Keep up to date with all the latest news happening in school at the moment.
28.01.2021
Dear Parents & Carers,
From 1-7 February 2021, we’re taking part in Place2Be’s Children’s Mental Health Week. This year’s theme is Express Yourself. Place2Be has created activities and resources to help children (and adults) to explore the different ways that they can share their thoughts, feelings and ideas. There are lots of resources on the Children’s Mental Health Week website that you can use with your child at home; including activity ideas, tips for parents and carers, and an online assembly which will be available from Monday 1 February.
Visit https://www.childrensmentalhealthweek.org.uk/ to find out more. Your child’s class teacher will also be sharing some ideas with you via Class Dojo or email.
Please feel free to send in any photos of your child ‘expressing themselves’. Can they express themselves through Movement? Art? Writing? Can they even dress up to express themselves? Do they have a favourite dressing up costume or outfit? They really can dress to express!!
Thank you for your support.
Take care
Sally Bott
Assistant Head Teacher
Monday 25 January 2021
Dear parents
I hardly need to tell you that this is a challenging time for parents across our communities. We recognise the many pressures you are facing. For some, these pressures are even greater because access to education for their children is not as straightforward as we all wish it could be. The key message from government is to keep your child at home if you possibly can, even if you are a critical worker.
Leicester City schools are trying their very best to enable their pupils to attend. They are taking all the necessary steps to manage the risks for children and staff and to reduce transmission of the virus. However, there are many factors they are having to weigh up daily in assessing their ability to offer full-time on-site education for pupils. This includes making sure there are sufficient staff who can be safely on-site to support the pupils in their learning and to help minimise transmission of the virus, while at the same time ensuring the school is able to deliver a rich range of remote education for the many children who are not attending.
Anywhere people meet and interact with each other is a possible source of transmission. We know that infection rates among adults are far higher than they are among children, but we have also seen that having children attend school leads to more mixing between adults, and thereby increases the rate of transmission in the community. All school and education settings continue to carefully consider how to reduce this risk and keep children and staff as safe as possible. We know that regular attendance at school is good for children’s mental health and wellbeing, as well as for their education. Nonetheless, with the current high levels of infection in the community, it is better that there are fewer pupils attending school. This will reduce repeated periods of self-isolation for pupils and staff if they are in direct or close contact with others who test positive.
In light of this, schools are looking to increase the number of children who can attend, if they can do so safely, but this needs to be balanced against the risk to pupils, their families and school staff. There are additional challenges for special schools due to the complex needs of many of their pupils, who need to have closer contact and support from staff. Many of these pupils find it very difficult to cope with changes in the school environment, including staff, routine and classroom changes. This also applies to some children in mainstream schools and in alternative provision. Your child’s school will discuss with you when it is the right time for your child to be attending school, considering your child’s needs and the measures the school can safely put in place.
Schools will continue to review all new national guidance and will adjust arrangements when circumstances change. We encourage you to keep in contact with your child’s school, so they can work with the whole school community and plan the best way forward to have pupils more consistently back to school. I can assure you that we are doing our absolute best to bring all pupils back to school as soon as it is safe to do so, but not before.
With best wishes
Martin Samuels
Strategic Director, Social Care and Education Leicester City Council
Dear Parents/Carers,
I do hope that you are all well and staying safe. We value the regular communication that we are having with our Oaklands families, and enjoy receiving photos and videos of activities that children have been doing at home.
I am exceedingly grateful to all parents who have expressed their support for the school at this very difficult time. We are committed to keeping our school community safe and it is only through working together that we can do this. As you will be aware, we have not been able to avoid members of the school community catching the virus and we all understand how serious this can be. I am sure that many of you, along with our staff team, have had friends, family or loved ones who have contracted Covid-19, and in the worst of circumstances, we have lost them to this terrible disease. At this time of national lockdown, when we are all conscious of the risks to everyone around us, we have been grateful that you are supporting us by ensuring that contacts are kept to a minimum.
As we now seem to be approaching the height of this pandemic, I wanted to touch base with you all and assure you that our team will continue to work with you, supporting all of our Oaklands families, and responding to the individual learning needs of your child at home.
