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Coronavirus Updates

April 3rd, 2020

Dear Parents/Carers and children!

We hope this finds you all safe and well. This is, without doubt, a period of unprecedented anxiety and uncertainty and everyone at Julian’s sends much love and strength to all children and their families.

School will remain closed over the Easter period for all but essential key workers. The holiday project for the 2-week “holiday” period will be set on Friday 3rd April 2020 through J2e and online learning will then resume Monday 20th April 2020. Please contact us if you are unable to access your J2e account so that we can help you.

And ……..as we’re all missing singing assembly and the uplifting feel it all gives us on a Tuesday and Wednesday each week, here’s “1,2,3 It’s Good to be Me!” to sing and sign with your children! Have fun!

https://youtu.be/igmU0b65WCU

Remember sometimes life isn't all rainbows and sunshine but after the rain there’s a rainbow, after a storm there’s calm, after night there’s morning, and after an end there’s always a new beginning…

Rainbow

We hope that you all have a restful break during these turbulent times and that you look after yourselves.

Best wishes

Alison, Becky and Sam

P.S. - You may find this a useful link to share: Where Did Everybody Go? - A book to share about the Coronavirus

Friday 27th March 2020

Dear Parents/Carers,

As we now come to the end of the first week of home learning, we hope that you are all well and managing... We are missing the children very much and the hustle and bustle of everyday school life. Life in school is strangely quiet!

We have had some really helpful feedback from parents/carers on home learning and are grateful for the lovely positive emails that you have sent. They have meant a lot to us! Whilst we have had many positive comments from you, we are also aware that some of you may be feeling under pressure to complete the home learning that is being set and that many of you are juggling your own work commitments at the same time. Please remember that you can only do what is right for you and your family. We are all doing the best we can in very difficult circumstances and that is all we ask of you.

I am sure that for many of the children, the idea of being off school initially sounded great, but as the reality of isolation and the inability to socialise and/or see friends for play dates/sleep overs has sunk in, it has become less of a novelty. Please remember that what children need right now is to feel like it's going to be okay in these uncertain times and so you should only do what you can. Remember it is not school at home. It might mean that you don't log onto J2e but play board games, bake a cake, watch movies, go for a walk, do PE with Joe on Youtube, take a virtual field trip, start a book or enjoy the sunshine where and when you can. It's up to you! The important hing is that you take care of yourselves and your children...

Don't worry about your children falling behind. Every single child in the entire country is in the same boat and they're will all be okay. We do not know what the future may bring and when or if school will be reopened this academic year. It is you, your children and your family's well-being during this time that is the most important thing. Remember, this storm will pass. We just do not know when...

Stay safe and look after each other

Kind regards

Alison, Becky and Sam

Sunday 22nd March, 2020

UPDATE - If you have been offered a childcare space at Julian's you are required to complete the attached information form and either send it back by email or in person by Tuesday 24th March.

Thanks to those parents/carers who filled in the questionnaire last week. This has been very helpful and we have been able to allocate places accordingly.

Remember: if you, as a key worker have someone at home who can safely look after your child, then your child should stay at home and they must NOT come to the setting.

If you are able to keep your child at home for eg if you work from home, if there are older siblings at home or if you do not have to attend work, then your children are expected to stay AT HOME.

Social distancing is essential to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus and we ALL need to comply. School is only open to those key workers who HAVE to work. As previously stated at the moment we can only offer limited spaces.

Staff will have a list of children who have been given a space. Unfortunately, If you are not on the list, you will not be able to enter school. We understand that this is frustrating, but these rules are in place to protect our staff and children. Please remember that carers, teachers and specialist support staff are putting their health and their family’s health at risk to look after the children at their setting so that key workers can get to work.

If you are accessing childcare at the school and you work shifts, you would be expected to collect your child as soon as possible so they are at the setting for as little contact time as is possible ( at some point, proof of shift patterns will be asked for from employers).

