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Posted on: 2/01/2021Covid 19 Update January 2021
2nd January 2021
Dear Parents and carers
Happy New Year and I hope you had a pleasant Christmas and I wish you all the best in the circumstances.
I am sure that you are all aware we are now in a Tier 4 region. We are NOT on the contingency framework list which means we will be open on Tuesday the 5th for children.
We have reviewed our arrangements for the start and end of the day and don’t feel that we could do anything more than we are at the moment. We are fortunate in having 3 entrances; many schools don’t have this luxury. Having different start and end times for different classes would make it incredibly difficult for parents with several children. So we need your help;
Firstly, we are asking that all adults dropping off children and collecting them ensure that they and their children socially distance from all other adults and children that are not in their bubble. We ask that you judge your arrival time so it is as close to the opening times as possible in this way you do not have to hang around for too long. This is particularly the case with the oldest children at the front of the school, many of whom walk to school on their own and are arriving 10-15 minutes before the gates are opened. You know how long it takes for your child to walk to school so don’t let them leave the house before that time. Ideally people should be arriving and going straight in.
You will notice that the staff who do ‘meet and greet duties’ have been wearing face coverings and we ask you to do the same if you wish to talk to them briefly. However, most quick messages can be sent privately to the class teacher via Dojo or by ringing the school office and leaving a message. This will also help us get the children in and out more efficiently too, which will help everyone.
This also means that there can be no face to face meetings between parents/carers and staff. If you wish to discuss a matter with a member of staff; this will have to be by telephone. If you wish us to call you please send a note with your child or phone us on 01823 284897, send a message via Dojo or send an email to Priorswood@redstartpartnership.co.uk We will also not be allowing parents to collect other parents’ child/children.
Finally, we ask that you follow the Tier 4 rules (see below) so that the risk of transmission within the school community is kept as low as possible. We understand that your family will find these constraints difficult. For example not having friends round, missing birthday celebrations and not being able to do many activities. Please remember that if your child comes in contact with someone with the virus please inform us and they must self-isolate for ten days. This means limiting contact with the rest of the family and avoiding shared spaces such as bathroom and kitchen and cleaning surfaces after use. We recognise that this will be a major challenge so we want you to help us to help you by adapting some of our arrangements and asking you to follow Tier 4 rules at all times.
Which are:
Remember ‘Hands. Face. Space’.
hands – wash your hands regularly and for at least 20 seconds
face – wear a face covering in indoor settings where social distancing may be difficult, and where you will come into contact with people you do not normally meet
space – stay 2 metres apart from people you do not live with where possible, or 1 metre with extra precautions in place (such as wearing face coverings)
Early years settings, schools, colleges and universities open during term time. Registered childcare, other supervised activities for childcare purposes, and childcare bubbles permitted.
No household mixing, aside from support bubbles and two people meeting in public outdoor spaces.
You must not stay overnight away from home. Limited exceptions apply.
You must stay at home and only travel for work, education or other legally permitted reasons. If you must travel, you should stay local, and reduce the number of journeys you make. You must not leave a Tier 4 area or stay overnight away from home. Residents in Tiers 1 – 3 should not enter Tier 4 areas. Do not travel abroad if you live in a Tier 4 area unless an exemption applies.
You can leave your home to exercise by yourself, with your household or support bubble, or with one person from another household.
You can visit relatives in care homes with COVID-secure arrangements such as substantial screens, visiting pods, and window visits.
Hospitality closed, aside from sales by takeaway, drive-through or delivery.
Essential shops can open. Non-essential retail must close and can only open for click-and-collect and delivery.
Everyone must work from home unless they are unable to do so.
Indoor leisure, accommodation and personal care – closed.
Funerals of up to 30 people permitted. Wakes and other linked ceremonial events can continue in a group of up to six. Weddings of up to six can continue in exceptional circumstances.
Indoor entertainment closed. Some outdoor attractions may remain open.
Places of worship open for private prayer and communal worship but cannot interact with anyone outside household or support bubble.
The Clinically Extremely Vulnerable are advised to stay at home as much as possible, except to go outdoors for exercise or to attend health appointments.
The complete list can be found on https://www.gov.uk/guidance/tier-4-stay-at-home if you want any further guidance.
We understand that this is difficult. Please remember that the staff also have personal lives and families and are having to make the same sacrifices so, it is heart-breaking when children come in a talk excitedly about sleepovers etc: or staff are verbally abused because a parent doesn’t want to follow the systems we are asking everyone to follow for ALL of our safety. I am not sure that I would have ever believed that I would be expected to lead a school through such a difficult and demanding set of circumstances but it is here and we have to deal with it as best we can. A little patience and kindness can go a long way. Please contact your child’s teacher or the office if you have any concerns or queries. I can’t promise that we will give you the answer that you want but we always try to accommodate as much as we can.
Thank you in advance for your cooperation with these changes.
Yours sincerely
Carolone Lancey
Posted on: 18/12/2020A message from Caroline Lancey
Dear Parents/Carers,
Welcome to our final newsletter of 2020. I have to say I don't think any of us would have predicted how the year would have turned out. I know it has been very disruptive and all of us have had to make sacrifices. However, the children have settled and it appears that they are catching up the ground they have missed. Don't under estimate the impact you have, keep reading with them daily, help them with their number bonds or times tables. Over the holidays watch some of the lovely children's programmes that are based on well-known children's books, then talk about what they have seen, ask questions about how characters are feeling or why they did what they did. Giving reasons for their thoughts is something we are working on in school. Get them to write a thank you note or two.
