Keep up to date with all the latest news happening in school at the moment.
Dear Parent/Guardian
As you will be aware, the First Minister was involved in a Welsh Government press conference today and announced the following key messages:
1. Schools will continue to be open to vulnerable children and the children of critical workers up until the half-term. All other learners will continue to access remote learning during this period.
2. The youngest pupils in Wales could possibly begin returning to school after the February half-term if rates of coronavirus continue to fall.
3. If the transmission of Covid continues to decline, pupils will start returning to school in a phased way from 22nd February, beginning with our youngest learners.
4. Ministers and Welsh Government officials will continue to engage with Local Authorities, Trade Unions and representative groups to plan for the return of learners to school.
5. Welsh Government is committed to ensuring that schools, parents and carers have plenty of time to plan for change and it is hoped that Councils and schools across Wales will receive timely notifications so that we are able to strategically plan for key changes. I know this is something that we all want to ensure that this next transitional phase is as seamless as possible.
We have also sent this news item to all parents on Class Dojo.
Thanking you all for your patience and cooperation in the current climate.
Kind regards
MR S K GARDNER
Distance learning is presenting incredible challenges and opportunities for teachers, parents/carers and pupils at this time. Please find attached a Blended Learning guidance that may help your understanding of the many forms of learning your child/ren could be engaging in currently (this is not exhaustive).
Your views on this matter are so important to us. Below is a link to a survey. If you have some time, we would be very grateful if you could complete this by 13.2.21 and share your experiences with us so far.
Can we remind you that should you experience any difficulties accessing the learning from your school/s, please contact them directly and they will be able to support you.
Many thanks,
Gaynor Davies
Director of Education & Inclusion Services
Dear Parent/Guardian
As you are aware a letter was sent to you on 19th January re: engaging in distance learning. I understand that some of the content within this letter has been screenshotted and placed on social media and I wished to clarify the position of the Attendance and Wellbeing Service at this time and our expectations as a school.
I am sorry that some of you may have felt that the tone of the letter portrayed unrealistic expectations on distance learning or construed that a referral would be made directly to the Attendance and Wellbeing Service if your child(ren) failed to engage in distance learning. For clarity, referrals from the school to the Attendance and Wellbeing Service will only be made if there has been a failure to engage with distance learning and you have failed to contact the school to discuss or answer any of our messages or calls over a short period. A referral would then be made for a Wellbeing Response Visit to ensure that you are all safe and well and also to determine if there are any barriers you are currently facing to engaging with the distance learning. As the name Wellbeing Response Visit suggests this is primarily to ensure our pupils, and you as their families, are okay.
If needed due to no contact, a referral would be made by the school and as a result of a referral, the Attendance and Wellbeing Service will make a visit to your home but they will adhere to all Public Health Wales guidance. This includes maintaining social distancing and frequent sanitising of hands between visits. These are not visits into the house and they will remain outdoors at all times at a safe distance. The Attendance and Wellbeing Service will then report back to us when the family, including the pupils, have been seen and they will also report to us any needs you have from the school so that we can support you effectively going forward.
As stated above, these referrals would only be made as a last resort when we have been unable to contact you. If you are facing any issues with the learning platforms we use as a school or in understanding and engaging with the work set, please contact us so that we can support you via Class Dojo, telephone or email. Where there is no engagement with learning, we may try to contact you via Class Dojo, telephone, email or text message and would request that you respond to these as soon as possible so that it is not necessary for a referral to be made for a door-knock. We understand many of you have work, caring, childcare and other commitments during the day but would ask you to communicate with us as soon as you can if you receive a call or message.
As we may need to contact you, if you have updated your phone number recently please let us know so that we can amend our records.
I hope the above has clarified the previous letter and please do not hesitate to contact the school in future if anything is not clear from our letters. I wanted to thank you all for continuing to work with us in these difficult times and supporting your child’s education until such time we are able to resume face-to-face teaching.