The situation in the UK is currently extremely serious. It is likely that large numbers of people are going to get ill, some critically. Please follow Government guidelines for staying at home and do just that....stay at home.

The list and need for childcare will be reviewed and is subject to change.

Stay Well and stay safe

Dear Parents/Carers

It is with a heavy heart that we have had to take the decision to close Julian's for an indefinite period. Yesterday was a sad day for all of us as we move into a uncertain future. I would like to thank you all for your understanding during this difficult and stressful time. We would particularly like to thank those of you who have taken the time to send in messages of support. These were really appreciated by the staff team who have been working tirelessly over the past couple of weeks.

We will continue to communicate through our website regarding any updates we have on this ever evolving situation.

In the meantime, please take care and stay well. Remember...this storm will pass!

Our very best wishes

Alison, Becky and Sam

Friday 20th March - Update

We are currently collating all of the applications for childcare places and will forward the information onto parents by the end of the day - Thank you for your patience at this stressful time

Friday 20th March

The full list of key workers was released by the DfE and Cabinet Office at midnight on March 19th. The government has asked parents to keep their children at home, wherever possible, and schools to remain open for childcare only for those children who absolutely need to attend. If children can stay safely at home, they should, to limit the chance of the virus spreading.

All key worker requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis and we will have to prioritise places offered based on our capacity. The highest priority will be for families where both parents are key workers or where a sole parent is a key worker. If you make a request for care you will need, in addition to providing evidence of your work, to obtain confirmation from your employer that, based on business continuity arrangements, your specific role is necessary for the continuation of this essential public service. We understand that this may need to be done retrospectively.

This is an offer to parents and carers and there is no requirement for parents/carers to send their children to school if they do not need or wish to do so. This is a very different type of provision to that which schools normally provide as it will be about care, not education.

For vulnerable children, your child’s social worker will work with you to assess the best option for your child.

If you are one of the following key workers and would like Julian's to provide childcare, please return the school closure questionnaire as soon as possible

Health and social care
- This includes but is not limited to doctors, nurses, midwives, paramedics, social workers, care workers, and other frontline health and social care staff including volunteers; the support and specialist staff required to maintain the UK’s health and social care sector; those working as part of the health and social care supply chain, including producers and distributers of medicines and medical and personal protective equipment.
Education and childcare
- This includes nursery and teaching staff, social workers and those specialist education professionals who must remain active during the COVID-19 response to deliver this approach.
Key public services
- This includes those essential to the running of the justice system, religious staff, charities and workers delivering key frontline services, those responsible for the management of the deceased, and journalists and broadcasters who are providing public service broadcasting.
Local and national government
- This only includes those administrative occupations essential to the effective delivery of the COVID-19 response or delivering essential public services such as the payment of benefits, including in government agencies and arms length bodies.
Food and other necessary goods
- This includes those involved in food production, processing, distribution, sale and delivery as well as those essential to the provision of other key goods (for example hygienic and veterinary medicines).
Public safety and national security
- This includes police and support staff, Ministry of Defence civilians, contractor and armed forces personnel (those critical to the delivery of key defence and national security outputs and essential to the response to the COVID-19 pandemic), fire and rescue service employees (including support staff), National Crime Agency staff, those maintaining border security, prison and probation staff and other national security roles, including those overseas.
Transport
- This includes those who will keep the air, water, road and rail passenger and freight transport modes operating during the COVID-19 response, including those working on transport systems through which supply chains pass.
Utilities, communication and financial services
- This includes staff needed for essential financial services provision (including but not limited to workers in banks, building societies and financial market infrastructure), the oil, gas, electricity and water sectors (including sewerage), information technology and data infrastructure sector and primary industry supplies to continue during the COVID-19 response, as well as key staff working in the civil nuclear, chemicals, telecommunications (including but not limited to network operations, field engineering, call centre staff, IT and data infrastructure, 999 and 111 critical services), postal services and delivery, payments providers and waste disposal sectors.

Thursday 19^th March, 2020

Dear Parents/Carers

Thank you for all your support during this challenging time.

