NEWS NOTICEBOARD

Welcome to Alkrington Primary School and our website. 

Getting Ready for the Return of all pupils on 8th March

We are looking forward to welcoming everyone back.  Here are some practical matters to note, to be prepared:

• Attendance at school will be compulsory from 8^th March and the usual sanctions applied if children do not attend without appropriate reason.
• School uniform for all, including black school shoes
• Children come to school in PE kit on their PE day
• Keep the items that children bring to school to the bare minimum
• Children to use their own individual stationery items, though other classroom equipment will be shared and cleaned.
• Children to be organised into class Bubbles
• No Extra Curricular activities, until we are permitted to do so by DfE guidance.
• Breakfast and After School Club to operate as normal
• School meals, back to normal, with extra hot meal choices for those on a school lunch
• Free School Meal voucher system will end
• No school trips for the time being. The Y5 trip to Robinwood has been re-booked for 5^th July 2021, and we are hopeful that this will still be possible.
• On return we want to make sure that children settle back into school successfully, with regard to their health and well-being. They need to get back into a school routine
• The curriculum will focus on health and well-being and in academic terms on the basic skills and knowledge, in terms of reading and phonics, writing and mathematics.
• Free fruit will be available for children in the younger half of the school, as usual, but children in KS2 may bring along a healthy snack for morning break.  KS2 Tuck Shop will operate again soon, but not next week.

Here is the timetable for drop of and collection times:

Tell us what you think about our school provision for Home Learning

Please help us know how well we did for those children who spent the school closure period at home, with Home Learning, by completing the survey on the link below.

If your child attended school during January / February / Early March on a fairly regular basis, there is no need to complete it. 

https://forms.gle/avJXioRp5fxvhEmd9

All households with children of school age

to get 2 rapid COVID-19 tests per person per week

This announcement from the DfE aims to give access to home testing.

Click on the link below for more details on how you can access testing kits

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/all-households-with-children-of-school-aged-to-get-rapid-covid-19-tests-per-person-per-week?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications&utm_source=813f5236-80a6-4440-bd45-db9f6692837d&utm_content=daily

Returning to school - Monday 8th March

As you will be aware, it has been announced that schools will fully open again on Monday 8^th March.

Our school will be open for all pupils from that day onwards.

Of course, we want children and staff to be as safe as possible on their return so there will be the full range of measures in place to do this.

The return feels very much like the return to school in September 2020, and the Risk Assessment which will be in place, is very similar to that devised for that date.

Expect essentially the same routines as before, which for parents and carers means staggered start and finish times, the wearing of a face covering, avoiding congregating in the playground of by the school gate etc. 

Within school the additional hygeine routines continue and children will be kept within their class 'Bubbles'. Full details will be shared with you soon.

We follow the guidelines from the Department for Education, which you can read via this link:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/963541/Schools_coronavirus_operational_guidance.pdf

We use this guidance to produce our own school Risk Assessment which is available on the link below. This updated version has taken account of some suggestions from staff and parents.

School COVID Assessment Draft for March 2021 return

Breakfast & After School Club, Nursery & Dinner Money

from week commencing 8^th March 2021

All children will be back in school from the 8^th March therefore charges relating to Breakfast & After School Clubs, Nursery and School Dinners will revert back to normal.

Keeping Children Safe Online

For support and guidance about keeping your child/ren safe online please see the link below and read the attached help sheet.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-keeping-children-safe-online?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications&utm_source=27cab895-c521-4bdc-927e-1a032c81256b&utm_content=daily

Also, on the Home page of our school website and on the links below, you will find a number of information leaflets which relate to different aspects of online safety, which may be of interest/value to you, on topics of:

• Cyber security
• Gaming
• Live Streaming
• Sharing images
• Social Media
• Viewing videos
• Parents’ Helpsheet

Nursery and Rising 3s

We have sought further guidance with regards to our Nursery class and Rising 3s group and as of Tuesday 19th January any child in these facilities who would like a place at school is welcome to one. They would attend on the same basis as they ordinarily attend school.

I would like to remind you that the Government is still very clear that in order to reduce the spread of Covid-19, the safest place for child is at home. If you can keep your child at home we would strongly recommend that you do so. We are already accommodating numbers of children in some year groups who have requested places during this lockdown, which are close to being difficult to manage safely.

If you would like your child to return to school on Tuesday please email office@alkrington.rochdale.sch.uk by Monday 18th January to let us know and we will let you know the plans for Tuesday Monday. Alternatively you can ring us today on 0161 643 6357 by 3pm today ( Friday 15th Jan)

Children who are already attending do not need to do anything.

Please note if your child attends and your child is eligible for a free school meal, you will not be able to have the £15 food voucher as they will receive a free meal at school.

Places in Reception and Nursery Classes for Sept 2021

The deadline for applications for a school place in our Nursery or Reception classes passed on 15^th January. 

The LA will organise the Reception class applications and parents/carers are usually notified just after the Easter holiday.

