FORTNIGHTLY NEWSLETTER  ISSUE 12:                            11.3.22

Book Week

We had a fantastic Book Week last week.  Please see our Friday Focus that was issued last week for details.  This is also on our website:

http://www.clavering.essex.sch.uk/2022/03/friday-focus-4-3-22/

Friends of Clavering Pancake Day

The Friends of Clavering organised a sponsored pancake flip on Pancake Day.  The children thoroughly enjoyed it and we discovered some very talented pancake flippers!  Here is our list of winners.  It was close and some classes had to have a final flip-off due to a tie breaker!!  –

Reception   Jakob

Yr1             Archie

Yr2             Tilly P

Yr3             Elliot

Yr4             Teddy

Yr5             Wilf

Yr6             Beau

Thank you to the Friends of Clavering team for organising the event and for the brilliant pancake making prize.

Tag Rugby final

On 2^nd March we took part in a tag rugby tournament at Carver Barracks, playing ten tough games. We had a squad of twelve and scored at least three tries in every game to secure first place in the lower tournament. The team played very well and we were very proud of the result.

Report by Oskar and Will

Pond Thank You

A big thank you to Rachel Betts, Sonja Phipps and Jilly McNaughton for renovating our school pond.  We have a few more things that need to be completed by our landscapers, Ace of Spades, and then it will be ready for us to use.

COVID update

Unfortunately, we are still very much in an outbreak situation in school, following mixing over half-term.  We really appreciate the support you are giving us with the LFT of contacts and informing us of cases promptly, so that we can let everyone know in a timely fashion.  This is helping us to reduce the rate of infection in school as much as possible.  We are also fogging the school at least once a week.

As you would expect, we are having to increase our protective measures in school. We are currently keeping the classes separate, but at the same time, keeping things as normal as we can.  The children are using the dinner hall but the year groups are staggered.  Assemblies are online.  Clubs are still taking place, but they are outside as much as possible and the children are distanced. Last weekend was particularly intense. We had 16 cases from Friday evening to Monday morning and the cases are now including teaching staff.  At the time of writing this letter, we have 34 cases in school.  Years 1, 4 and 6 are particularly affected.

We are very grateful for your support and the support from staff working with me over the weekend managing contacts and amending our provision according to need. I am sure we will pass this stage soon.

Remote learning will continue to be provided for absence due to coronavirus (COVID-19), usually from the next full school day. Please do ensure that you let us know if your child is well enough to access their work.

As a reminder, the main symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) are:

• a high temperature– this means you feel hot to touch on your chest or back (you do not need to measure your temperature)
• a new, continuous cough– this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours (if you usually have a cough, it may be worse than usual)
• a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste– this means you’ve noticed you cannot smell or taste anything, or things smell or taste different to normal

If you have any of these symptoms you should take a PCR test, as per the guidance. You are advised to stay at home and avoid contact with other people while you are waiting for the test result.

Other symptoms linked with COVID-19 include shortness of breath, fatigue, loss of appetite, muscle ache, sore throat, headache, stuffy or runny nose, diarrhoea, nausea and vomiting. Any of these symptoms may also have another cause.

To clarify this is the isolation advice –

Anyone who receives a positive lateral flow result will need to start isolating immediately. This will be day 0 of the isolation period. On day 5 and 6 you can take two lateral flow tests 24 hours apart. If they come both come back negative your child can return to school on day 6 if they do not have a temperature. If the LFT are positive then the isolation period must continue.

How to manage your child’s anxiety during difficult times

Susan Williams, our school Play Therapist, has recommended the accompanying poster to support you in helping your child with any anxiety, especially in light of the events in the Ukraine and COVID.  Children pick up information in a variety of ways, despite what we may do to protect them from it, so it is important to be prepared to deal with any reactions.

Difficult Times

Snow Procedures

We had a very mild start to the new year but the temperature is dropping and although snow is not currently fore-cast we would like you to be aware of our snow procedures should the need arise –

Bad weather

In the event of severe weather conditions and possible school closure a notice will be placed on the school website.

Parents will be notified via our school website or the Essex County Council on the ‘Emergency School Closures’page: https://www.essex.gov.uk/education-schools/schools/dates/pages/emergency-school-closures.aspx

Parents will also be notified through our School Communication Chain – details below.

Please note that when the school is open in bad weather a path will be cleared to enable you to gain access to the school but care does still need to be taken.