Kind regards
Mr Gardner
Dear Parent/Guardian
We have today forwarded a copy of an e-mail received today from Gaynor Davies, Director of Education to all parents by way of e-mail regarding the revised childcare arrangements which will apply as from Monday 18th January 2021.
Please note that if you qualify under the new criteria and the conditions issued by RCTCBC and you wish to secure a place for your child/children, you must let us know no later than 3.30 p.m.. on Monday 11th January 2021. either by contacting Mr Gardner via Class Dojo or by e-mailing us at admin.capcochprimary@rctcbc.gov.uk
A copy of the e-mail can be accessed by clicking on our "News & Events" tab and then by further clicking on "Newsletters".
Places will be limited and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.
Kind regards
Dear Parent/Guardian
We have today compiled a note from information on the Gov.Uk website about free increases to mobile data allowances in order to support children in the current pandemic by various mobile phone companies. This note has been sent to all parents by way of e-mail this afternoon.
If you would like us to apply for this on behalf will you please either let Mr Gardner know by way of your child's class Dojo or alternatively,by e-mail at admin.capcochprimary@rctcbc.gov.uk with the information required No later than next Friday 15th January 2021 and we will look into this for you.
The note can be accessed by clicking on the "News & Events" tab and then by clicking on the "Newsletters" tab.
Kind regards
Dear Parent/Guardian
We have received a number of queries regarding the criteria that needs to be met to qualify for a educational face to face place at the start of this term. The guidance from the RCTCBC states that for the first two weeks of term, schools will only be providing school based learning not childcare provision for the children of critical workers. However, if restrictions are extended beyond the two week period RCTCBC may review this position.
The legislation states that only one parent is required to be a critical worker to apply for school based educational provision. Although the list is quite extensive, RCTCBC have informed us that for this period of the academic year the Critical Worker criteria will be limited to those persons employed in the following capacity:-
Health and social care workers
All NHS and social care staff, including:
• doctors, nurses, midwives, paramedics, social workers, care workers, and other health and social care workers including volunteers organisations involved with patient discharge, transport and hospital transfers
• the administration, support and specialist staff required to maintain the UK’s health and social care sector including those third sector workers in an NHS or care setting
• those working as part of the health and social care supply chain, including producers and distributors of medicines, and medical and personal protective equipment
• NHS Blood and Transplant frontline staff (blood donation staff, specialist nurses for organ donation, staff running therapeutic apheresis services in NHS hospitals)
• those providing ancillary support to NHS workers (such as hotel accommodation for NHS staff)
Public safety (emergency workers) and national security workers
• British Transport Police and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency
• Fire and Rescue Service employees (including support staff)
• Ministry of Defence civilians, contractors and armed forces personnel (those critical to the delivery of critical defence and national security outputs and critical to the response to the coronavirus pandemic), including defence medical staff
• National Crime Agency staff, those maintaining border security, prison and probation staff and other national security roles, including those overseas
• police and support staff
• staff of organisations required in the national security aspects of water in Wales
Education and childcare workers
• all workers in childcare settings (to include day nurseries, creches, childminders, play groups, Cylch Meithrin, after school clubs and holidays clubs)
• Further Education (FE) and Higher Education (HE) lecturers
• social workers
• specialist education professionals,
• support staff on site at schools, FE and HE settings such as catering, cleaners, caretakers, maintenance staff all those involved in schools/FE/HE institutions to operate
• teaching staff
• learning support staff
• Work Based Learning trainers and assessors
• Youth workers
We will of course, keep you advised of any changes/developments as and when we are informed by RCTCBC.
Kind regards
Dear Parent/Guardian
We have today received a letter from RCT with a questionnaire attached regarding funding for schools to support service children in education. This letter and questionnaire has been sent out to all parents by way or e-mail this morning.
The questionnaire needs to be completed and returned to us no later than 15th January 2021 by way of e-mail.
In addition, the letter and its questionnaire can be accessed by clicking on our "News & Events" tab and then by further clicking on the "Newsletters" tab.
We hope that 2021 will be a better New Year for all
Kind regards