All the latest information relating to school.
Hello families.
We have come to the end of the Spring Term and the weather today is sunny. It makes everyone feel a little more hopeful for better times ahead.
I wanted to give you a quick update on how things are doing in school in relation to Covid19.
We continue to keep our children in their bubbles as much as is possible. Our cleaning regime has not changed and the staff continue to wipe down high contact areas around their bubble and their classroom areas. The staff continue to use Lateral Flow Tests twice a week and we have had several positive results. These have then all returned negative PCR tests and any bubbles that have been off have returned to school as quickly as possible. Thank you to all families who have supported school with this.
Please remember that although there is some relaxing of community restrictions it is still important that you stay socially distanced at all times.
We are now starting the Easter holidays. If your child becomes symptomatic at any point up to and including Friday 2nd April then can I ask that you inform school straight away. You can use the following email address:
covidwatch@willowgroveprimary.org.uk
If this were to happen I would still need to support Contact Tracing in school for Wednesday.
I want to take this opportunity to thank the staff in school for their continued hard work for your children. Schools have continued to play an important part in the lives of children and the staff in school have tried to keep to routines that your child is familiar with and to keep education at the focus of what we do.
I also want to thank our families. Your continued support is very much appreciated as we find our way through the guidance and rules we are all now living and working with.
Have a safe and happy Easter holidays and we will see you all back in school on Tuesday 20th April.
Mrs Murphy
Dear Families.
As you will already be aware, every member of staff in school is now taking a Lateral Flow Test twice a week in their own homes. They test on a Sunday and Wednesday evening. We are also Lateral Flow testing every member of agency staff and every student visitor twice a week prior to them going into any of the classrooms. We have been doing this now for 5 weeks. So far, we have had two positive tests returned and we have taken the appropriate actions as per the Government Guidance.
As of last week, the Government have now introduced further Lateral Flow Testing for anyone who has a child in a primary school setting and for people within that child’s bubble at home. This means that as families you can now Lateral Flow test your household to further protect your family members and the wider members of our school community. Primary aged children should not be tested due to their age.
The following information is taken directly from the Governments information.
The following people in England will have access to regular rapid lateral flow testing made available to them as schools and colleges reopen:
Primary school pupils will not be asked to test at this time.
If you’re a member of a household, childcare bubble of a pupil, student or staff of a school or college, you can get a twice-weekly test:
Take a test at a rapid lateral flow test site
You can take a rapid lateral flow test at a local site. Testing at these sites is assisted, which means you will swab yourself under the supervision of a trained operator.
You may need to book an appointment.
Find your nearest rapid lateral flow test site.
Collect test kits
You can collect 2 packs of home test kits at a local collection point. Each pack contains 7 tests.
Anyone 18 or over can collect.
Most collection points are open from 1.30pm to 7pm. You can check online if the location is open or busy before you go. You do not need to make an appointment.
Do not visit a collection point outside opening hours, as it may be used to test people with coronavirus symptoms outside these times.
Find your nearest home test kit collection point.
Order home test kits online
If you cannot get tested at your workplace, or are unable to go to a test site or collect test kits, you can order a home test kit online.
Do not order online if you can get a test through other methods. This frees up home delivery for those who need it most.
Order rapid lateral flow home test kits What twice-weekly testing involves
You will be asked to:
Report your test result online or by calling 119.
If anyone tests positive or gets coronavirus symptoms, they should:
Pupils, students and staff should also tell their school or college if they test positive.
The responsibility for this testing lies with the families but if you would like to ask us any questions regarding the guidance then call school and we will be happy to try to help you.
Thank you for your continued support.
Mrs Murphy
Hello families
Well, here we are at the start of another half term. I hope the half term break was ok for you all, even though it may have been quiet for you.
You will have seen this week that as part of a 4 step roadmap for England, the Prime Minister has given consent for all children to return to school on Monday 8th March. Our children at Willow Grove need a gradual reintroduction to their class groups and the routines of school so they are returning using a planned, phased approach. Since Monday 22nd February we have begun slowly bringing our children back into school. This phased approach will take us passed the 8th March for a few children. This is being done in the best interest of the children and their class teams. Myself or Mrs Bolton will already have spoken with you to think about what will work best for your own child and we will continue to speak with you to make sure that your child’s return to school is successful.