Applications to school for a Nursery place are being processed and I would expect that we will notify applicants after the February holiday.

There may still be a small number of spaces in the Nursery for September 2021, so late applications will be accepted.  Enquire at the office if you need any help.

Key Worker Status

The numbers of children attending school has increased further and is getting very close to the point where we would have to refuse further requests. I hope that this point is not reached and say ‘thank you’ to those parents who are helping to keep our numbers in school as low as they need to be by keeping their child at home when they are not in work, or are finding alternative arrangements (within the guidance) to care for their child.

Teachers and TAs are working hard to provide the Home Learning activities.  I know that those who are home schooling their child(ren) will probably find this to be a challenging issue, especially during these dark, wet and cold months.

Staff should be making contact with you on a regular basis, but if there is anything else that we can do to help, please let us know.

If you believe that your child is eligible for a place, contact the school office.  You will be asked for proof of your status. 

Key Worker Form

Note that school times are back to the usual 9.00 a.m. to 3.15 p.m. with door open at 8.50 a.m.

More advice of the school closure

More details on the letter below

P.E News

Mr Kelly will be tweeting sports activities for the children to take part in whilst they work from home. Please look at our twitter feed for more information and send us your attempts!

Closure of School to most pupils

School will be closed for most pupils and open only to those who are considered to be the most vulnerable and for the children of key workers.

We know who the vulnerable pupils are, and they would be encouraged to attend. Regarding Key Worker status; see the link below, which will direct you to the Gov.uk definition so that you will know if you qualify and your child(ren) may attend school.

We need to know how many children to provide for, so you must let us know, by email preferably, with some documentary evidence as proof of your status. This can be in the form of a letter from the employer or other paperwork which can be scanned or photographed and emailed to school.

Key Worker and vulnerable pupil definition

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-maintaining-educational-provision/guidance-for-schools-colleges-and-local-authorities-on-maintaining-educational-provision

For those who might be attending school, the usual school hours will apply, opening at 8.50 for a 9.00 a.m. start and finishing at 3.15 p.m.

We hope to provide some before and after school care, but this will be at a charge.  Hours and charges will be made known to you in the event of this plan coming into force. If your child is likely to be attending school in these circumstances you must let us know what you need and for which days.

School will provide meals to those who wish to have one, again a charge will be applicable for those who pay, and details to follow.

Update to the School COVID-19 Risk Assessment

This document is reviewed regularly and the changes introduced for the return to school in the spring term are in Appendix C, on page 16.

School COVID RA Updated Jan 2021

Remember this.....Happy 70th Birthday Alkrington Primary School

For those of you who have been with us for a while, you might recall the following event from 10 years ago, as reported in the Middleton Guardian.

Happy 80^th Birthday Alkrington Primary School

Thank you to all who supported our special day by dressing up or sending in memorabilia to make the event an enjoyable and informative one.  Particular thanks to:

Local history expert Geoff Wellens, Vintage car owner Kevin Croft, Miss Ford & her mum who sourced lots of old artefacts, & Miss Pilkington’s Grandma, Pat.

There are plenty of pictures on our school Twitter account, which also appear on the school website Home page.

I enjoyed looking though the old school Log Books, which had to be completed by the Head Teacher in those days.

Alkrington Temporary school opened in 1937, situated in the hall at the United Reformed Church on Manchester New Road with 14 pupils.

Alkrington Junior and Infant School opened on this site on 9^th December 1940, with 80 pupils.

The country was in the midst of the Second World War, so entries in the Log Book mention the building of shelters, school closures after air raids the night before and practice in shelters during the school day. Lots of entries mention low attendance due to illnesses such as scarlet fever, whooping cough, measles and chicken pox.  Also a number of closures due to severe winter weather.

I noted with interest that in 1938 the school closed for the Christmas holiday at 4.00 p.m. on 24^th December. Not leaving much time to prepare for the big day!

I hope that the children enjoyed the day.  I enjoyed giving the children a taste of school discipline as a 1940s Headmaster!

See the pictures below, a sample of the outfuts worn on the day.

Parents'/Carers' Survey November 2020

Thank you again to all who have completed a Questionnaire at our online site. We had a total of 164 responses and the results are available to view below and will be emailed out to those on our mailing list.  The survey is now closed.

Summary of results

Comments

Home Learning Policy

As the likelihood of classes being sent to self isolate grows, we have been thinking about the policy we have for managing Home Learning for the children.  See below our draft policy. If you have any comments or suggestions, email the school office on:

office@alkrington.rochdale.sch.uk and put Home Learning Policy in the subject bar.

Draft Home Learning Policy

Shoe Box Appeal

Teachers have shown to their classes a presentation explaining the support you can provide to this Rotary Club activity which supports children in Eastern Europe at Christmas time.

With a £1 donation, a cardboard (shoe)box is filled with toys/felt tips/games, which might help to make Christmas more enjoyable for children who have so little.

