As we get used to our new normal the resilience of our staff and pupils has been really impressive.  We have made a few minor changes but generally the plans we have put in place are working well.  We are grateful to all of you who are sticking to the rules in place for dropping off and collection and for accessing the school in general.

Please remember that ALL children need to be accompanied by an adult at drop of and collection, this is to maintain social distancing and to reduce the risk of pupils mixing across bubbles at these times.  We have extended the times at the start and end of the day to support you in doing this. Please do not send your child in unaccompanied as they are being stopped by school staff and are having to wait with them.

Across school pupils have been keen to share their learning this week, from Percy the Park Keeper in Early Years, Katie Morag in Key Stage One through to Billy and the Minpins in Key Stage 2.  We are working hard to establish next steps for all of our pupils, we recognise there will be an impact from the lockdown period but are working on how we can best support all pupils in reaching their potential.  

We are also devoting plenty of time to supporting the emotional health and well being of all of our Short Woodies.  Time to talk is being planned for across the week. Understanding the experiences, thoughts and feelings of each other is really important and as we navigate this new world of keeping safe, isolating, testing and reintegrating we do need to be mindful of some of the issues this raises four our pupils, our staff and our wider community. Hearing the questions many of our pupils have is really fascinating - some are simple to answer others take a little more exploring. It is important that no thought or question is seen as being too small or silly to mention, but we mustn't assume everyone is worried, we are also finding that some children are just really curious, exploring the facts in a safe environment can be powerful too. 

Outdoor activities are being planned across school with Forest school sessions up and running.  We are asking you to provide waterproof trousers and wellies for your children this term.  

Sadly we have had to cancel our Year 6 residential trip to Arthog in North Wales.  This is always a Year 6 highlight for pupils who attend, the decision was not taken lightly.  We are fortunate to have the Arthog Outreach Team on our site so we are working closely with that team to explore possibilities for adventures closer to home.  We will of course keep you informed.

We are currently working on plans to maintain support children's learning in the event of children having to self isolate for 14 days or if a further lockdown is imposed.  While we are doing everything we can to maintain a Covid secure site we know from evidence across

our locality and the country  there are likely to be positive cases occurring, where they do we will work with the local Public Health Track and Trace team and follow their guidance.

We will shortly be sending a questionnaire to parents to seek your feedback on what works well and the kind of support you find helpful.  This will inform our ongoing planning.  Please take some time to reply to the questionnaire which should be sent next week.  In the meantime if you are required to self isolate please contact your child's class teacher via Dojo and they will advise you on how we will support you.  

As always if you need to contact school please do not hesitate to do so.  You can use Dojo to contact your child's class teacher throughout the week.  Our Inclusion team and Senior leaders can be contacted via the school office email address or by phone.  

Finally, we want to say a huge congratulations to one of our team who has been working so hard in recent months to complete a Doctorate in Education - alongside being a brilliant Short Woody! Well done 'Dr'' Laura Saunders, the research Dr Saunders carried out as part of her studies was focused on the impact of outdoor learning and many of our pupils benefited from engaging in the research alongside her. We are so proud of her achievements.

Have a great weekend.