The full curriculum offer is available to all of the children. The staff are available and will continue to call any child and family who are at home during the week. They will be supplying the remote learning offer for your child’s particular needs.
It is still vitally important that we continue to protect each other as the virus is still in our communities. Washing hands, maintaining social distancing and wearing masks where appropriate is still essential for our school and for you in your wider lives. The virus has not gone away and to maintain the Road Map for everyone we all need to continue to be aware and support each other.
If anyone would like to discuss the return to school for their child then please call school and we will be happy to speak with you.
Please remember to stay safe at home and do not mix with anyone outside your bubble. Keep 2m apart and don’t let your children play out in groups with others. This will help to keep our school staff as safe as possible. We are still not letting visitors into school unless it is absolutely necessary and this will continue for the foreseeable future. If you collect your child from school please remember to respect the people around you.
Once again I will take the opportunity to thank the staff team here at school who all work so hard for your children every day.
Can I also thank you as families for your continued support of the school and your children. Let’s hope that with everyone’s cooperation and support we can very soon welcome our families back into the building and our school community can share good times ahead.
Thank you and stay safe.
Mrs Murphy
Good afternoon
The Winter Grant Scheme is available to eligible families until the end of March 2021. Please click on the link below for more information.
https://www.wigan.gov.uk/Resident/Benefit-Grants/Welfare-Reform/Winter-grant-scheme.aspx
Regards
Lorraine Nicholls
Admin Assistant
Hello Families.
We are now on our fourth week back in school in 2021 and I thought it was time for an update.
I have unfortunately been unwell with Covid and absent from school since before Christmas. I am now back working and it made me really sad to miss the last week before Christmas and our return to school in the New Year. Mrs Bolton has done an amazing job of supporting our families along with the admin team who have always been on hand to answer any of your queries or concerns. The staff continue to work very hard and should be commended on their efforts in support of all of our school community. Many of them have young families themselves and children at home who need ‘home schooling’. Some have vulnerable family members within their families. It is an anxious time for everyone across our borough and we are all working very hard to get through these times in the best way we can.
Parents and families please do not put too much pressure on yourselves to ‘home school’ your child. I have said before that relationships and play and getting through each day is just as important for our children. Try the school work when you can and remember there are lots of activities you can do with your children to encourage learning at home. Speak to the class teacher when they call you and they will be able to support your own personal situation at home. Even if your child is not attending school at the moment please speak with the DSLs and class teachers who will be calling you regularly.
School continues to remain open for as many children as we can safely accommodate following all the guidance from the Government, the NHS and the Local Authority. We continue to work hard in school to keep the children and the staff as safe as we can whilst we continue to support education and relationships. The staff clean as they go, additional cleaning happens twice in the daytime and the Cleaning Team ensure that school is cleaned thoroughly every evening.
Lateral flow testing.
You will probably have heard on the news that as of this week Primary School Staff will undertake a Lateral Flow Device Test twice a week in school. This will tell us if any of the staff are carrying the Covid virus but do not have any of the symptoms. The NHS believe it will help to reduce some of the risk for everyone in the school setting if these staff are identified and then prompt action is taken to isolate the contacts of these staff. For Willow Grove the testing will happen on a Sunday and a Wednesday evening. The first round of testing will happen tonight. If your child is ever identified as a contact from this testing, someone from school will be in touch with you and will give you information about isolating your child. The staff who test positive with a Lateral Flow Device will then be asked to have a full PCR test as soon as possible. The children and staff who are contacts for that member of staff will be asked to isolate at home until the results of the PCR test are known. If the PCR test is negative your child can return to school the next day. If the PCR test is positive then your child will remain in self-isolation for a total of 10 days before returning to school.
As of yet it is unknown how significantly this will affect school but I’m sure you understand that this is being done with everyone’s safety and health in mind. If you would like any further information about this then please contact us at school and we will try our best to answer your questions.
As ever thank you for your support and please keep yourself and your family safe.
