Latest News
Regular updates, messages and news are posted here.
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Teachers and Classes September 2021
Wed 21 Jul 2021Year group Teachers
Nursery Mrs Desoer
RA Miss El Tahlawi
RB Mrs Panesar
Mrs Pridmore
1A Mrs Khan
Mr Harris
1B Mrs Sackey
2A Ms Alexander
Mr Desoer
2B Miss Pallett
Ms Natai
3A Miss Young
3B Mr James
4A Mr Whyte
4B Mrs Kelly
5A Mr Chelaru
5B Mr Lago
Ms Habboo
6A Ms Marmora
6B Mr Sadiq
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End of Year July 2021
Mon 19 Jul 202119th July 2021
Dear Parents,
I write to send you all my very best wishes for an enjoyable, safe and I hope relaxing summer holiday. For those who are moving on, I wish you every success and happiness in your new schools and look forward to hearing all about them when you come back to visit us. For the rest of us, we hope very much that when we come back in September, we will be able to return to more normal school routines.
All children will be back with us on Monday 6th September. Please make sure that all children are in full school uniform including PLAIN BLACK SCHOOL SHOES – with no visible colour or brand logo.
In the mornings, the gates will open at 8.45am and close at 9am. Children from all year groups can arrive at any time during this window. All children must be in class by 9am when the gates will be locked.
In school, children will be allowed once more to mix across year groups and play together.
School will end at 3.10pm for all classes in the infants and at 3.15pm for all classes in the juniors.
Children IN YEAR 6 ONLY will be able to come to school and walk home alone but only if we have written permission from the child’s parent. You will need to complete a form with Mrs Oyak or Mrs Bain at the school gate if you would like this to happen.
Swimming lessons will start again for all children in Years 3 and 4. We will let you know in September when each class is going swimming.
The school office will be open but visitors will be asked to wait outside rather than queueing inside.
Thanks for everybody’s support this year. We’ve asked children and parents to follow unusual and at times inconvenient routines in the hope that we keep everyone safe. The fact that we’ve had so few class closures and only a handful of positive cases throughout the year is testament to how well you have adapted to what has been asked of you – and just like our children in school, you have done so with a minimum of fuss. I commend you all for this approach and send my heartfelt thanks to our team of teachers and support staff who have worked so hard and done so much to help keep our community safe and our children learning throughout this year.
Finally, we bid farewell to Ms Brown and Mr Robertson who are both leaving us this summer. We thank them for everything they have brought to our school over the years they have been with us and wish them every success and happiness in the future.
Best wishes
Matt Hanks
Headteacher
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Sports Day is Postponed
Mon 05 Jul 2021It will now go ahead on Tuesday 13th July due to the uncertainty in the weather. An extra week for the children to practise and me to warm up!
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Draft HRSE Policy
Thu 24 Jun 2021Dear Parents,
if you would like to read the school's draft Health, Relationships and Sex Education Policy it is available to view in KEY INFORMATION>POLICIES.
If you would like to make any comments or have any questions please email the school office. If your email is received by the end of the summer term then your comments will be taken into consideration.
Many thanks
M Hanks
Headteacher
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Safety of pupils walking home alone
Fri 18 Jun 2021Dear Parents,
Please see the message below that was sent to our school from the local police on Thursday 17th June. It is in regard to an incident that was reported to have taken place on North Countess Road on Wednesday 16th. Had I been notified promptly I could have let you know this sooner. Please understand that I have spoken to all pupils who have their parents' permission to walk home alone to remind them of how to best keep safe on their journeys to and from school. This may be a conversation you would like to have with your children also.
The NSPCC's key points of advice are:
- Make sure they know their address and your telephone number by heart, in case they get lost or have to navigate home from somewhere new.
- If they have a mobile phone, remind them to fully charge it before leaving the house, and make sure they have all your contact numbers saved.
- Talk to them about road safety. They should always look both ways before crossing the street, and never be on their phone whilst crossing a road.
- Remind them never to accept a lift from someone they don’t know, or let a stranger into the house. They should never give personal information away – in real life or online.
- Remind them that if they feel unsafe or uncomfortable at any time, they can call you or a trusted adult.
- If they ever feel like they’re in immediate danger, they should call the police straight away on 999.
The message from the police is as follows:
"Good Morning
Can I please make you aware if you have not already been spoken to by your school officer of an attempted Abduction of a 15 year old on her way to school yesterday morning.
The suspect was not known to her and is described as shown below.
The car was described as a white Kia, 5 door.
The unknown male is described as an Asian male, approximately 20 years old, short black hair, medium build, approximately 6ft. He was wearing a grey t-shirt, jeans, black trainers and a black face mask.The suspect does not appear to have been the driver of the vehicle of whom there is no description."