Our teachers are keen to build on the remote learning activities that they have provided for you. During the regular phone calls with you, they are able to suggest ideas for activities that will best suit learning in the home environment, using resources that you may have at home, or for some learners, providing additional paper-based activities. There are now a wide range of learning videos on our school website in the Curriculum section that can be accessed daily, and where activities are repeated regularly, we know that skills and understanding are more likely to become embedded. Please do use these valuable resources to join in, sign and have fun at home alongside your child! We are not expecting parents to be teachers, and certainly do not want parents to feel any pressure, but simply explore the activities and enjoy trying things together.
If you require any support from our family support worker, Dhrupti Champaneri, she continues to provide advice to parents and can be contacted on 07842601349 (Wed/Thurs).
We are encouraged by the amount of people nationally who have already had a Covid-19 vaccination, as we all know that this will help in the long term to protect individuals and potentially bring the virus to an end. In the meantime, it is essential that we all continue to follow the NHS advice and socially distance.
If you have any questions about the vaccine, please do let us know and we would be happy to provide you with the information. We are able to contact Public Health to answer any questions that our school community have. There is more information about the vaccine on the NHS website: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/coronavirus-vaccination/coronavirus-vaccine/
Please do continue to check Weduc and the school website for any updates. If you have not yet joined us on Weduc, this is the key way in which we send out information, so please contact the office to help set that up; office@oaklands.leicester.sch.uk.
If you are not on Twitter, this is also a source of information and inspiration; there have been some wonderful examples of fun activities that our children have been involved in at home recently. You can find us at: @OaklandsSchool_
I would like to thank-you for your continued hard work and support during the pandemic. We hope you and your family remain safe and well,
Regards
Sarah
Sarah Osborne (Headteacher)
Blue Peter is the longest running kids TV show in the world and we are uploading videos to it that are suitable for 5-11 year olds. We have world record breaking challenges, arts and crafts, environmental videos, cooking and baking how tos, inspirational films, gaming, celebrity appearances, dance routines and music performances. We also feature ways of getting a Blue Peter badge, behind the scenes footage and extra content about our incredible presenters Adam, Lindsey, Mwaksy, Richie and Henry the Blue Peter dog.
If you think your child would be interested in this, then subscribe to https://www.youtube.com/bluepeter - (it’s obviously completely free to subscribe!) and don’t forget to watch the live programme on CBBC at 5.00pm every Thursday, or on BBC iPlayer.
Thursday 7th January
Dear Parents/Carers,
The government have released a scheme which allows schools to apply for temporary increases in data allowance for mobile phone users on certain networks. This is so that children and young people can access remote education resources whilst their face to face education is disrupted.
As a school, we can request mobile data increases for our pupils if you
Children with access to a mobile phone on one of the following networks may be able to benefit:
Other providers may join the scheme at a later stage.
If you would like Oaklands to apply for the extra data allowance on the behalf of your child, we will need the following information:
Please email the details to office@oaklands.leicester.sch.uk
Many thanks,
Regards
Sarah Osborne (Headteacher)
Wednesday 6th January
Dear Parents/Carers,
National Lockdown
Following on from Boris Johnsons televised broadcast on Monday evening, I am contacting you about the National Lockdown and what this means for our school community.
As already communicated with you, the school is now only open to children of ‘critical workers'; and our most ‘vulnerable children’. Following the Government announcement, this arrangement will be until February half term.
Obviously, we all hope that infection rates will reduce and that our school can re-open properly as soon as possible. However, we are confident currently that children are now safe at home and we will continue to do everything that we can to support you. If your child is at home, you will continue to get a weekly phone call from the class teacher. This is both a well being check and to offer any support or advice you may need for remote learning activities. You can also contact your child’s class teacher using ClassDojo. Our Family Support Worker, Dhrupti Champaneri, is also able to support where there are issues you may need support with for your family ie housing, finance. There will always be someone available on site Monday to Friday between the hours of 8.30am and 3.15pm. If you wish to talk to a member of the Senior Leadership team; if you have any concerns or are finding the situation at home particularly difficult, please do call for a chat. Your child’s and your own well being is important to us. There are further support lines at the end of this letter.