We are currently in the process of making arrangements for next week following the Government announcement yesterday. We are still waiting for additional guidance and hope to be in a position to share these details with you tomorrow.

Please note that if you are a key worker you will now need to complete the school closure questionnaire to confirm this and return it to us as soon as possible so that we can finalise numbers.

Please ensure that you have collected workbooks from the offices on both sites with details regarding home learning. If you are unable to access J2e please let us know as soon as possible by contacting wnclosures@juliansprimary.org.uk or strclosures@juliansprimary.org.uk

Please stay safe and well. We wish you all the best in these difficult times.

Alison, Becky and Sam

18th March 2020 Update following Government briefing

Dear all

Following the Government briefing today at 5.15pm, I can confirm that the school will close as of Friday 20th March 2020 to all children except those of key workers until further notice. This follows closures of schools as of Friday in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The situation as you will be aware is more serious in London with the virus spreading faster in the capital than any other part of the country.

We kindly request that all key workers - those who work in the NHS, Police force and delivery drivers - notify us as soon as possible on wnclosures@juliansprimary.org.uk and strclosures@juliansprimary.org.uk so that we can make arrangements for their children. We will need verification of your key worker status. Please be aware that we do not yet know how the Government intends this to work in practice. We will contact families who are working with Social workers and children with EHCPs directly.

As we said in our earlier update we are doing our very best to minimise the disruption to all of our children's education as much as possible. We have been putting in place arrangements for the children to complete work through J2e - an online LGFL learning platform.

We hope you stay safe and well during these unprecedented times.

March 18th 2020 UPDATE

Dear Parents/Carers

Firstly we would like to thank you all for your continued support during this very challenging period. Our highest priority is the wellbeing of our children, staff and wider community.

We are following the Government and Public Health England’s advice on managing the Coronavirus situation and have been closely monitoring the situation.

We are expecting a Commons statement on the situation regarding school closures in England at 5pm today, following a decision for all schools in Wales and Scotland to close as of Friday. We understand that given the situation, all schools may close for all but the children of key workers, but this is not yet confirmed.

However we also need to inform you that as a school it is likely that we may need to make the difficult decision to close over the next few days. This is due to the unprecedented challenges that COVID-19 presents to our community. This week pupil attendance has decreased significantly alongside a large increase in staff absence due to the latest guidance from the Government and PHE. This is making the day to day operations of the school very difficult for us.

In the first instance it is likely that Julian’s will close until Monday 20^th April 2020. Any further closures will be communicated here, or if you are a parent/carer, via email and/or text. We would ask that parents/carers continue to look at the website for any updates.

During this challenging time, we hope to minimise the disruption to children’s education as much as possible and we have been busy putting in place arrangements for the children to complete work through J2e on a daily basis.

We are also looking at the possibility of implementing plans to provide food for children eligible for free school meals and will contact parents/carers directly if we are able to support you with this.

Thank you also to all staff, both those in the classrooms and behind the scenes for their commitment and sacrifice during these challenging times.

Best wishes

Alison, Becky and Sam

March 18th 2020

Learning and teaching

We are experiencing much higher than typical absence from school. Some parents are telling us that they are self-isolating. This affects pupils in all age-groups. This means:

We are slowing down the amount of new learning so that we reduce the amount needed to catch-up when pupils return to school.
We are increasing the amount of repetition and over-learning so that pupils do not fall behind.
We are not setting work for home when pupils are absent because we are continuing to teach in school.
Over the length of a key-stage and primary education, pupils will cover all curriculum content ready for secondary school.

March 17th 2020

The Government yesterday announced the introduction of new stringent measures to help tackle the coronavirus outbreak in the country. These are being introduced because of the rapid increase in cases and aim to push the peak of cases into the summer to ease the pressure on the NHS.