Best wishes
M Hanks
Headteacher
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Single Positive Case Letter
Tue 04 May 2021Public Health England Advice to All Parents - Single case
Dear Parents,
We have been advised by Public Health England that there has been a confirmed case of COVID-19 within the school.
We know that you may find this concerning but we are continuing to monitor the situation and are working closely with Public Health England. This letter is to inform you of the current situation and provide advice on how to support your child. Please be reassured that for most people, coronavirus (COVID-19) will be a mild illness.
The children who have been in close contact with the individual who has tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19) have received a letter informing them that their child must stay at home for 10 days.
The school remains open and your child should continue to attend as normal if they remain well.
What do I do if my child develops symptoms of COVID 19?
If your child develops symptoms of COVID-19, they must not come to school and should remain at home for at least 10 days from the date when their symptoms appeared.
Anyone with symptoms will be eligible for a PCR test (the normally available test type) and this can be arranged via https://www.nhs.uk/ask-for-a-coronavirus-test or by calling 119.
All other household members who remain well, must stay at home and not leave the house for 10 days. This includes anyone in your ‘Support Bubble’.
Further information is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-stay-at-home-guidance/stay-at-home-guidance-for-households-with-possible-coronavirus-covid-19-infection
The household isolation period includes the day the first person in your household’s symptoms started (or the day their test was taken if they did not have symptoms) and the next 10 full days. This means that if, for example, your 10 day isolation period starts on the 15th of the month, your isolation period ends at 23:59 hrs on the 25th and you can return to your normal routine.
Household members should not go to work, school or public areas and exercise should be taken within the home.
If you require help with buying groceries, other shopping or picking up medication, or walking a dog, you should ask friends or family. Alternatively, you can order your shopping online and medication by phone or online.
Household members staying at home for 10 days will greatly reduce the overall amount of infection the household could pass on to others in the community
If you are able, move any vulnerable individuals (such as the elderly and those with underlying health conditions) out of your home, to stay with friends or family for the duration of the home isolation period.
Symptoms
The most common symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) are recent onset of:
- a new continuous cough
- a high temperature
- a loss of, or change in, your normal sense of taste or smell (anosmia)
For most people, coronavirus (COVID-19) will be a mild illness.
If your child does develop symptoms, you can seek advice from the nhs.uk website at https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/check-if-you-have-coronavirus-symptoms/. If you are concerned about your child’s symptoms, or they are worsening you can seek advice from NHS 111 at https://111.nhs.uk/ or by phoning 111.
How to stop COVID-19 spreading
There are things you can do to help reduce the risk of you and anyone you live with getting ill with COVID-19
Do
- wash your hands with soap and water often – do this for at least 20 seconds
- use hand sanitiser gel if soap and water are not available
- wash your hands as soon as you get home
- cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve (not your hands) when you cough or sneeze
- put used tissues in the bin immediately and wash your hands afterwards
Further Information
Further information is available at https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
Yours sincerely
M Hanks
Headteacher
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April Newsletter
Thu 29 Apr 2021Dear Parents,
Start and End of the School Day
At the moment we expect the school times to return to normal on 21st June. In the meantime please make sure that you arrive on time to deliver and collect your children.
Start and finish times are clearly signposted at each gate and on the school website.
It’s still important that in school we keep children from different year groups apart from one another, this includes on the playground at home time. Please play your part in helping us achieve this.
In line with the gradual relaxing of lockdown restrictions it is now acceptable for children to be collected and brought to school in mixed groups. This is already making some of your lives a lot easier – mixed groups of up to 6 or of 2 families of any size are now considered to be safe.
I think it is also reasonable to now allow children in years 5 and 6 to come to school and go home on their own if parents choose for them to do so. We will need written permission from a parent to allow this to happen and this will only apply to children in years 5 and 6. ALL other children will need to be collected by an adult. Older children in 5 and 6 cannot yet take responsibility for walking home compliantly with their younger brothers and sisters.
Mr Bellot
Our longest serving member of staff is our caretaker, Mr Bellot. He retires on Friday and I’m sure you will want to join me in sending him our very best wishes for a long, happy and peaceful retirement. Mr Bellot has served our school community for over 30 years.
On Friday the whole school will be coming together (still in our year group bubbles!) for a celebratory lunch to say thank you and farewell. Lunch is likely to be served slightly later than normal on that day. You may wish to send your child to school with a sensible mid-morning snack (eg a banana) on that day.
Many thanks and best wishes,
M Hanks
Headteacher
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School Reopens 8th March
Thu 25 Feb 202125th February 2020
Dear Parents,
School re-opens on Monday 8th March for all pupils. I look forward to seeing you all again.
The government have asked schools to make it clear to parents that attendance for all pupils is mandatory – parents will not have the option to keep children at home.
