Latest News
Regular updates, messages and news are posted here.
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Contact Tracing
Thu 17 Dec 2020Dear Parents,
If your child has developed symptoms within 48 hours of being school and tests positive within 6 days of being in school then it is very important that you either:
Phone school 0208 527 3157 and leave a message on the answer machine – tell us your child’s name; their class, when they started to feel unwell and when they were last in school.
Or email office@rapsch.co.uk and tell us your child’s name; their class, when they started to feel unwell and when they were last in school.
Where a pupil tests positive for coronavirus (COVID-19), having developed symptoms more than 48 hours since being in school, the school should not be contacted. Parents and carers should follow contact tracing instructions provided by NHS Test and Trace.
For the first 6 days after teaching ends, if a pupil or staff member tests positive for coronavirus (COVID-19), having developed symptoms within 48 hours of being in school, the school will assist in identifying close contacts and advising self-isolation, as the individual may have been infectious whilst in school.
You only need to contact school if your child has a positive test result. You do not need to contact school beyond 6 days since they were in school.
Best wishes
M Hanks
Headteacher
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Letter to all parents 16th December
Wed 16 Dec 202016th December 2020
Dear Parents,
On Monday we received a letter from the Local Authority Director of Public Health describing a deepening and accelerating Covid-19 infection crisis across Waltham Forest and calling for:
‘immediate and decisive action to control the spread of the virus. I am recommending that all schools in Waltham Forest move to remote learning and remain open only to support the children of key workers and vulnerable children’.
We have no reason to doubt the seriousness of the situation described or the expertise behind the recommendation and as such we decided to switch to remote learning for pupils, other than our key worker and vulnerable family groups, for the remaining three days of this term.
Yesterday all schools in Waltham Forest received a letter from the Minister of State for School Standards, Rt Hon Nick Gibb MP, who expressed ‘deep disappointment and concern’ over Waltham Forest’s action and asking for all schools to reopen to all pupils. In the letter he explains that the Government will consider using their powers to direct all schools to reopen if we do not do so.
This leaves us in a difficult position: having responded to the Waltham Forest Director of Public Health’s recommendation to immediately switch to online learning for most pupils; do we now respond to Nick Gibb’s request to immediately reopen?
I understand the Minister’s desire to keep schools open for all pupils and both schools in our Trust have a longstanding reputation for doing so whenever possible. However, we do not possess the means to question the Director of Public Health’s recommendation and consider the most responsible decision to be the one we have taken – we shall keep to online learning at home for most pupils until the end of this term while remaining open for our key worker and vulnerable family groups.
If the Secretary of State directs us to open for all pupils tomorrow then we shall do so - and will notify you via each school’s website and Seesaw.
I send you all my very best wishes for a peaceful and safe Christmas.
M Hanks
Headteacher -
Partial School Closure
Mon 14 Dec 2020Dear Parents,
This morning I attended a meeting with the Director of Learning in Waltham Forest. Headteachers of all schools in the borough were asked to attend. During the meeting it was explained that Covid 19 infection was spreading rapidly across the borough and continuing to accelerate. High numbers of infection were being recorded in children - including those in primary schools.
As a result of the accelerating levels of infection, and with reference to the growing pressure on keeping Whipps Cross Hospital running effectively and safely, all schools were asked to close as soon as possible and switch to remote learning (via Seesaw for most children in our school) until the end of the week. This request comes as part of Waltham Forest's response to the growing public health crisis in the local area and as such it is important that we act immediately. This is why I took the decision to close school at the end of today (Monday 14th December).
We will remain open for the children of key workers as we were during the summer term lockdown.
I look forward to seeing you all again in January. School is due to reopen after the Christmas holidays on Tuesday January 5th. If that date changes due to the continuing Covid crisis then I will keep you informed via this page on the website.
A letter to all parents from Councillor Williams, the Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Families is posted on the Covid 19 page of our website. This includes important information on how families eligible for free school meals can claim their entitlement during the Christmas holidays.
