Latest News
Keep up to date with all the latest news happening in school at the moment.
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Parent Gym: parenting through uncertainty
Tue 31 Mar 2020Dear Parents,
You may have attended one of the Parent Gym programmes that we previously hosted. Although face-to-face programmes are not currently possible, Parent Gym are providing online support for all parents.
You are invited to join the Parent Gym: parenting through uncertainty Facebook group, to share stories, thoughts, tips and ideas on how we are managing to adjust to this challenging period in our lives. You are very welcome to join the group whether or not you have attended a Parent Gym programme in the past. This invitation also extends to parents outside our school, so if you would like to share with friends please do; we’re all there to support each other.
Click here to join Parent Gym: parenting through uncertainty
The Parent Gym programme is also being translated into a digital offer that will be made freely available, to help parents with tips and strategies for the new situation that we are all facing. More details will be shared soon.
Kind regards,
The Inclusion Team
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Home Learning Plans
Fri 27 Mar 2020 -
Key Worker
Fri 20 Mar 2020Friday 20th March,
Dear Parents and Carers,
School Closure and Key Workers
We wanted to update you on the latest advice we have been given. Below is the information we have been provided with from the government.
“The most recent scientific advice on how to further limit the spread of COVID-19 is clear. If children can stay safely at home, they should, to limit the chance of the virus spreading.
That is why the government has asked parents to keep their children at home, wherever possible, and asked schools to remain open only for those children who absolutely need to attend.
It is important to underline that schools, colleges and other educational establishments remain safe places for children. But the fewer children making the journey to school, and the fewer children in educational settings, the lower the risk that the virus can spread and infect vulnerable individuals in wider society.
Many parents working in these critical sectors may be able to ensure their child is kept at home. Every child who can be safely cared for at home should be. This is an offer to parents and carers and there is no requirement for parents and carers to send their children to school if they do not need or wish to do so.”
As stated in my previous letter, school will be open for key workers. If you believe yourself to be a key worker then please call the office today and someone will speak to you regarding Monday and subsequent days. We ask that you are patient if you are trying to get in contact with us as we will be dealing with a large volume of calls. If you are a key worker and have someone at home who is able to look after your child/ren then that is the most advisable option to further reduce the number of people your child is in contact with.
Key workers fall under the following categories:
- Health and social care
- Education and childcare
- Key public services
- Local and national government
- Food and other necessary goods
- Public safety and national security
- Transport
- Utilities, communication and financial services
The government guidance on social distancing and isolation is what we would refer all our families to adhere to during this time. As these are extraordinarily circumstances, we would encourage you all to use the exceptional adjustments and measures the government has put in place to protect yourselves, others, and the most vulnerable in our communities.
Thank you again for your continued support as we all try to navigate ourselves through these unprecedented times. Thank you also to all of you who have understood, and been so supportive of the challenges, we, and all schools, are facing to support all of our communities and who know we are all doing the best we can.
I hope to update you further re children who are eligible for free school meals either today or in the coming days. Again, we will await further guidance and inform you as soon as we are able to.
Best wishes,
Zakia Khatun
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School Closures
Thu 19 Mar 2020Dear Parents and Carers,
Thank you for your support thus far as we deal with an unprecedented situation.
I wanted to write to you to let you know of measures that we are putting in place for the next few weeks in light of the announcement yesterday evening. We will continue to update you with as soon as possible should there be further information or a change in procedure.
You will have heard by now that schools will be closed to children, expect those who are children of key workers, from this Friday, 20th March. The school will remain open to families who work in the following areas:
The NHS
Police service
Social care
Delivery services
Waltham Forest council workers
The school will remain open to these families to help facilitate and ensure that our communities are able to have the support they need in these difficult times. In order to ensure we have the correct provision in place, we are asking you to indicate if you require a place in school to support you to deliver front line services. We will also be contacting a number of families to confirm how support will be provided to them.
If your child is in receipt of free school meals then we are hoping to be able to offer them a meal each day. We are still working on the logistics of this and will be in touch later today with further information.
