What is mindfulness?
Mindfulness means paying full attention to something. It means slowing down to really notice what you are doing.
Why is being mindful good for us?
Mindfulness helps us to:
Try some of these activities from the mindfulness menu.
https://www.ashgate.derby.sch.uk/mental-health/
Following consultation with Public Health this morning -
the school will now be closed for deep clean:
Friday 29th and Monday 1st February
An appeal
Please, please, please, stick to the rules for identifying symptoms and isolation.
The impact of individuals not following the guidance for symptoms and isolation can be significant. The rules are well known and shared repeatedly; there is no reason or excuse to flout them.
Immediate actions
If your child or any other member of the household displays any of the symptoms for Covid 19, guidance is very clear – isolated the household and test those symptomatic immediately. Do not allow your child to attend school.
IF IT’S A COUGH, THEY SHOULD BE OFF – isolate and test
It is not appropriate to ‘wait and see if it goes away’ or to have the view that ‘it may not be Covid’, and carry on to see if it gets worse and act later.
Danger!
There is a widely held view that children do not get Covid and that the NHS will not test them. Parents have told me this in person. THIS IS SIMPLY NOT TRUE and this widely held belief is causing people to ignore the rules and put others at risk.
The impact and some context
A single child sent to school with symptoms and then later found to be positive will place into isolation, and run the risk of higher transmission to:
On average, 20 families would have to manage isolation (more depending on level of support staff in the class and numbers of children attending on that day) and may now have transmitted the infection to others .
Importantly, if the child has a younger or older brother or sister in school who also tests positive (highly likely as they are in close proximity in the home) the impact extends to another bubble.
Finally: whilst our priority is always the children, the staff isolations owing to pupils attending wiith symptoms impacts on the wider operational capacity of the school. If I do not have staff available, I cannot open the school for others.
Please do not flout the rules of isolation and testing. Act promptly.
Closure of Year 5/6 bubble as of January 27th 2021 until Monday 8th February 2021
The school has received confirmation of a positive test outcome for Covid 19.
Owing to the operational impact on the community and for the safety of others, school is now unable to open to any Year 5 and 6 children until Monday, February 8th.
Children can return to school on Monday 8th February if they are not displaying symptoms.
Whilst we appreciate the inconvenience caused, the safety of the school and wider community is paramount and we must act accordingly.
Does my child have to isolate?
Guidance has been reviewed and as a result, those children attending school on the following dates, (January 21st (Thurs), 22nd (Friday), 25th (Mon) and 26th (Tuesday ) must isolate until midnight Friday 5th February (10 days from the last possible day of contact with the individual testing positive), or 10 days from their last day at school if they did not attend on all days.
If your child is in Year 5 or 6 and did not attend on any of these dates, (for example, they were ill, home schooling or similar) they are not required to isolate, but should not attend school as the bubble is now closed. Bubble closure is an operational matter as isolation impacts on the safety of others and staffing availability.
I know my child needs to isolate, but do other household members have to do likewise?
Household members are not required to isolate unless the child, or any other member of the household starts to display symptoms. If symptoms are displayed, the whole household must isolate and those with symptoms must be tested.
The main symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) are:
My child must now isolate, but if I get them tested and the outcome is negative can they return to school?
No. Even if your child does not have symptoms and/or has a negative test outcome, they must still isolate until the designated 10 days ends. This is because of the incubation period of 10 days.
Further guidance on isolation and testing is found below.
Home Learning provision will be in place for all pupils. Please visit the Covid 19 page on the school website or review the booklet for Remote Learning issued earlier in the term.
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/self-isolation-and-treatment/when-to-self-isolate-and-what-to-do/
Closure of Year 1 /2 bubble as of January 26th 2021 until Tuesday 2nd February 2021
The school has received confirmation of a positive test outcome for Covid 19. Confirmation was received today, January 26th 2021.
Owing to the operational impact on the community and for the safety of others, school is now unable to open to any Year 1 and 2 children until Tuesday, February 2nd.
Children can return to school on Tuesday 2nd February if they are not displaying symptoms
Whilst we appreciate the inconvenience caused, the safety of the school and wider community is paramount and we must act accordingly.
Does my child have to isolate?
Guidance has been reviewed and as a result, those children attending school on the following dates, (January 20th, 21st and 22nd) must isolate until midnight Monday 1st February (10 days from the last possible day of contact with the individual testing positive), or 10 days from their last day at school if they did not attend on all days.
If your child is in Year 1 or 2 and did not attend on any of these dates, (for example, they were ill, home schooling or similar) they are not required to isolate, but should not attend school as the bubble is now closed. Bubble closure is an operational matter as isolation impacts on the safety of others and staffing availability.
I know my child needs to isolate, but do other household members have to do likewise?
Household members are not required to isolate unless the child, or any other member of the household starts to display symptoms. If symptoms are displayed, the whole household must isolate and those with symptoms must be tested.
The main symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) are:
My child must now isolate, but if I get them tested and the outcome is negative can they return to school?
No. Even if your child does not have symptoms and/or has a negative test outcome, they must still isolate until the designated 10 days ends. This is because of the incubation period of 10 days.
Further guidance on isolation and testing is found below.
Home Learning provision will be in place for all pupils. Please visit the Covid 19 page on the school website or review the booklet for Remote Learning issued earlier in the term.
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/self-isolation-and-treatment/when-to-self-isolate-and-what-to-do/
Dear parents and carers.
Met Office are warning of icy conditions on untreated surfaces, pavements and cycle paths tomorrow until 10am. Whilst snow is always a hazard, it is ice that is the more pressing concern on most occasions.
