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Update with reminders for September
Dear Parents/Carers,
I do hope that you have all had a relaxing and energy recharging holiday so far and continue to enjoy the remainder of the summer. I wanted to email out a reminders message ahead of the September start, so that everyone has as much information as they need to get the new school term started well.
Firstly, the start dates; we welcome our staff back in from Thursday 3rd September and so our office is open for enquiries by phone and email from then. Please try and avoid visiting in person as we are trying to reduce our visitors as part of our Covid-19 risk minimising. Year 5 pupils will be welcomed for their first day with us on Monday 7th September - a day of orientation, learning about their new school and of course the Covid-19 safety precautions. Years 6 to 8 will all be welcomed back on Tuesday 8th September. All pupils will have plenty of form-based time in the first week (and beyond) as we know that getting back to school, getting back to learning will require a degree of recovery from the experiences of the Covid-19 lockdown.
We are looking forward to having all of our pupils back to school, we really want their experience to be an enjoyable one with loads of learning and progress. We know that valuable time learning has been lost and plans are being developed to make up for that, as well as adapting our curriculum subtly to account for the limitations that social distancing of staff, static classes and non-sharing of equipment between classes, brings. It is worth reiterating that all adults in school will be observing a 2m social distancing from each other and their pupils. Teachers should not be approached by pupils and to aid this we have marked out the zones on the floor for pupils and staff to see. Pupils will be kept in their form room for all their lessons* and their teachers will come to them. This limits movements around the school and keeps form classes as bubbles from each other.
*Year 7 will get to use the Music Room, years 7&8 will get to use an IT suite for Computing and all years will have PE outside.
All the pupils have an arrival and a departure time and a specific entry point – please do look at the attached file and make sure that your child arrives exactly at the right time. Too early will cause difficulties in social distancing and too late will mean that the entry with the class will be missed. If your child is late, they can enter at reception (entry B) and give their reason. When pupils arrive they can congregate with their own form class – as identified by their form tutor who will be present. On exit, if you are meeting your child, please arrange a spot away from the vicinity of the school, but if your child is walking home please encourage him/her to move away quickly.
You may have already purchased your child’s school uniform, but if you still need items you can order online through our website https://www.woodlandacademy.co.uk/Uniform/ or book an appointment with Prestige at their shop in the High Street http://www.prestigedesignww.co.uk/live/ .
The school website has lots of information on it, including our policies. I wanted to draw attention to one in particular however which is an updated Behaviour & Attendance policy. Due to Covid-19 and restrictive use of TAs, limited accessibility in class for teachers and the raft of new arrangements for Covid-19 safety we have made a few amendments. In essence our expectations have not changed but we have added that deliberately breaking an adult’s safe distancing with the intention of causing upset/fear will become an excludable behaviour. It is only right that we point this out – see attached file.
Staying in the loop with school is far easier now if you follow us on Twitter @WoodlandAcademy and also download the Weduc app for your phone from Apple Store or Google Play Store.
From September 2020 we also have a number of pupils joining the school that have life threatening allergies to nuts. We have become a nut free school and we would like to ask all parents/carers to ensure that there are no nuts in any food products that are brought to school for snacks and lunches. Our kitchen and food technology department have been nut free for years already.
Pupils will need to bring in a bag each day, that can fit under their desk, but in it they will only need a water bottle, a snack and (if required) a packed lunch. Pupils can also bring a phone if parents require that, but it will remain off for the entirety of the school day. Phones if discovered on are taken away and only handed back to a parent/carer.
We have been asked many questions in person and by email – we have collected as many as we can together in an FAQ document and attached that here for you too.
Further to recent Government advice we are changing our position on face coverings for pupils and visitors to school. Pupils will still not be permitted to wear face coverings in class but may wear one to/from class/playground/canteen/toilet i.e. any corridor journey. Pupils should keep their face covering in a bag inside their school bag. Bandanas are not permitted.
All visitors must wear a face covering into the school but will be invited to remove it once a 2m safe distancing has been arranged e.g. in a meeting room.
These arrangements will change if the local Covid-19 situation should require a local lockdown.
I will email again in the first week of term with a welcome email and any latest updates - but for now do enjoy this final week of the summer holidays and see you all soon!
Jeff Conquest
Entrance and Exit Times Sept 2020.pdf