Communication Chain

You will recently have been informed about our Parent Communication Chain.  In order for the Communication Chain to be effective, it is important that phone calls are made as opposed to emails or texts, in order to ensure contact is made.  Normally the chain will be activated the morning of the school closure as the decision is made on the day, unless in exceptional circumstances we know of the need in advance.  We will try to open the school where possible, hence the decision being made at the last minute, once we can assess the school site.  We will endeavour to give you as much notice as possible, but, as you are aware, it takes some time for the communication to pass through.

Facebook can be used as a supplementary means of communication if requested to do so by a member of the leadership team, but this is not part of the school process.  Parentmail, the Communication Chain, the school website and the Essex link above are the school notifications.

Thank you again for your support with this process.

Lost property                                     

Please could we make sure all uniform is named so that we can return misplaced items.

Sickness

The school office should be notified on the first day of each absence before registration at 9.00am and this should be followed up in writing on the day of return.

If your child has been vomiting or had an upset stomach a 48 hour leave of absence from the last episode is required.  For guidance on other illnesses please contact the School Office or refer to the document on the website in the ‘Attendance’ section – “Guidance on infection control in schools and other childcare settings”.

Lateness

School starts at 8.50 a.m.  We have noticed several children are consistently arriving late for school – ‘late’ is defined by not being within the school gates by 8.50 a.m.  Please make every effort to be at school on time and if you know that your journey will be disrupted by road works, do allow time for this.

Please note that lateness is recorded on a per pupil basis.

Thank you.

Mobile Phones 

This is a gentle reminder not to use mobile phones whilst on the school site.  This is part of our safeguarding policy for all of our children.

Application for leave of absence for term time holidays

Guidance from the Local Authority:

“Leave of absence may only be granted by a person authorised in that behalf by the proprietor of the school.  As from 1st September 2013, the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2013 amended Regulation 7 to prohibit the proprietor of a maintained school from granting leave of absence to a pupil, except where an advance application has been made by the parent with whom the pupil normally resides, and the proprietor considers that there are exceptional circumstances relating to the application.

Taking your child out of school during term time could be detrimental to your child’s educational progress.  There is no entitlement to parents to take their child out of school during term time, however, you may apply to the school for leave of absence if you believe there are exceptional circumstances.

If the absence is not authorised and the holiday is taken, the case will be referred to the Education Welfare Service who may issue a Penalty Notice for £120 (or £60 if paid within 21 days)  to each parent for each child taken out of school.”

Please note occasional days for birthdays and treats cannot be authorised and cheaper prices cannot be considered to be a valid reason. No leave of absence will be granted during our assessment weeks or the first week of the Autumn term.  Medical appointments, if at all possible should be made outside school hours.  Siblings of children attending medical appointments should remain in school.

Free School Meals Funding

You can register for Free Schools Meals Funding if you meet the criteria below.

If you have a child in Key Stage One and are receiving the free meal, which is part of the universal offer, you could be missing out on this additional funding for the school, which will support your child with their learning, if you meet the criteria below.  You have to apply for this funding.    If you think you meet the criteria below then please follow the guidance below and contact the school office.

https://www.gov.uk/apply-free-school-meals

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DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

14^th – 18^th March                     Art Week

28^th March                               Tray Day

30^th March                               Church Service

31^st March                               Easter Egg Hunt

1^st April                                   End of term

ACHIEVEMENTS

STAR OF THE WEEK

Week ending February 25^th      

Reception        Frankie Mae – brilliant independent spelling

Year One        Isaac – for his continued hard work and enthusiasm for all his learning.

Year Two        Harry – for great enthusiasm and a fantastic attitude to learning

Year Three     Rory – for his fantastic attitude in all his learning and a great piece of persuasive writing

Year Four       Ellie – for being kind to others and consistently trying our best

Year Five        Wilf – for thoughtful contributions to class discussions

Year Six          Holly – for her focus and effort in Maths

Week ending March 4^th       

Reception        Henry – for having many creative ideas this week, for PE and his alien work

Year One        Hugo – for his continued hard work particularly in English, correctly applying his phonic sounds and identifying different types of sentences

Year Two        Matilda W – for challenging herself in Maths this week

Year Three     Greta – for always having a positive attitude to her learning and showing kindness to others

Year Four       Max – great understanding of short multiplication

Year Five        Robin – for her great enthusiasm in Science lessons

Year Six          Oskar – for being champion try scorer at Tag Rugby

WRITER OF THE WEEK

Look out for our next edition of ‘Friday Focus’:

The fortnightly Friday Focus is a chance for every class at Clavering to share their learning with the Clavering School community. It is a great opportunity to find out what each year group has been up to and engage in conversations around learning.

 If you have any questions at any time, please feel free to make an appointment.

Have a good weekend.

Rosalind Allsop
Headteacher