Remote Learning (learning at home) has been sent for all children and teachers are happy to provide additional support or activities where required. Please do continue to use our website, the Curriculum area, for additional film clips and activities. There are speech sounds that can be practised, stories to listen to and join in with, science clips to watch or try at home and much more.
BBC TV is going to help children with learning at home during the lockdown. They will show curriculum based programmes on TV from Monday which will include 3 hours of primary school programming each day on CBBC.
Joe Wicks is restarting his online PE lessons from Monday 11th January, to help families keep fit during lockdown. Live sessions would run on his YouTube channel at 9am on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
The Oak National Academy also has a range of resources online including lessons for children with SEND.
We would like to stay ‘connected’ with you, so please do send any photos of your child involved in activities at home to office@oaklands.leicester.sch.uk
If your child is in school, they will continue to work in a small group with appropriate staffing ratios. We have revised our Risk Assessment which can be found on the Home Page of our Oaklands website. Please ensure that your child continues to come to school in clean clothes each day and avoid sending in bags/items that are not essential for them to have in school.
If your child receives Free School Meals, we will be providing vouchers as done during the first National Lockdown. These will be sent to you on a two-week cycle. Children in school will continue to receive a Free School Meal if eligible.
Numbers for support during the lockdown:
Safeguarding Support:
Duty and Advice Service 0116 4541004
(For Social Care or Early Help support- if you are having a crisis, please contact this number)
Family and Personal Support
Samaritans 116 123- Free from any phone
Crisis Team 0808 800 3302
(24hr mental health & wellbeing support line)
Autism Helpline (NAS)- 0808 800 4104 10am – 12pm and 1pm - 3pm, Monday to Friday
Citizens advice- 0300 330 1025
Salvation Army - 0116 262 1834 (food bank)
Uava (united against violence and abuse) - 0808 80 200 28
Free text support 07715 994 962
Turning point - 0330 3036000
Sexual Health Clinic - 0300 124 0102
We will stay in contact with you via Weduc and the school website with whole school information. Please do check these regularly.
Thank-you once again for your support during this difficult time.
Stay safe
Regards
Sarah Osborne (Headteacher)
Subject: Remote Learning
Dear Parents/Carers,
Following my email to you yesterday, I am writing to confirm that the school will need to move to remote learning for the first two weeks of term. Unless you have specifically been contacted today and a place confirmed for your child to be in school (key worker/children with a social worker) your child will be using remote learning activities at home (sent to you previously by your child's class teacher). If you require any further advice or resources, please do contact the class teacher through ClassDojo.
There are many film clips with learning activities on our website including a range of speech sounds for you to dip into with your child at home. These are all in the curriculum section here. Many of these are also on our Facebook page @OaklandsSchoolLeicester.
We will stay in contact with families during these two weeks and in due course will send out further information about children returning to school.
Many thanks for your support,
Stay safe
Regards
Sarah
Sarah Osborne (Headteacher)
Dear Parents/Carers,
I am writing to you this evening regarding Union advice to all staff who work in schools that you may have read about on social media or seen on TV today. A number of Unions have written to their members advising them that it is not safe to return to school. This advice applies to all primary and secondary schools, special schools and SEND settings, colleges and early years settings. Whilst our Prime Minister has today said that it is safe for children to be in school, the Unions have considered carefully the advice from the SAGE advisory group and the rising number of infection rates, and do not feel that it is advisable for staff or children to be in school. Their advice applies for at least the first two weeks of term.
As you will appreciate, our staff team have been reading this carefully over the weekend, and whilst wanting to continue to with face to face education on site, there is compelling advice that in order to help reduce the rate of spread of the Covid-19 virus and to keep all children and staff safe, there should be a return to remote learning for pupils.
Infection rates are far higher than at the end of last term. This increase has been promoted by the new variant of the Covid-19 virus which was not properly understood at that time.
Therefore, I am writing tonight to advise you that we will send further communication tomorrow morning, but it is likely that the school may need to return to remote learning, except for the children of key workers/& those with a social worker.
We apologise that this comes at such short notice, however, as you will appreciate, the national picture is changing rapidly and the Union advice has come over the weekend.
As always during this situation, the safety of everyone in our school community is our key priority.
We appreciate your support,
Regards
Sarah
Sarah Osborne