Here are the key points:

Anyone who has a new persistent cough or a temperature of 37.8C or above and anyone who lives with them should stay at home for 14 days.
People should minimise social contact and avoid public transport, pubs, clubs, theatres and other such social venues.
People should start working from home where they possibly can.
Those over 70 or those who have a significant health condition such as heart disease and lung disease as well as women who are pregnant need to take extra care to minimise social contact for 12 weeks from the end of this week.
Only use the NHS when we really need to.
From tomorrow government will no longer be "supporting" mass gatherings using emergency workers.

These new measures are having a significant impact on our school and we would ask you to keep a close eye on the website for further information.

March 16th 2020

Dear Parents/Carers

We are continuing to monitor the outbreak of the COVID-19 Coronavirus and its potential impact on our children and the wider community. As of Friday, we entered the Delay phase of management at national level.

We are not currently aware of any children, parent/carer, teacher or any other member of staff at Julian’s Primary who has been diagnosed with the virus. We continue to take all reasonable steps to ensure this remains the case, but we must also make plans if and when the situation changes. We know that the situation is changing quickly and we want to work with you to protect our community and minimise the impact to children’s education.

Self-isolation

New guidance released on Friday, stated that anyone with a new continuous cough and/or a temperature (of above 37.8C) should self-isolate for seven days. You do not need to call 111 to go into self-isolation. If symptoms worsen during home isolation or are no better after seven days, you are advised to contact NHS111 online (www.111.nhs.uk) If your child requires self-isolation you must let us know immediately; we will do everything we can to support.

If a child at Julian’s Primary is confirmed as being infected with coronavirus

If we receive confirmation that one of our children has been infected with coronavirus, we will contact 111 / Public Health England. We will act on the advice given and undertake a risk assessment. In most cases, closure of the school will not be necessary, but this will be a decision made in line with advice on a case by case basis.

If Julian’s Primary takes the decision to close on the direction of PHE or due to staff shortages

Parents/Carers will be informed of the decision via email/text or on the website
Parents/Carers will be informed of the arrangements for remote teaching and learning
Work will be set electronically in most cases. Children will be expected to complete work at home and engage fully with their education

Throughout the coronavirus outbreak, the leadership teams will remain alert for changes in Government advice and will keep staff, parents/carers and children informed about updates or any possible school closures. This will take place via email/text and the school website as well as social media channels.

Educational visits and events

Currently, all educational visits and events are being assessed on a case by case basis and as advice changes. This of course means that if the school is closed, it is highly likely that all educational visits, sports fixtures and other events will be postponed or cancelled. As of Monday 16^th March the following decisions have been made about school events/activities:

Update 16/3/20

Assemblies – class and general - cancelled
Lunch time arrangements - will continue as normal with a focus on reducing numbers in the hall
Swimming and PE activities - will continue as normal. West Norwood Leisure Centre have advised that they are deep cleaning the site every night and at lunch time. Children are being encouraged to shower before and after swimming and to wash hands on arrival and departure
Reading mornings – cancelled
Parent/carer meetings scheduled for Monday 16th/Tuesday 17th March - postponed to allow for planning for full closure. It is proposed that these will now take place on Monday 27^th and Tuesday 28th April although we will update you closer to the time
Lambeth Music Festival – Postponed by Lambeth Music Service
London Youth Games - at the current time it is proposed that this will take place as planned
IBM Robot challenge – cancelled by IBM
Extra-curricular activities - will continue as normal
Primary Shakespeare Company performances – cancelled by PSC

We are continuing to work on preventative measures in school to avoid catching or spreading coronavirus.

Do:

Wash your hands with soap and water often – do this for at least 20 seconds
Always wash your hands when you get home or into work
Use hand sanitiser gel if soap and water are not available
Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve (not your hands) when you cough or sneeze
Put used tissues in the bin immediately and wash your hands afterwards
Try to avoid close contact with people who are unwell

Don't:

Touch your eyes, nose or mouth if your hands are not clean

Reopening following closure

We will remain in regular contact through email/text as well as through regular updates on the website and social media channels, and will endeavour to reopen the school as soon as advised.