Happy Christmas to you all - please stay safe and look after each other
M Hanks
Headteacher
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School is open tomorrow
Thu 03 Dec 2020The water is back on so we will be in school tomorrow (4.12.20) -
School Closed
Thu 03 Dec 2020We don't have any water so are having to close for the day. Please presume we will be open tomorrow unless you are informed otherwise. I will update here and Seesaw. -
Hands On Hand Out
Wed 04 Nov 2020Dear Parents/ Carers,
This year we are asking children/ families to donate items for North London’s homeless men. Your donations will fill shoeboxes that will then be distributed by the charity Hands On; Hand Out.
Each child/ family will be asked to pledge to bring certain items so their class can fill between 5 and 10 boxes. Please keep your eyes and ears open for information about your requested contribution.
In class, the children will be learning more about what ‘homelessness’ means, looks and feels like; considering the difference between wants, rights and needs. Undoubtedly, 2020 will be proving more difficult than ever for people trapped in the cycle of homelessness and with our small contributions we hope to offer a little light in the darkness.
If you would like to learn more about the charity and the work they do, go to: https://www.handsonhandout.co.uk/
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Applying for Secondary School
Fri 25 Sep 2020Applying for a Secondary School Place
Dear parents,
If your child is now in Year 6 you will need to apply for their secondary school place for them to start in September 2021.
The brochure "Starting Secondary School 2021" is available online (Google ‘Applying for a secondary school place Waltham Forest') and contains all the information you need to know about applying for a secondary school place.
If you live outside Waltham Forest, then you must apply through the local authority in which you live.
You can make your application anytime from now. The best way to apply is online through the eAdmissions website at www.eadmissions.org.uk
The closing date for applications is 31st October 2020.
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Instrumental lessons in the Autumn Term
Tue 15 Sep 202015th September 2020
Dear Parents/Carers,
Would you like your child to learn how to play a musical instrument in the Autumn Term?
Children who are inYear 2 and older can receive instrumental lessons at school. We can offer children the opportunity to learn to play the piano, drums, guitar, violin, cello, trumpet and trombone. If you would like your child to have lessons in school this term, now is the time to sign up. Children who were previously having lessons in the Spring Term will have missed three missed lessons due to the school closure in March. Any money already paid - such as for the Summer term or the three missed lessons - will be credited towards the cost of lessons this term. If you do not want them to continue this term, the money for any outstanding lessons will be refunded.
We will ensure that the lessons are delivered safely by strictly following the government’s Covid-19 guidance. The lessons are taught by visiting instrumental tutors, employed by the Waltham Forest Music Service. They are all excellent musicians and teachers and have passed the necessary DBS checks. Please be aware that if there is not sufficient interest in a particular instrument, we will no longer be able to arrange a tutor.
We are offering a block of 11 lessons, starting in the final week of September and running through the Autumn term. Children will be taught individually for 20 minutes per week. Unfortunately, it will not be possible to offer group lessons this term. The total cost for the term will be £156. If a family is entitled to receive free school meals, we can subsidise this cost. Please speak to the office for more information.
If a child is learning to play the violin, cello, guitar or a brass instrument, they will need to bring their own instrument along to lessons. Instruments can be hired from Waltham Forest Music Service. The music tutors will provide the forms and information when your child begins their lessons. For children learning the piano or drums, the school instrument used will be cleaned between each lesson.
If you would like your child to receive instrumental tuition in the Autumn term, please make payment for the lessons using ParentPay before 28th September 2020. You will be able to select which instrument you would like your child to learn at the point of payment.
Please understand that lessons missed due to a child's absence from school cannot be refunded. You will be able to decide whether or not to continue with your child’s lessons at the start of each new term.
If you have any questions regarding these lessons, please do get in touch by emailing office@rapsch.co.uk.
Yours sincerely,
Mr Desoer
Deputy Headteacher
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September 2020: Welcome Back To School!
Fri 04 Sep 20204th September 2020
Dear Parents,
School opens on Monday 7th September. We really look forward to seeing all pupils as they return to school and greeting our new pupils in Reception and Nursery.
The arrangements below are made to keep children safe in school. They are informed by the latest Government guidance and will be in place for as long as is needed for our school to comply with the requirements. It is possible that if the guidance changes, so will our arrangements.
All children will 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 endeavor to limit this as much as possible.
Start and finish times
Year groups will start and end at staggered times to reduce the flow of adults around the site. Please ensure that just one adult delivers and collects your child on their own (apart from very young children still in pushchairs).