The arrangements in school will be very similar to last term. There is still no requirement for primary pupils to wear face coverings and there is no Covid-19 testing of pupils in primary schools.
Children will continue to be taught in their own classes, of normal size. At all times they will remain in ‘bubbles’ of their own year group. Children from each year group bubble will be prevented from mixing with other year groups. School staff (including visiting staff such as the Speech and Language therapist) may work across any class or year group, though we will endeavour to limit this as much as possible.
Start and finish times
We will continue to operate staggered start and end times to reduce the flow of adults around the site. Please ensure that just one adult delivers and collects your child on their own.
Year Group
Start Time
End Time
Nursery
9.15 am Nursery gate
12.30 pm
11.45 am Nursery gate
3 pm
Reception
9.15 am Williams Ave
3.15 pm Office gate
1
9 am Williams Ave
3.10 pm Williams Ave
2
8.50 am Williams Ave
3 pm Office gate
3
9.15 am Wigton Rd
3.30 pm Wigton Rd
4
9.05 am Wigton Rd
3.20 pm Wigton Rd
5
8.55 am Wigton Rd
3.10pm Wigton Rd
6
8.45 am Wigton Rd
3 pm Wigton Rd
All adults must wear a face covering at drop-off and collection times.
Families with more than one child in the school can drop off and collect their children together - drop off at the earlier time and collect at the later time. These children should go straight to their own classroom. This means you won’t have to make unnecessary journeys or wait around for classes to finish.
It is essential that everyone keeps to their times and is punctual – please leave the school site promptly as soon as your children have been delivered or collected.
If waiting on the playground please use the main open areas and spread out as much as possible. Please do not gather together or come within 2 metres of the classroom door.
The office will remain closed to all parents and visitors unless you have an appointment.
There will be no toilet facilities for visitors and parents will not be able to enter the classrooms or school buildings at any time.
Children will not be able to bring any items from home apart from a refillable water bottle and their packed lunch if they have one. Single use plastic water bottles will not be allowed as it’s so difficult to tell whose is whose.
Breakfast and After School Club will continue to run. If you need to apply for a place then please email office@rapsch.co.uk to request a booking form and return your completed form to the same email address.
During the school day
Lunches will be served as normal with tables and chairs cleaned between each use.
There is no expectation that children need to socially distance within their bubbles.
Children and staff will wash and/or sanitise their hands thoroughly throughout the day.
Staff members will maintain social distancing guidelines whenever possible.
Staff will not work closely alongside individual pupils for more than 15mins.
Movement around the school will be using outside routes whenever possible. Staggered break times and lunches should mean that, for the majority of the time, only a small number of pupils are moving around the school at any time.
Each group will have their own set of playground equipment.
An updated risk assessment is available to read on the school website.
Best wishes
M Hanks
Headteacher
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Learning at Home January 2021
Tue 05 Jan 2021Tuesday 5th January
Dear Parents,
As you will all know by now, schools are closed again for most pupils. At present we expect to remain closed until February half-term at the earliest.
All learning will now take place via Seesaw. Teachers will set work and provide feedback daily and all children should work every school day. It is really important that we establish the routine of your child working at home as quickly as possible – we are only one term into the school year and there is a lot of learning still to be done! You and your child can communicate directly with class teachers using Seesaw to ask for feedback or advice.
In addition to this, over the next few days we will be providing each child with a Gmail account and log-in details. Teachers will then host live calls on Google Meet with groups of pupils (probably twice a week for each group). This will give all children the opportunity to talk face to face with their teacher and classmates – to listen to and watch demonstrations and explanations, to ask for guidance and to share ideas.
If you have problems accessing Seesaw please contact the school office or your teacher and we will try our best to help.
At present I am still waiting for updated guidance regarding free school meals – as soon as we’ve been told, I will let you know whether or not the government are to reintroduce the voucher scheme or whether schools will be providing food parcels for pupils entitled to benefit related free school meals.
Please remember, the safest thing to do at the moment is to stay at home.
Best wishes
M Hanks
Headteacher
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January Partial Reopening
Sun 03 Jan 2021Dear Parents,
School will open on Tuesday 5th January for children of critical workers and vulnerable children only.
Vulnerable children are those with an EHC Plan or a social worker.
A full list of Critical Workers can be found by Googling 'Gov.uk critical workers':
It is essential that we help control the spread of the virus by strictly limiting the number of children attending school at this difficult time. Children of Critical Workers should only attend school if and when there is no other adult who can look after them.
All other children must stay at home and work will be provided for them daily on Seesaw. This will start on Tuesday morning.
If your child finds it difficult to access Seesaw then please let us know by phoning or emailing the school office.
The Government have told us that they will review these arrangements by January 18th.
I wish you all a happy new year and look forward to seeing you again soon.
Best wishes
M Hanks
Headteacher