March 2021

A huge well done to Miss Cooper and her wonderful dance team who have choreographed a remarkable masterpiece for AETs Remarkable Lives Dance Competition. The girls involved were:

Evie Morgan, Maisey Kimberlee, Safiato Lopes Camara, Adelle Hilton, Amyah Eze, Zahara Mughal, Ava-Mae Snow-Martin, Poppy-Leigh Storer and Zuenerah Khan.

Watch this space as we will share their creation after 31st March...

It has been wonderful having all of the children back in school and getting back to a sense of normality. I know it is only the beginning of the journey but the energy, commitment and dedication we are seeing from everyone is heartwarming. Thank you for the lovely messages and positive comments on how we are continuing to inspire each and every child to reach true academic brilliance even in these difficult circumstances. Congratulations on another successful week of attendance, reaching 97.05% for the week, beating our 96% target. Our whole school attendance to date stands at 95.88%. Keep-it-up!

Parent Voice

Thank you to those of you that completed the weekly pulse survey last week which continues to let us know how you are and your children are doing so that we can respond, adapt, improve and take care of everyone in the right way. Here is the link to this week’s survey - https://edurio.com/poll/dov9mx - which will only take 3 minutes. I would love to hear from you before Saturday at 3pm when the survey will close.

RSHE Curriculum Parent Consultation

As part of the school’s Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) programme, your child will soon receive a unit of lessons on Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE). The purpose of the upcoming unit is to provide knowledge and understanding of safe and healthy relationships based on love and respect. This is to encourage the eventual development of safe and healthy relationships in later life. The unit will develop understanding and attitudes which will help pupils to form relationships in a responsible and healthy manner and to appreciate the value of stable family life, including the responsibilities of parenthood and marriage.

We would like to invite you to attend a virtual parent information meeting on Tuesday 30 March at 2pm until 3pm to discover more about what your child will learn, view the materials and resources being used in lessons and discover how you can best support your child to discuss these topics at home. You will be able to join the meeting by clicking here.

As a school community, we are committed to working in partnership with parents; our recent feedback has indicated that the overwhelming majority of parents continue to be highly supportive of the programme. If you would like to find out more or discuss any concerns, we would urge you to attend the information meeting and look forward to seeing you there. In the meantime, you can view our RSHE policy here or on our website at www.leaforestacademy.org.

Wellbeing Tip

Winter is a time for hibernating. Unless you've got somewhere to be, the grey overcast days and too-cold-to-go-out weather can make it tempting to stay in bed as long as possible. By springtime, a lot of us are sleeping a lot later than we need to and that can be a hard habit to kick. As spring approaches, one of our best wellness tips is this: start waking up earlier. You'll have so much more time to get your day started. You'll also have more hours of daylight in general, freeing you up to read, exercise, relax with a cup of tea, and do whatever you please. If you have trouble with this, try setting an alarm, gradually making it earlier a little at a time. If necessary, start going to bed earlier, too. Try relaxing tea or a hot bath to make this easier.

Have a fabulous weekend!

Let’s aim for ANOTHER REMARKABLE WEEK at Lea Forest!

It's been a remarkable record breaking week for attendance at Lea Forest with 4 classes achieving 100% attendance for the week!

Our attendance champions this week are

Early Years - Nursery 100%

Key Stage 1 - 1HM 100%

Key Stage 2 - 4TH 100% and 5MW 100%

Our whole school attendance for the week was a record breaking 98.62%.

This is a phenomenal start back thank you to all our parents and children for making sure that every day counts!

During this lockdown we have supported our families by loaning out over 300 devices. Please make sure you bring in any school owned devices and hand them into the main office along with any plugs, cases and leads.

Before the devices are returned to class they will cleaned and any repairs that are required will be carried out so that we can get them back into classes to support learning in school.

Please don't cause a traffic jam by parking inconsiderately on Eddish Road. Birmingham City Council and West Midlands Police will be monitoring the parking around the school and will be issuing £70 fines if a vehicle is parked in a dangerous or illegal manner.

We are asking all our parents to use alternative methods of transport to get to school and park well away from the gates to help keep our children safe.

This week

WOW! What a truly REMARKABLE week! It was such a great feeling opening our doors to ALL of our wonderful children on Monday. Staff, children and especially parents all had huge smiles on their faces and were delighted to be back to normal school routines.

Once again, the children have settled back into school life brilliantly - it’s like they’ve never been away! I believe it’s been such a smooth transition because you all worked so hard virtually, which ensured learning continued. Therefore, the children have slotted back into school and we’ve hit the ground running.

Attendance

THANK YOU so much for your efforts in ensuring children are back in school, happy and learning. We smashed our 96% target this week...