As a result, the school will not open until 10:15am (when the Met Office warning is scheduled to end) for those children of critical workers. This will allow Mr Hill and I the opportunity to clear and re grit any icy pathways on school site and will ensure that staff have ample time to travel.
As always, parents are advised to consider their own safety and whether or not they deem it safe to travel to school.
School opening remains subject to staff being able to safely travel to and from their homes. Should staff numbers not meet the safety requirements on site, a decision may still be required to close the school to all. If this is the case, or if conditions change significantly, parents will be informed as soon as possible. I do not anticipate this will be necessary, but it is not a guarantee.
Mr Seargent
Extension of school laptop offer.
We have been contacting parents recently to ensure that those not attending school under critical worker category have access to a device for home learning. This was Phase 1 provision – those who had no device and therefore were entitled for support under the government scheme.
To date we have issued around 30 laptops for those families who do not have access to any device. Based on the information shared, we are satisfied that all homes now have at least one device to access home learning.
Further support (Phase 2)
If you feel that you would benefit from a school laptop, I am now in a position to open up the offer to other families and extend the criteria for eligibility.
To support this, I have created a benchmark for eligibility (outlined below). If you feel you meet any of these, you should inform the office.
Please note:
We will be contacting parents as of Monday February 1st if they are to be provided a device.
Dear parents
You are no doubt aware that the government have stated that there will be no free school meal funding over the February half term. The view of the government is that parents are now supported by the Covid Winter Grant – and that they should use this funding in place of the current food hamper and vouchers system. This position, may of course change!
However, I have decided that Ashgate Primary School will, regardless of the Department for Education’s position, continue to support free school meals over the February half term - funding this independently.
We are committed to our school community, recognise the need of our parents and their children, and will act independent of the formal directive.
Parents already in receipt of vouchers will not be required to do anything differently; vouchers will arrive in their current form.
I would like to thank the School Business Manager, Mrs Warburton, whose continued financial diligence places us in a position to act according to need.
Here are some strategies that you can use at home to support you child if they feel stressed or anxious or are just not coping at any point during lockdown, some of these may not work and that is okay.
Do not struggle alone, please ask for help. Further support and wellbeing information can be found our Emotional Wellbeing page;
https://www.ashgate.derby.sch.uk/mental-health/
Further support for parents is also available;
https://www.ashgate.derby.sch.uk/help-support/
Note of reassurance for parents receiving Free School Meal entitlement via vouchers.
There has been increased publicity over the last few days highlighting the clear instruction to school leaders not to issue Free School Meal vouchers to parents and instead arrange food parcels home.
‘We strongly encourage schools to work with their school catering team or food supplier to provide food parcels to eligible free school meal pupils who are at home’. (Providing free school meals guidance for schools during lockdown, January 2021).
In addition to this, the government removed the approved/administrated system (Edenred) for free school meal vouchers after the first lockdown, leading an increasing number of school leaders to revert to food parcels.
Why are the government recommending schools use catering firms to send parcels rather than issue vouchers?
This is a controversial directive and action from the government that has yet to be explained thoroughly. Certainly, it is different to that of the initial lockdown. It is possible that not using school catering providers may result in the loss of services in the long run as they become financially non-viable. In turn, this could result in the forced closure of school kitchens when 'normality' returns. The impact of this would be catastrophic as it would remove the options available for hot meals at schools - no caterers, no hot food.
Despite this, there are indications that the government are looking to reinstate a centralised voucher scheme for schools in the near future, which would be a u-turn on the position to date.
Will Ashgate continue to issue vouchers?
I want to reassure parents that, even though the voucher system put in place by Gov UK has now been terminated and I have been directed otherwise, Ashgate Primary School will continue to offer food vouchers during lockdown, as we always have when they have been available. In order to do so, we are acting independently of the guidance.
I act in this manner as:
This action will continue to be reviewed in line with guidance.
Advanced notice of any change to this arrangement will be shared if and when appropriate.
A statement by the Headteacher, countersigned by the Chair of Governing Body.
‘Parents and carers should keep their children at home if they can [including those of critical workers]’ (Critical Key Worker Guidance – Gov UK 4thJanuary 2021)
PUPIL NUMBERS AT SCHOOL CONTINUE TO RISE, DESPITE LOCKDOWN, AND I AM CONCERNED FOR THE SAFETY OF THOSE ATTENDING AS WELL AS THE DETRIMENTAL IMPACT THAT INCREASING NUMBERS ON SITE WILL HAVE ON THE ABILITY OF STAFF TO PROVIDE EFFECTIVE REMOTE LEARNING FOR OTHERS.
The number of pupils attending school in this lockdown is more than 5 fold that during the first and has nearly doubled over the last 2 school days. This is not sustainable, safe, or in the spirit or of the guidance issued by the government.
Parents are respectfully reminded that government clearly states that you should only send your child to school if there is no alternative - even if you are recognised as a critical worker. I am aware that some families are interpreting the guidance as meaning they can send their child to school even when there is a safe substitute for care, such as another adult at home or when they are not at work. This is not the intent of the document issued.
In its simplest form, regardless of eligibility, if there is an adult at home your child should not be at school. Eligibility, necessity and safety are not necessarily compatible at this time.
Whilst schools are not unsafe they may be vectors for transmission in communities’ – ‘those who can stay at home, must stay at home’(Prime Minister, Boris Johnson)
I am aware of a number of schools that are now having to turn away families with legitimate need as a result of the high volumes of parents attempting to access school for their child when it is not necessary. I do not wish to be placed in a position where I am required to act similarly.
I request that you only send your child if:
Your cooperation in this matter is appreciated.
STAY AT HOME AND STAY SAFE