20th April

Dear Shacklewell community,

We miss you. It has been exactly a month since we closed our doors and who would have thought so much could change. One thing that has remained however, is our commitment to you, our families, and we are here to support you in anyway we can. Please do not hesitate to contact us via email or telephone if there is anything that you need.

This has been a difficult period for us all. I can only imagine the daily considerations and sacrifices being made by you to ensure that your children remain reassured and protected. To support your efforts, school will continue to provide home learning each week. The booklets for this week are included below. They will also be published on the school website and sent to you via email/Xpressions. We are constantly reviewing our home learning expectations and based on your feedback we have made some changes which will take effect from Friday of this week. Please continue to let us know how we can further support your child's home learning. May I take this opportunity to remind families that whilst it may be difficult to complete the home learning each day, it is very important that you listen to your child read, and share stories and books together every day. It would also be ideal if children could practice their times tables and addition and subtraction, such as number bonds too.

During this period of school closure the New Wave Federation has been hosting vulnerable children and those of key workers at Grazebrook Primary School. This approach has had myriad benefits for our children and the staff and allows us to adhere closely to the government's guidance on necessary work and travel. I am proud that as a school community our families continue to use this service and I will be in contact with some of you this week to find out if you may like your children to attend.

Schools have been asked to provide lunches for those children who qualify for free school meals. To centralise this system the government has instructed schools to register all eligible families on a voucher scheme. This system has not been without its flaws and for this we can only apologise. As a school we were reassured that families who received free school meals would be sent a code within 48hours but this has not been the case for all families so I will be in touch with them directly over the coming days. If you have been affected by this or have any questions then please do not hesitate to contact us- we are only a phone call away.

Schools look set to be closed for several more weeks and whilst we are desperate to have the children return we must follow the scientific guidance and government's advice. Please be reassured that preparations are already underway so we can immediately support all families when we are allowed to re-open.

Finally, I want to thank you. I have seen the work being submitted from home and it is incredible to see the creative and ingenious ways you have been learning with your children. We appreciate your effort and commitment. May I also say that the messages of support and encouragement you have sent for the teachers are hugely appreciated and a great comfort for colleagues during this difficult time.

With the very best wishes for you and your loved ones,

Rory