Mrs Murphy
Children’s Mental Health and Wellbeing
Amid the Covid 19 pandemic, supporting the wellbeing of children has never been so important.
This resource is designed to offer advice on how parents can safeguard their child/ren's mental health and promote their wellbeing and is available as a document and short video presentation.
The link to both resources is here:
https://ssscpd.co.uk/education/parentsandguardians/child-mental-health-10-tips-for-parents/-/pj==
I hope you find this useful.
Regards
Joanna Murphy
Headteacher
Please click on the link below to see the latest update from Wigan Council.
https://primarysite-prod-sorted.s3.amazonaws.com/willow-grove-primary-school/UploadedDocument/ee2ff4c051a64668b1e95401b93cc6b0/letter-to-families-from-wigan-council-15.01.21.pdf
Hello to all our families.
Happy New Year to you all.
No doubt you will have heard the announcement from the Prime Minister about the National Lockdown starting tonight across England. We have been instructed to remain open for only our most vulnerable children and for the children of Key Workers, of which the Government has provided a new list.
This is incredibly short notice for schools who are due back in tomorrow.
I have therefore taken the decision to keep school closed for one more day to pupils and staff.
Tomorrow the school team will be working very hard to have a safe and effective plan in place for reopening to the named groups on Wednesday.
As of yet I have no other information for you. One of the school team will be in touch with every family tomorrow to talk with you and to let you know the plan for this half term.
If you want to speak with someone from school then please use the enquiries email address on the website or leave a message on the school system and we will get back to you, but as I have said we will be speaking with each family tomorrow anyway.
I really didn’t think I would be sending this message to you all once again, but I’m sure you agree that the safety of everyone is always to be our first priority.
Thanks you for your ongoing support, patience and understanding and we will be in contact with you all very soon.
Mrs Murphy.
Dear parent/carer
An update from Mrs Murphy
I wanted to write out to you to bring you up to date with the current situation in school.
Throughout the Autumn term we have had challenges in some areas of school relating to staffing. We have worked really hard to ensure that the staffing has been sufficient to support your children in their learning. However, since Tuesday of this week, the situation has changed quite quickly due to the number of staff who are required to self-isolate within school or who have been contacted by the Track and Trace Service. We are now in a position where we are unable to staff the classes for the number of children we currently have in the building. Today, in consultation with Public Health and the Local Authority, we have taken the decision to close the school until after Christmas.
It is important that you understand that although we do have some cases of Covid within the Staff team, this is not the reason the school is closing. It is simply that Wigan has a very high transmission rate and this is now having an impact on Willow Grove. We have always worked closely as a team with the Local Authority and with Public Health both of whom are very supportive. We will continue to do this.
Our priority in school is always the care of your children and I am sure you will agree that it will be safer to close school for a few short days in these circumstances.
Your child will return to school on Tuesday 5th January 2021
It is very upsetting for everyone in school that we are closing 2 ½ days early. We have gifts for your children from Father Christmas and a lot of Christmas fun was planned that now can’t happen. The staff have asked that we keep hold of the presents as they want to have a delayed Christmas with their classes when they return to school in January.
Just on a practical note, please remember the following …
As we now get ready for our Christmas break we have no idea what the new year of 2021 will bring but we hope for more settled times both in your family households and within school. I would like to take this opportunity to publically thank all the teaching staff, kitchen staff, teaching assistants, caretaking staff, admin officers and the Family Partnership Team for their continued hard work under very challenging circumstances. They are an amazing team and have always put your children’s best interests and safety first.
I would also like to thank you as families, parents and carers. You continue to support your children and the school setting amazingly and this is very much appreciated by myself and the staff in the school.
I hope your Christmas is peaceful and safe and that you can be with the people you want to be with over the holidays.
Take care and stay safe and we will see you all in what will hopefully be a healthy, happy 2021 x
Yours sincerely
Joanna Murphy
Headteacher
Dear Parent / Carers
Unfortunately, due to ongoing staffing issues, we regrettably have to close school to pupils for the remainder of the week. Transport have been informed.
We look forward to welcoming our pupils back into school on Tuesday 5th January and wish you and your family a merry Christmas and very best wishes for 2021.
Mrs Murphy
Headteacher