Covid Update 08.01.21

8th January 2021

Dear parents/carers

COVID-19 Update 8.1.21

Well, what a crazy week this has been. I’m sure you are all feeling as frustrated about this whole situation as we are. BUT… we will get through this and we will make sure we do a great job in the meantime. We would all like to thank you for your patience, the response to switching to remote learning has been phenomenal. So far, the average of engagement of families from both schools is 87% which is wonderful, especially considering this is the first week. We will do our best to get to 100% by contacting those who have not engaged and offering support, whether it be technical, educational or emotional, we will do what we can. You may have seen that schools will be accountable to OFSTED for providing at least 3 hours remote learning a day and we will… however, this does not mean that we expect every family to engage for that length of time. We know and understand that every family has different circumstances, you can only do what you can do! Please do let us know though if we can be of any help in any way.

Emergency Childcare for children of critical workers/vulnerable families

We have a bubble open at each school for the above. We have capped the number of attenders at 15 with 2 staff members in order to keep the classroom a safe and airy environment where distancing can be adhered to by most. Demand for a place has been much higher than last lockdown, rising by 450%! This means that some days are full already at one of our schools. If there isn’t space and you are desperate for a place then we will offer the school which does have space. Please remember that it is for emergency childcare on the days which you are working and when there is no other adult at home to look after your child. The bubble is covered by 2 teaching assistants, 1 from early years/key stage one and 1 from key stage 2. They are supporting learning which has been set by the classteacher on Seesaw. There is a member of the teaching staff on the premises at all times in case of emergency. We would really appreciate it if you could tell us if your child will not be attending on a particular day so we can offer the space to another child.

Free school meals

As I write, schools have still not been notified of which system will be used to issue vouchers for those eligible for free school meals. This week, we offered a take away service of packed lunches which could be pre-ordered before 0930 and collected from school. If we still haven’t heard anything by Monday morning, we will look into a voucher system similar to the gift cards we used at the beginning of the first lockdown but in digital voucher form so it can be emailed and used immediately.

Star of the Week

Teachers have had the difficult decision of choosing their star of the week and you will find the videos on the Boskenwyn FOBS and Germoe FROGS page or later on the school websites.

SATs

I thought I would leave the best news ‘til last….. SAT’s have been cancelled!!! Data will be collected on children’s performance from teacher assessments, just as it should be as they know the child best. Let’s hope this will continue beyond this year!

Thank you for your continued support and also for all your lovely messages, emails and posts, I’m putting them all together in a portfolio for staff to show them all how much you appreciate them. As always, if you need anything, please don’t hesitate to email me on head@germoe.cornwall.sch.uk and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.

Have a lovely weekend, take care and stay safe,

Paula Blackburn