Attendance this week was a REMARKABLE 98.62%. This is a record for Lea Forest!

World Book Day

On Wednesday we dressed-up as our favourite book characters and celebrated World Book Day. It was such a wonderful day to celebrate our love of reading. We held a masked reader event, decorated potatoes and loo rolls and most importantly had the chance to read and explore texts. Check out some of the photographs from the day on page 4 of this newsletter.

Science Week

We have ended the week with every class taking part in a science workshop to celebrate Science week. The children have had the chance to take part in fun activities and learn interesting science facts!

Next week

We'll be turning our noses red for Comic Relief day next Friday. Children will be able to come to school dressed in red for a donation of £1 and we'll be painting noses for a donation of 50p. Look out for our fundraising ideas on ClassDojo and help us beat last year's total!

Have a fabulous weekend!

Let’s aim for another REMARKABLE week of attendance.

Talk to your child ahead of time so that they are aware of what to expect in advance. Explain to them what might be different, focusing on the positives, like seeing their friends every day, a lesson they enjoy or seeing their teachers.

Be positive when discussing the return to school, especially when your child may be able to hear you. Children can be perceptive and may pick up on any anxiety or negativity you may be feeling yourself. If you, as a parent or carer do have worries or need reassurance please talk to us and we can help.

Make plans with your child to continue some of those activities you may have shared together during lockdown. For example, you may have enjoyed going for bike ride or doing some baking together during the lockdown so plan to do that again at the weekend after school starts as a treat to look forward to.

Routines are important. A calm bedtime routine, which incorporates relaxing activities like reading a book or listening to quiet music can lead to a good night’s sleep. This in turn can make it easier to get up early, get dressed and eat a good breakfast before heading out to school.

Agree a separation plan with your child. At the time of drop off, its best to keep it short and sweet. Give a hug, smile and give them a big wave, Say “SEE YOU SOON”. Once the familiar faces of friends and teachers are there to greet your child, hopefully they can focus on the potential excitement of school rather than any sadness about a parent leaving.

To celebrate the return to school for all children on Monday 8th March, we invite you to take part in the Easter Attendance Eggstravaganza challenge!

Come to school everyday from Monday 8th March until Thursday 1st April and have the chance to win a large £10 Easter Egg.

What do you need to do?

Come to school every day for 19 days, from the 8th March until 1st April. If you have to self isolate, complete online learning instead.

How can you win?

Those that complete the 19 day challenge will have their name put in a prize draw to be carried out on Thursday 1st April. There will be a prize draw per year group so a pupil in every year group has the chance to win.

If you have a day off school, you cannot be entered into the prize draw.

We have continued to be amazed by the high levels of engagement that we have seen across the school since the lockdown began in January. Congratulations for achieving upto 99% throughout this period of time.

This week’s newsletter is a day early as school will be closed to all pupils on Friday 5th March 2021 in order to prepare for our full reopening on Monday 8th March 2021. We can’t wait to have all the children back in school. Some will require time and space to adjust and we will work together so they can all find their feet, re-orientate themselves socially and get back into the rhythm of day to day school life, so that they feel confident and most of all, happy.

The safe return measures we used in the last full return to school will apply from Monday 8th March 2021. In short, children will be kept in consistent groups (bubbles) for lessons/learning activities, lunchtimes, assemblies, sports, playtimes and extra-curricular activities. Social distancing will be in force at all times and safe hygiene practices actively promoted.

I would also like to take this opportunity to remind parents and carers to adhere to social distancing rules at drop off and pick up points, not to enter the school site or congregate near the school gates. You can find a summary of our Safe Return plans on our website.

As we gear up for being back at school, this week’s tips are about supporting your child to get ready for their return after lockdown from the respected organisation Young Minds: www.bit.ly/TipsLockdownReturn.

Here is this week’s survey - https://edurio.com/poll/JK70xf - which will only take 3 minutes to complete and I would love to hear from you before Saturday at 3pm when the survey will close.

The new DFE guidance on school attendance for Monday 8th March 2021 states that:

• All schools, colleges and further education settings should allow full attendance from Monday 8 March. Wraparound childcare, including childminders should also allow attendance for eligible children. School attendance will be mandatory for all pupils.

• The usual rules and duties around school attendance are in place from Monday 8 March (including mandatory attendance). All schools should communicate expectations about regular attendance to pupils and parents. Schools should identify pupils at risk of disengagement and develop plans to re-engage them.

We are really excited to welcome everyone back on Monday 8 March. Please do remember that attendance is not optional, it is mandatory.

We cannot wait to have Lea Forest Primary Academy full of our lovely children again.

As ever, please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions.

Wishing you all a great long weekend!