Year Group
Start Time
End Time
Nursery (after initial induction timetable)
Wigton Rd Nursery gate
9.15am
12.30pm
11.45am
3pm
Reception (after initial induction timetable)
Williams Avenue
9.10am
3.15pm
1
Williams Ave
9am
3.10pm via Main Gate
2
Williams Ave
8.50am
3pm
3
Wigton Rd
9.15am
3.30pm
4
Wigton Rd
9.05am
3.20pm
5
Wigton Rd
8.55am
3.10pm
6
Wigton Rd
8.45am
3pm
If there are families with one or more sibling attending the school, then parents will be able to drop off their children 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 all parents keep to their times and are punctual – we need to minimize the number of people on the playgrounds at any one time and the flow of parents and children through the gates. 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.
Breakfast and After School Club will run as planned from September. If you still 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.
Staff will remind children to wash their hands thoroughly throughout the day.
Commonly used items of equipment – pencils rulers etc will not be shared – each child will be provided with their own.
No soft toys or difficult to wash equipment will be used. All other toys or equipment will be washed after use.
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.
When assemblies take place, they will be with one year-group at a time – so will any after school clubs.
We will deliver a short PE session every day – this means children may not have time to change into their full PE kit – but they should have shoes appropriate for PE in school every day
The outside climbing equipment areas will be used on a daily rota basis – children must not use these at the start or end of the day.
Best wishes
M Hanks
Headteacher
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Newsletter 26th June
Fri 26 Jun 2020Free School Meals
All children in school have lunch as normal – either a school meal or packed lunch. If your child is still at home and entitled to free school meals then you should now be receiving free school meal vouchers. During lockdown, due to difficult financial circumstances, many more children will now be entitled to free school meals. If you think your child may now be entitled but you have not yet registered, please check if your child can get free school meals - and find out how to apply - on the London Borough of Waltham Forest website.
Dear Parents,
We now know that the government hope that schools will be reopening to all pupils in September (unless circumstances change in the meantime).
Prior to that, we will be opening a Year 5 group for the last few weeks of term.
Year 5 parents please read the newsletter dated 29th May which contains important information regarding procedures and routines that will enable your children’s safe return to school.
While the government have updated guidance on keeping a safe distance apart it is worth repeating that in primary schools, the safety measures have never been based on trying to keep individual children socially distanced from one another but rather on keeping children in ‘bubbles’ – groups of no more than 15 children with 2 or 3 members of staff who spend their days together without mixing with children or adults from any other group.
We expect these bubbles to remain in place for the next few weeks with schools opening for all pupils in September. However, the bubble idea could still be in place in September, so each class bubble of 30 children may still have to stay away from children in all other classes as much as possible. To work safely, this could require staggered start and finish times – I will contact you when we know more.
If you would like your child to return to school for the last few weeks of term please note that we have spaces for key workers’ children and a limited number of spaces in our Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 groups. If you would like one of these spaces please check with the office and we will confirm their return date as soon as possible. Because we have to keep children from different groups separate, we are only able to offer after school care to children in the key workers group.
Some Reminders from Earlier Letters
It’s still important that all children must be brought to school and collected by an adult – we cannot risk children from different groups mixing together on the journey to and from school - just one adult please, with no other family members apart from babies in buggies.
Home Learning
Teachers from all year groups continue to post work every day and are still available to help if you contact them via email (on the school website) or Seesaw.
The following and Health and Safety guidance from the Government still applies in school:
- During the school day, groups of children socially distance from other groups by staying within and only having contact with children in their own group of no more than 15;
- If a child is taken ill during the school day then they will be quickly isolated and cared for in strict accordance with Government guidelines – they will need to be collected by an adult and taken home straight away;
- If your child becomes unwell and is diagnosed as having Covid-19 then you must inform school immediately. If at any time we have a confirmed case then we close that group and everyone in it goes home to self-isolate for 14 days;
- At the present time, the Government’s guidance still tells us that children should not wear face masks in school as they create a risk of infection spreading in school through young children taking them off and leaving them lying around.
School Office
The school office is open for appointments only. Appointments can be made via phone or email. Please do not go to the office without an appointment as regretfully, we will not be able to see you. The same also applies to meetings with teachers.
Best wishes to you all - stay safe!
M Hanks
Headteacher