I am sure you can appreciate how hard it has been to manage an ever changing and unprecedented situation. We have always followed advice from Public Health, the Department of Education, and from the London Borough of Waltham Forest and will continue to follow guidance and update you as the need arises.
For the next 2 weeks we will ask staff to upload work for pupils onto our school website via each class page. We will update class webpages by 12:00 each Friday for the next two weeks. We will also upload work that will be set via Bug Club and My Maths. Your child will have a login to access the work set on those sites. We will also ensure that children are sent home with plenty of books to read.
In the interim period we will investigate setting work via my Google Classroom, whereby work will be set for pupils on a daily basis. Teachers will be able to log in and respond to questions/ provide further information should pupils require it. We will continue to follow guidance, but envisage this approach to work setting would beginning week beginning 20th April, which is when we would return from Easter holidays.
We are sending home a contact sheet and ask that you send it back into school on Friday with your email address which we will use should we need to provide you with any additional logins for work set. Should you not be able to access digital learning, please let us know and we will find other means.
I will continue to update you all with any news I receive; this will be through the school website and our text service. Currently, as the situation stands, this is likely to be on at least a weekly basis.
I would like to also take this opportunity to thank staff who have continued to come to work and put the needs of our community first whilst making difficult decisions for themselves and their families. Serving in the public sector, and putting others first, is not always easy. In this time of national challenge I have been very proud to lead a team of committed professionals who have, and continue, to work for the greater good of our communities.
I would also like to thank you all for your ongoing support and understanding. I am sure it has been a time of great confusion and uncertainly for you all, as it has been for us, but I am sure that by working together and supporting each other, we will strengthen our partnership as a school community; always acting in the best interests of all of our children.
Zakia Khatun
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Coronavirus
Tue 17 Mar 2020Dear Parents/Carers,
Coronavirus
We wanted to update you following on from the letter that was previously sent out at the beginning of March 2020.
We continue to follow government advice with additional guidance from Waltham Forest. We have been advised to ensure that there is the least disruption to the children’s learning as possible and are amending provision in school to reflect that. We will continue to monitor and adapt as the need arises and put the following in place so far:
- We are postponing and limiting school events
- We are continuing to take every opportunity to remind the children about good personal hygiene and we are encouraging the children to wash their hands at various key points during the school day.
- Being vigilant re symptoms in school from adults and children
- Assessing and amending plans on a daily basis
We ask all families and concerned carers to also follow government advice and seek medical support should you need it. Below is further guidance we have received from Waltham Forest that we ask all families to familiarise themselves with.
What to do if you feel unwell?
If you think you’re experiencing symptoms of Coronavirus, do not go to a GP surgery, pharmacy, or hospital. Visit NHS Website for further information.
All residents are encouraged to take the following steps to avoid catching and spreading the virus:
- Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue if you cough or sneeze
- Put used tissues into the bin immediately
- Wash your hands with soap and water often
- Use hand sanitiser gel if soap and water are not available
- Wash your hands when you arrive into work and return home
- Try to avoid close contact with unwell people
Please continue to check the school website for any further updates.
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COVID advice for educational settings
Fri 13 Mar 2020Dear parent/carer,
Please find below information received from the borough which we have been asked to circulate. We recognise there is a lot of concern around the Coronavirus (now called COVID-19).
However, the risk to individuals within the UK is still low, and there is no reason why your children should not continue to attend their early years, school or further education setting as normal.
The best thing to do is to keep yourselves updated at https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/ , and encourage good handwashing in your family.
Advice for families that have recently travelled abroad or plan to travel abroad
You may need to get medical advice if you've recently travelled to the UK from somewhere with a higher risk of coronavirus. This list of countries is being updated regularly and up to date advice for travellers, including advice about travelling abroad can be found here:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/advice-for-travellers/
These places are:
- Cambodia
- China
- Hong Kong
- Iran
- Italy
- Japan
- Laos
- Macau
- Malaysia
- Myanmar (Burma)
- Singapore
- South Korea
- Taiwan
- Tenerife – only the H10 Costa Adeje Palace Hotel
- Thailand
- Vietnam
If you have been to one of these places in the last 14 days, find out what to do using the NHS 111 online coronavirus service at https://111.nhs.uk/covid-19 or by calling NHS 111.
