Dear Parents and Carers
It is difficult to believe how quickly the weeks are going by; we are half way to the Half Term holiday already! It has been good to see how many of your children have been engaging with the work at home and submitting the assignments.
I apologise for the fact that we are continuing to change the way we are using Microsoft Teams. It is an incredibly versatile platform which enables a wide range of different activities and different ways to send the work out to the children. Unfortunately, it also seems to prefer certain types of device (laptops and desktop computers appear to be the most reliable and reflect the laptops the teachers are using to upload the work) whereas ipads can make life difficult. If you are finding it difficult to access the work, please do let us know.
I have been carrying out a range of monitoring activities on our use of Teams this week and I have been very impressed with the ways the teachers are using it to make sure the children at home are given the same opportunities as those in school. The balance of live lessons and uploaded work and links changes from class to class, but in each, there is every opportunity for those working at home to engage in the learning and make good progress. I am particularly grateful for the efforts the teachers are going to to make contact with children at home to check everyone is all right.
ne part of the platform I can see is an analysis of the work the children have been doing during the week. Part of the software lets me know who has joined in with the live or recorded lessons, who has submitted what work to the teachers and even how many of the resources have been opened by each child. It is clear that many of your children are working very hard and are conscientiously and regularly submitting the work set by the teachers. Others, however, are not doing so well, and we are particularly anxious to help you with this. If you are finding it difficult to access the work, or you are struggling to motivate your child, please do let us know.
Thank you to everyone who is supporting the children at home – establishing a good routine, encouraging participation and making sure the children are in a suitable frame of mind and location to access the learning as best as possible. Please can I ask, though, as parents and carers during lesson times you try to make your presence known as little as possible to reduce distraction to the other children and the teachers. Thank you for your understanding.
You may be aware that the school received an amount of money each year to enhance the children’s participation in physical activity. We have used some of the money this year to subscribe to Real PE at Home, a user name and Log-in for which was sent home last week. We are now putting together a bag of basic sports equipment for your child to borrow during the school closure. This includes a tennis racquet and balls, a football, a quoit, skipping rope, cones and bean bags. Please encourage your child to play with these often to continue to build their gross motor skills and keep their fitness levels up. There are lots of ideas on the Real PE site for building their skills, and there are some good ideas on https://www.thepespecialist.com/peathome/ Our own area PE co-ordinator also has many good activities on his website: Your School Games – North Dorset SGO Area
Lastly can I ask parents with children attending school to check their children’s hair over the weekend for headlice and treat as necessary.
With best wishes
James Stanford