So what has Christmas been like in school, has it been no Christmas post, no Carol Concert, No Nativity, no Christmas Lunch or Party. You would think so....especially when I came across this:
No Nativity this year as the 3 Wise Men face a travel ban.
The Shepherds have been furloughed.
The Inn Keeper has shut under tier 3 regulations and has had a slump in bookings.
Santa won't be working as it would break the rule of 6 with Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Donner and Blitzen.
As for Rudolph, with that red nose he should be self-isolating and taking a test!
I hope it made you smile, it did me. But we have managed to do everything we normally would, albeit in a different format. I know that we had a few technological problems with the evening performance of the Nativity so, thank you for sticking with it. I hope you agree it was worth it.
The Advent calendar has been brilliant, it has been a joy to watch and I know that a lot of the classes look forward to sharing it each day.
We have ended the year with a really positive monitoring visit from our Trust leads. We know we have things to still work on but the overriding message in the report is that we are on the up, behaviour throughout the school is good, learning is much better and the children are getting a better and more interesting curriculum.
Uniforms
One of the things I tell children is that school isn't just about learning Maths and English it is also about learning to be a grown up. Being at a certain place at a certain time, turning up even when you don't want to and being dressed the way you are expected to be. You can help massively with this.
I have noticed that there are an increasing number of children wearing training shoes to school. I know that shops have been closed lately so I understand it has been difficult. However, we are about to have two weeks off and the shops are now open so when we reopen in January I am expecting ALL children to be in correct school uniform. This includes black shoes. (The school uniform is out lined on the parent page of the website).
Can I also remind you that this also means shoulder length hair should be tied up. It shouldn't be any shorter than a number 3 anywhere on the head. It should also be a natural colour.
Earrings should be studs and not loops. This is a safety issue as they can be easily caught especially in Forest School
I will finish by saying a huge thank you and well done to all the staff; all of whom work so hard and as a leader this is the best bit NEVER moan (well not when I am around anyway LOL). They have made the difficult situation bareable and more than workable for your children.
Have a very Happy Christmas, I wish you all well and I look forward to seeing all the children on Tuesday the 5th of January.
Posted on: 25/11/2020Winter Wanderland
Priorswood Primary School – Prepare for the Winter Wanderland
This year has been like non-other in our life time and this is certainly true for the children at Priorswood Primary School. The children at the school were keen to be involved in Taunton’s fabulous community activity, the Window Wanderland festival of light and colour.
Badger class, a mixed class of years 4 and 5, worked with local artist Andrea Oke from Somerset Art Works, to create this piece of art which had the theme of nocturnal animals. Not only was it a great opportunity for the children to develop their artistic talent, it also gave them the opportunity to learn more about the animals and their nocturnal habits.
The final window artwork features a number of nocturnal animals including: Owls, Foxes, Badgers, Bats, Hedgehog and dormice. Many of the classes at Priorswood are named after these animals such as: Owl, Hedgehog and Badger class.
The Taunton Winter Wanderland event runs from 22nd Nov to 6th Dec. The children hope you will wander by to appreciate their contribution.
Posted on: 20/11/2020Message from Caroline Lancey, Acting Head of School
Dear All,
We have had another busy month. Mr Ripley has started a new Twitter feed and there has been a great response to it. In fact, we are increasingly getting positive responses to a lot that is happening in school. This is great and I am glad that more and more of you are feeling positive about the school. It was really bought home to me when I received this lovely e-mail message from Pedro’s mum, who sadly has had to return to Spain:
I would like to thank everybody as Pedro is so happy here since the very first day. He has been enjoying the school every minute that he has been here and he loves it...his favourite one ever.
it is very sad for him and for me to have to leave but it is the best thing for us at this moment.
I would like you to thank everybody because all of you made him love learning, reading, writing, sport, forest school...he loves everything you do at this school and that makes him be sad today but he had very wonderful moments sharing with his teachers and friends that I think
he will never forget...
I am sure that, as a school, we have really turned a corner, we just need to get that message out to the wider community. Schools are often living on a reputation that is several years out of date both positive and negative.
Several children had their work form part of a display for Remembrance at St Andrews, which was lovely. It was great to see so many spotty creations last week for Children in Need. It was good to be able to raise money for such a good cause but also it allowed the children to feel a responsibility to their wider community. Badger Class have been working with an artist this week. The theme of the art work is nocturnal animals and will be part of the Winter Wanderland displays in the area. All the other children will have an opportunity do their own art work in this style with Mrs Cullen next week. We are hoping that you can put your child’s work up in one of your windows for your neighbours to enjoy; you could use it as inspiration and add to it. In these difficult times wrapping up warm and going for a walk to see these wonderful windows is a great way to entertain the children. In my house we used to call it ‘A no money fun day!’ There will be lots of houses decorated beautifully for Christmas as well to look at.
The roof is now finished and the scaffolding is coming down so, hopefully we won’t be having the unwanted attention any more. The heating work is continuing which is great as we now have hot water in most of the classes.
We are now getting ready for the build up to Christmas. Next week the winter displays will be up. This year the story is ‘The Gruffalo’s Child’ which has a wonderful wintery feel. The younger ones are preparing for the nativity; all the classes are practising things to share with you on the Advent calendar. There is also the Christmas lunch, Movie night and the end of term party. Phew it has made me tired just writing it.