See the letter on the link below - letter distributed to children on Wednesday 14th October

Shoe Box Appeal letter

COVID Risk Assessment

We have updated our RA in light of recent events.  The new measures, as detailed in a post below, are on the final page of the linked document below:

Updated Risk Assessment

Please remember to bring a face covering to wear whilst on the playground and dropping off/collecting your child(ren) from school!

Face Coverings

In line with advice from Rochdale Council; please wear a face covering when dropping off and collecting your child from school.

PE Kits

From next week PE lessons will begin again.  Please send you child to school in their PE kit on that day - specified below.  PE kit consists of:
 Navy Alkrington PE T-Shirt
 Navy blue or black shorts
 Black pumps (indoor)
 Trainers (outdoor)
They will stay in their kit for the whole day.  Therefore it would be wise to come also with sweatshirt and leggings/tracksuit bottoms and a coat.

Formal PE lessons will start later for the new Nursery and REception children, but for the other year groups, their PE day is as follows:

Y1 - Monday

Y2 - Wednesday

Y3 - Wednesday

Y4 - Thursday

Y5 - Thursday

Y6 - Monday

• There is a system of staggered starting and finishing times, to reduce congestion, according to the chart below:

  Year Group	Gate	Drop off/Pick up Location	Drop off/Pick up times
  Rising 3s	Manor Road	Usual place	12.00 noon Drop 3.00 p.m. Collection
  N	EY Roundabout	Usual place	8.45 a.m. Drop 3.15 p.m. Collection
  R	EY Roundabout	Usual place	9.00 a.m. Drop 3.10 p.m. Collection
  Y1	Manor Road Pedestrian gate	Usual place	8.50 a.m. Drop 3.05 p.m. Collection
  Y2	Manor Road Pedestrian gate	Usual place	9.00 a.m. Drop 3.15 p.m. Collection
  Y3	Manor Road Pedestrian gate	Usual place	8.50 a.m. Drop 3.05 p.m. Collection
  Y4	Manor Road Pedestrian gate	Usual place	9.00 a.m. Drop 3.15 p.m. Collection
  Y5	Playground vehicle gate	Kitchen/Hall door	8.50 a.m. Drop 3.05 p.m. Collection
  Y6	Playground vehicle gate	Kitchen/Hall door	9.00 a.m. Drop 3.15 p.m. Collection

New Starters for September 2020

Nursery and Reception

The COVID situation has made things tricky for our new starters.  We have not had the usual Parents' Meetings or the Open Mornings for the children.  Consequently there have been lots of parents asking questions about how to be prepared.

Mrs Roberts - Reception Teacher and Early Years lead, and Mrs Leigh - Nursery Teacher, have produced some guidance to help, which is available on the links below:

FAQs for Nursery New Starters

FAQs for Reception New Starters

The school Governing Board

See below for details of membership of the Governing Board

Rochdale Additional Needs Service (RANS)

RANS are still working hard to support children with additional and special needs and their families

Have a look at the services available by opening the document below

RANS Services

Safe After School Campaign

Please read and cosider the information on the poster below - which wants to help you check that clubs and activities that your child might attend out of school are safely and appropriately organised.  For more information search for RBSCP Safe After School

Defibrillator

Thank to your generous donations, we now have a community defibrillator fitted into a secure cabinet attached to our school fence. You can find it near to the entrance to the staff car park.

The defibrillator is for use by anyone in need, and can be accessed by calling 999 in an emergency.  The operator will tell you the code to open the cabinet.

Well done to Mr Nott, who has been the inspiration behind this scheme, and to those who raised the funds to pay for it, including Jenson Bleakley-White, who raised an incredible £400 towards our total.

Racing to Read

From week commencing 18/11, school will be running a reading incentive to encourage our pupils to be reading at home as often as possible. The planners will be checked weekly to update how many times a child has read at home, which will be logged on our school reward chart. Please can you ensure that your child is reading at home regularly (not necessarily always with an adult or the school band book) and planners are signed to show this. 

Times Table Rock Stars

After the October holiday, we will be launching TT Rockstars across school for children from Y1 upwards.  It is an online ‘game’ used by many schools across the country which encourages and rewards the learning of times tables. Your child should have their login details in the front of their planners. Please check that they can log in at home  and if there are any issues, please let your child’s teacher know.

Phonics and Welcome event in Reception

Thank you to all those parents/carers who attended our phonics/welcome event. As requested, the PowerPoint is available below.

Breakfast and After School Club ( BC and ASC )

To make sure that we have all of the correct information and can accomodate as many children as possible, please complete, where needed, and return to the school office the following forms:

• If you want to apply for a place at the BC and/or the ASC: Click here
• Information about how the BC+ASC works, costs, hours, location etc: Click here
• If your child is already registered but you need to change hours/days:  Click here
• If you no longer need a place at the BC and/or ASC for your child:  Click here

Holiday Pattern for 2019 - 2020

The holiday schedule for the current school year and next is available by clicking: Here