Advice for everyone
A UK wide campaign has been launched to provide clear advice on how to slow the spread of Coronavirus and other diseases.
Please help to support the campaign which promotes basic hygiene practices to stem the spread of viruses:
- Regularly washing hands with hot water and soap, for 20 seconds, including before eating and after returning home from outside
- Always sneezing or coughing into a tissue
- Throwing away tissues into a bin after use
- Not touching your eyes, nose or mouth if your hands are dirty
National helpline
The Department for Education has now launched a helpline to answer questions about COVID-19 related to education. Staff, parents and young people can contact the helpline as follows:
Phone: 0800 046 8687
Email: DfE.coronavirushelpline@education.gov.uk
Opening hours: 8am to 6pm (Monday to Friday) -
Independent Women's Day Cake Sale
Mon 09 Mar 2020A huge well done to some of our Y5 pupils, who organised a very successful cake sale on Friday 6th March as part of our Independent Women's Day celebrations. Thank you to everyone who donated. The total raised will be in the next newsletter!
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Panathlon Gold for the Key Stage 2 Deaf Provision children!
Wed 04 Mar 2020Eight children from the Deaf Provision at Whitehall Primary School took part in the borough’s Primary Panathlon event last Tuesday, 3rd of March 2020. The team scored points in seven different sports including New Age Kurling, Boccia and table volleyball. We are very proud of their team effort and look forward to more competitions to follow in the Summer Term! Well done team!
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Gilwell Park 2020
Wed 04 Mar 2020Dear Parents / Guardians of Year 4 children,
GILWELL PARK ACTIVITY CENTRE - 1 NIGHT TRIP 17 - 18 SEPTEMBER 2020
We are planning a 2-day overnight (1 sleep) trip to Gilwell Park Activity Centre in September when your child will be in year 5.
This is open to all pupils who will be in Year 5 in September 2020. Places are limited and will be offered on a first come first served basis.
Details of our Gilwell Park trip are set out below:
Dates: Thursday 17 September – Friday 18 September 2020 (1 night)
Cost: The Cost will be approximately £70.00. This includes lodge accommodation, meals and activities. The final cost will be dependent on the number of children attending.
Venue: Gilwell Park Activity Centre, Bury Road, Chingford E4 7QW.
Accommodation: The Jack Petchey Lodge - which can accommodate 44 children and 6 adults. Rooms are ensuite, each with a toilet and shower. Your child will need to bring a sleeping bag and pillow. The lodge also has a well-equipped kitchen and a large hall.
Food: Parents will need to provide a packed lunch for Thursday, after which all meals will be prepared on site by Gilwell Park.
Activities: Children will take part in a wide range of activities that are led by fully qualified centre staff. Activities will include raft building, crate stacking, gauntlet, ropes, team games and an evening campfire.
Staffing: Six members of staff will stay overnight with the group and others may attend on a daily basis depending on final numbers.
Travel: As Gilwell Park is local, parents will be able to take their children to the centre on Thursday morning (08.30am) and collect on Friday afternoon (3pm). A limited amount of seats may be available on a mini-bus for children whose parents do not have transport.
We are writing to all Year 4 parents now asking them to indicate whether they would like their child to be considered for the trip. The main principle for consideration is a guarantee that the behaviour of any pupil attending the trip is of a high standard. Pupils whose behaviour cannot be guaranteed may not be able to attend. Parents will be informed where there is cause for concern.
The Governing Body recently expressed concern for families with outstanding arrears being granted a place on residential trips. Governors deemed it irresponsible of the school to put these families at risk of increasing debt and thus will not allocate places where parents have monies outstanding.
IF YOU WOULD LIKE YOUR CHILD TO BE CONSIDERED FOR THE TRIP PLEASE RETURN THE SLIP ASAP – PLACES ARE LIMITED AND ARE ON A FIRST COME FIRST SERVED BASIS.Once selected, an immediate online deposit will need to be paid.
Further payments can then be made in instalments to spread the cost.
All payments will need to be made online as we now operate a ‘cashless’ payment system.
