July 2020

Staff News

I know many of you have been awaiting the announcement of class allocations for September 2020. I shared this news in our assembly this morning. If you missed the assembly and would like to watch it back, please click on the link. This information can also be found on page 2 of this newsletter.

Within the assembly I announced the retirement of Mrs Chris Law. Mrs Law has worked at Lea Forest for many years and touched the hearts of many of our children and their families. She has worked relentlessly in her role as our SENCo (Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator) and DSL (Designated Safeguarding Lead). I’m sure many of you will join me in wishing Mrs Law a fabulous retirement. I’d like to say a huge thank you for all she contributed during her time at Lea Forest and wish her all the best for the future.

To fill the huge gap Mrs Law will be leaving as our SENCo, I’m delighted to announce that Miss Ward will be taking on this responsibility in school and will therefore no longer be class based full time. Many of you already know Miss Ward and she’s very excited to get started and continue the great work of Mrs Law.

I would also like to welcome Miss Kenny as a new member of our teaching team who will be joining the Early Years team, teaching Reception in September. Miss Kenny is an experienced teacher of 4 years, spending the last few years teaching in Year 1 at an Outstanding school in Leicester. I’m sure you will all welcome Miss Kenny to the Lea Forest family with open arms.

Year 6 BBQ

We plan to hold a BBQ on Tuesday 14 July from 4pm until 6pm. We will be holding the celebration OUTSIDE in the KS2 playground; children will enter via the staff car park gate on Eddish Road by the school field. During the afternoon, we will enforce social distancing measures and have plenty of hand washing stations available. Children will not be allowed access into the school building, except to use the toilet which is located next to the playground. Tickets for the BBQ will cost £3.00. Food and drinks (including halal options) will be included in the price as well as an autograph book for children to share messages and contact details if they wish to and a little gift. Tickets must be purchased before the end of today!

Every Child Check-in

Thank you to all of the children, parents and carers for all of the wonderful conversations and catch-ups this week. The calls have been focused on wellbeing, support and online engagement. Thank you also for the parents/carers that have completed the online surveys. All the information shared is helping us prepare for returning to school in September. If you haven’t completed the survey yet, please do so ASAP. I am aware some of you have had problems accessing the surveys, but Mr Croxon is on hand to support if needed.

Returning IT Equipment

As part of our commitment to ensuring children were able to continue with their education during the period of remote working, children were loaned devices (iPads, Chromebooks, MiFi dongles). As children are returning to working on-site, we need to collect back those devices which were loaned in order to continue to provide access to IT equipment and online resources within the academy. I would therefore be grateful if you could return the device(s) loaned to your child by no later than Wednesday 15 July 2020.

This Week

We had our highest number of children in school this week since we went into lockdown back in March. On Thursday we had a total of 150 children attending school. The government are slowly releasing information about the return to school in September for all children. I am very busy, in consultation with AET, finding out about the best way of getting all of our children back onto site safely. As always, the children’s wellbeing will be our number one priority. It is important that we start to come to terms with the new ‘normal’ too and realise that things are not going to be the same as before. We can take many positives from these difficult times and will maintain some of the new ways of working. Personally, I can’t wait to have a full school of 500+ children again.

It was the Festival of Remarkable Lives on Wednesday 1 July and what a REMARKABLE day it was!

CBBC stars Sam and Mark hosted the festival with two fun-packed 90 minute programmes. It was incredible to see the level of engagement from our school community, from designing a creative version of the school logo competition to the amazing Tik Tok dances performed by our children and staff. A huge congratulations to Adelle Hilton and Keavey Yate who both managed to win first prizes in the dance and drama competitions.

Instead of a celebration assembly next week, there will be an announcement of class allocations and some special messages from our staff. Following on from this there will be additional transition information for certain year groups. In addition to this, there will be social stories and class hangouts arranged. Year 6 have also been completing sessions on transition this week as they’ve turned their thoughts to moving to secondary school. We are very lucky to be part of a new transition programme created by our trust, AET.

Thank you to all of the children, parents and carers for all of the wonderful conversations and catch-ups this week. We really enjoy our KIT (keeping in touch) calls and finding out about what you’ve all been up to at home. The calls have been focused on wellbeing, support and online engagement. Thank you also for the parents/carers that have completed the online surveys. All the information shared is helping us prepare for returning to school in September.

On Thursday we were really pleased that we had a grand total of 150 children in school for the first time since the closure.

We are looking forward to welcoming everyone back in September when attendance will be compulsory for all.

Last Friday 50 children received Fantastic Five certificates for completing 3 full weeks of attendance.

Children who have completed 4 full weeks will receive their certificates on Friday and will only need one more week's attendance to claim their reward!

It's normal to feel a bit worried, scared or helpless about the current situation. Remember: it's OK to share your concerns with others you trust and doing so may help them too.

If you cannot speak to someone you know or if doing so has not helped, there are plenty of helplines you can try instead. Below is a link to a range of helplines that offer support:

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/mental-health-helplines/

Remember: If you do need support or even just a quick chat please make contact through Class Dojo or via the main office on: 0121 675 3985 to request a call back.

Stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe!

Mr Wills & The Learning Mentor Team