Activities for the Summer Holidays

Activities for the Summer Holidays

Lancashire County Council have produced the following list of activities and provision for ALL age groups for throughout the Summer Holidays.  Click on the links below for information. 

Summer Holiday Provision 0-11yrs

Summer Holiday Provision Families

Summer Holiday Provision 11-18+yrs

Summer Holiday Provision SEND

Staffing Arrangements for September

Dear Parents and children,

I write to let you know about leadership arrangements, classes and staffing for next year.

Teaching.

Leadership.

Mrs Beaumont (Deputy headteacher) will be leading in Key Stage 2, while Miss Griffiths (Deputy headteacher) will be leading in Early Years and Key Stage 1.  Both will be teaching for 0.5 of the week.

Pastoral lead:  Mrs Sally Lee will be leading the team on our pastoral support for children and families, with Hayley Moorcroft.  As well as teaching Personal, Social and Health Education throughout the school, there will be increased levels of support and counselling for our children and families, as we emerge from COVID 19 restrictions.

Special Needs:  Mrs Nicole Dodd has been appointed by Governors as our new Special Needs coordinator, which she will do for two days a week.  She will also be teaching for the rest of the week in Year 5.

Finally, as regards the headship, I will remain as headteacher at school until at least Christmas, and probably beyond until the school is able to appoint a Catholic headteacher.  I will be working for four days a week, as I do currently.  On the other day, Miss Griffiths will be the headteacher.

September.

A key question you will all be thinking is “what is going to happen in September?” We are currently planning to be back, and very much looking forward to it. Following the guidance we received last week, we have spent much time looking at what social distancing in all our classrooms, corridors and toilets would look like.  We have thought of bubbles of classes and managing this.  We also have to think about lunchtimes and how we arrange that.  In our planning, we will try and avoid staggered starts, so all pupils come into class at the same time as now, as we recognise that this will not be convenient for you.  It may not be possible for parents and the younger children to walk across KS2 playgrounds and then onto KS1, however.  I hope to start the walking bus and breakfast club in September.  Having listened to your feedback, this will be open to all KS1 and KS2 children.  We will not be having any clubs, certainly for the autumn term.

All I can say is that we will continue to do the very best we can for all our children and our community.  I will of course keep you updated through the next few weeks and months, so that when we re-open in September, you know exactly how we are prepared for the new term.

In the meantime, Year 6 have been invited back to school for the last three weeks, and school reports are being written and will be sent out soon.  We are running a summer play scheme for our nursery, Reception and Year 1 children in the summer (August 10^th and 17^th).  We are also inviting Year 2 in for a week in August, again as a way of preparing children for a return in September.

Finally, we also have to think about how we, as a school, have handled COVID 19 in terms of children’s learning.  We also have to think about how we would continue to educate children should we ever have to go into lock down again.  Therefore, I will be sending you a questionnaire next week so that you can tell us your views.  I hope you will have time to fill these in, over the next few weeks. I will collate all the information together, then send out the results to you.

May I wish you and your family a restful summer, wherever that might be.

Mr S Belbin and all the team at St Joseph’s.

Summer Play Scheme for Nursery, Reception and Year 1

Dear Parents and Carers,

Recently I wrote to you to explain that school could not open and invite children in Nursery, Reception and Year 1 into school.  At this time, we are unable to consider a wider opening because we lack sufficient space to maintain sufficient distance and for hygenic recommendations.

As an alternative, we would like to run a summer play sceme for two weeks in August.  This will be for Nursery, Reception and Year 1 children.  This will be held in the Key Stage 1 building and our nursery, and will of course use the fields.  It will be led by school staff, and depending on your interest, we would expand it and recruit playscheme workers.  I would hope that these sessions would help children get used to coming to school once again, and begin to get into a routine, ready for when we re-open in September.

We are looking at two weeks beginning 10^th August and 17^th August.  At the time of writing (22^nd June), we are still working to the guidelines of bubbles of 15 children, but we anticipate this being widened to bubbles of 30 by September.  Staffing ratios will be in line with what we provide now.  For this reason, we will operate the play scheme in two parts, mornings and afternoons.  You will be able to book either morning sessions, or afternoon sessions for one or both weeks. Each week will have a theme, and all activities will be linked together.  Morning sessions would start at 9.30 – 12.00, and afternoons would run from 1.00 – 3.30.  Unlike other play schemes, this will be completely free.

I will write with further information, once I know that we have enough interest.  Please let us know by Wednesday 1^st July by using the attached form if you are interested, and whether you would like mornings or afternoons.

Yours as ever,

Mr S Belbin

Headteacher

Lancashire County Council Update

A message from our Chair of Governors

Dear Parents, Carers, Teachers and fellow Governors,

Over the last three months we have found ourselves in a very different world than the one we are used to, and we are bombarded with news on our televsions, computers, phones and ipads with conflicting news about the Pandemic of Covid 19 creating fear, mixed messages and confusion. We hear of conflicting scientific research all over the world and so we find ourselves in a very confused, isolated and lonely place.

We must remember, however, that as the Catholic Family of St. Joseph’s in Skerton, we have one whom we must always look to, namely Our Blessed Lord Jesus Christ. He has not left us alone but promises that he will send the Holy Spirit at Pentecost to be with us always. Neither wars, famines, or even death can separate us from the Love of Christ, as St. Paul tells us.

Our Blessed Lord, however, does not say that we must not be rooted in reality. We need to be in the world but not of the world. We need to heed scientific advice, research and common sense and place this in the context of the faith that we have in Our Lord, however tested that may seem at times like this.

We can all agree that the best place for our children is to be at school in a learning and stimulating Faith-filled family, but not at the expense of human life. Therefore, as Chair of Governors, in collaboration with our headteacher, Steve Belbin, I have decided to watch the unfolding situation and plan for a very gradual return of certain year groups, in a very controlled and measured way. This will only happen when we feel there are adequate measures in place to ensure the safely of pupils, staff and other workers in school. We will contine to monitor the scientic findings, which at this stage are conflicting and not conclusive either way in terms of the risks to children and their ability to transmit the virus.  This is why we are acting on the advice of the British Medical Association, and resisting any premature actions which would endanger our school family at St. Joseph’s.

As soon as we decide to take any action we will of course consult with parents, staff, and governors before implementing any phased return of children to St. Joseph’s School. I would like to thank you for your support and pray that we will look back on this as a time when faith, hope and love were at their best within our school family of St. Joseph’s.

With every blessing and prayer,

Deacon Stephen

Chair of Governors

If you would like to contact Deacon Stephen with your thoughts, then please complete the attached form.