who will be leaving us in July.  It is going to be important that they have the best transition possible in the current circumstances so that they can have the most successful start to Y7.  I will stay in touch with you all so that you know how things are going.  When I have anything to share with you, rest assured I will share it.

  We are all still keeping busy in school and the teachers are speaking to all our families over the week.  Our website is looking really good with all the pictures you have been sending in.  Please keep sending things to us.  It makes the staff smile when they see what your children are getting up to at home.  Have a look at the daily challenge section of the home learning page as it is full of ideas on how to celebrate VE Day next week.  Friday is the VE Day Bank Holiday but the school will remain open to key workers and some of our children. We will be celebrating the event with our children in school.

  Next week we will be starting to collect food for our local food bank.  It has supported many of our friends and families during this period of time and we think we could possibly help by offering them whatever we can gather together. If you do have any spare tins, cereals, chocolates or dried goods that we could send to them, then just send then into school next week and we will make sure it is passed on to the Food Bank for them to distribute across our communities in Wigan.  Thank you in advance for your support with this.

   

  I will sign off now but as ever remember we are here if you need us.  Please pick up the phone and we will help in any way we can.  
  Enjoy your time at home with your children.

  See you very soon.

   

  Mrs Murphy