Remote learning – Google Classroom (Years 1-6)

Dear Parents/ Carers,

In light of the recently introduced lockdown period, we will be using Google Classroom to deliver online learning for your child. Google Classroom is a tool that enables us to provide live and recorded teaching and learning for children as well as online communication between teachers, learning support staff and pupils. It allows teachers to give pupils immediate feedback and stores pupil’s work, resources and recordings so that children may catch up on any learning that is missed.

In order to access Google Classroom, you will need to collect a learning pack from the academy today (see separate Parent Mail for details of times/place for collection). This pack contains vital resources to access the online learning, including pupil login details for Google Classroom and Maths No Problem workbooks. Guidance and instructions for Google Classroom use will be sent to you today via Parent Mail. These will also be posted on the class pages of the school website and a video guide for parents on how to access Google Classroom will be uploaded on the school video section.

We are committed to ensuring that your child has access to meaningful, high-quality learning through this period of school closure. It is vital for the continuation of their education that your pupils join the live lessons each day to minimise the disruption to their learning. We recognise that each family will have different circumstances at home; if you have any trouble accessing the learning, please get in contact by e mailing homework@freemantleschool.co.uk and we will do everything we can to support you.

With kind regards and thanks for your continued support. 

Mr K Barnett

During the last few days the teachers and staff have been preparing for online learning to go ‘live’ next week. Unlike lockdown 1 we will be providing ‘face to face’ teaching on line (Years 2,3,4,5 and 6). There will be comprehensive instructions sent via parentmail on how this can be accessed and the times your child/children need to go online. For those of you with more than 1 child or who have other commitments, our ‘live’ learning will be recorded, so you can access it at a different time, IF you miss the live session.

We are encouraging all pupils to attend the ‘live sessions’, not withstanding the points above, we will be calling you if your child regularly misses their learning. This is a ‘joint’ learning experience between you as the parent and our teachers; please support us by ensuring your child/children gets on line whenever possible, it is our children who will miss out if we don’t.

A set of comprehensive notes on accessing the learning and a video to back this up will be coming out this week, it will give you the weekend to ‘get your head around’ access. In December all the children in KS2 had sessions on the new platform, so have had the opportunity to ‘grasp’ the basics of our learning platform, I note many are already working on line and sending work in, well done and keep it coming.

For younger pupils and to compliment the live teaching, there will be ‘pre-recorded’ lessons created for pupils to access and ‘topic’ work given each week, and ongoing contact with pupils and their families to support learning.

All live teaching will be mornings only, the teachers will then be available for 1-1 and/or feedback sessions in the afternoon so your child has the option of additional high-quality input. We also have a number of skilled support staff who work with some of your children working on-line too.

Please keep an eye out for the crucial instructions which will follow.

Kindest regards

Mr B

Hello Parents and Carers,

A significant number of you have asked if we can provide you with a laptop or chromebook.

We only had an allocation of 16 from the government and these were distributed immediately.

The academy purchased a significant number of chromebooks before Christmas for remote learning based on the responses to the parent questionnaire we sent before Christmas, parents have been contacted directly about this and they have now been allocated and collected.

We also felt there would be a lockdown at some point, so purchased a further batch of Chromebooks before Christmas as we were sure they would be needed. These have been set up this week and are ready to distribute.

I am now in a position to offer a ‘limited number’ of chromebooks to parents/carers who need them.

In the first instance we will allocate the Chromebooks 1 per family to ensure as many families as possible can access remote learning. We will then review if we have some left.

The only way I can do this fairly is ‘first come first served’.

Email me directly at

head@freemantleschool.co.uk    YOU NEED TO DO THIS ASAP- I will respond with a YES or NO, if you are allocated a chromebook;

We will distribute the Chromebook at 9.30 to 10.00 am tomorrow morning at PAYNE’S ROAD GATE.

(We cannot offer a different time!)

Once they’re gone, they’re gone. 😊

IF YOU HAVE ALREADY CONTACTED ME VIA EMAIL PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT ME AGAIN, I HAVE YOUR NAME ON MY LIST.

We are doing all we can to support you and your children………………..

Mr B

School Street Scheme

Further to my last letter with regards to the ‘Schools Streets’ I am happy to report we will be trialling the scheme from Monday 23^rd November 2020.

A ‘School Street’ is where a road outside the school will temporarily closed to motor vehicles at specific times of the day. This will create a safe space outside the academy. Removing through traffic and parents’ cars creates space to allow for social distancing where parents and children would otherwise gather in confined spaces at the school gates. This makes it easier for children and their families to travel by foot to school. A road free from vehicles could typically gains an extra wide space for pedestrians  

It is important you read the following:

Mansion Road from its junction at Waterloo Road and Queenstown Road will be closed during the following times:

Monday to Friday term time only

• 08.35am to 09.00am
• 2.40pm to 3.15pm

Please note, you are responsible for your child/ren’s safety and behaviour at all times during the closure and should not be left un-attended at any time.

During the restricted times, you will not be allowed to enter the School Street in a vehicle, unless you have a valid access need (for example, you or your child is a Blue Badge holder), are a resident of the School Street, or have a business premises in the street.

You will still be able to walk, cycle or scoot to school. If that’s not an option for you, you will be able to drive and park nearby and walk the final section.

Once the scheme is up and running we will be looking for some volunteers from parents/members of the community to assist the academy in the running of this project.

Yours sincerely

Mr K Barnett

If your child was absent during the nurses visit and you would still like your child to receive the flu vaccine, please bring your child to a community clinic.

The clinics dates are:

4/11/2020        Pickles Coppice (Windermere Avenue, SO16 9QX) 3pm - 4.30pm

11/11/2020      Clovelly Road Sure Start (Clovelly Road, SO14 0AU) 3pm - 4.30pm

14/11/2020      Thornhill Centre for Healthy Living (Pepys Avenue, SO19 6PJ) – 10am-3:30pm

19/11/2020      Thornhill Centre for Healthy Living (Pepys Avenue, SO19 6PJ) 3pm-4.30pm

28/11/2020      Thornhill Centre for Healthy Living (Pepys Avenue, SO19 6PJ) – 10am-3:30pm

3/12/2020        Pickles Coppice (Windermere Avenue, SO16 9QX) 3pm-4.30pm

5/12/2020       Thornhill Centre for Healthy Living (Pepys Avenue, SO19 6PJ) 10am – 3:30pm

09/12/2020      Clovelly Road Sure Start (Clovelly Road, SO14 0AU) 3pm-4.30pm

12/12/2020     Thornhill Centre for Healthy Living (Pepys Avenue, SO19 6PJ) 10am – 3:30pm

16/12/2020      Thornhill Centre for Healthy Living (Pepys Avenue, SO19 6PJ) 3pm-4.30pm

07/01/2020     Thornhill Centre for Healthy Living (Pepys Avenue, SO19 6PJ) 3pm-4.30pm

Do not attend if you or anyone within your household has symptoms of Covid 19 which include high temperature, new or persistent cough, a loss of, or change to, your sense of smell or taste.

Please be aware as these will be drop-in clinics you may have to wait to see a nurse, social distancing measures will be in place and face masks must be worn. Please dress warmly as you may have to wait outside.

Many secondary schools are holding virtual open evenings in order to be able to show prospective pupils around their school and get an idea for what the school has to offer in a safe way.

We will include links to these virtual open evening below, simply click on the link below the schools name to view.

Regents Park:

https://www.regentsparkcollege.org.uk/virtual-open-evening/

Upper Shirley High:

http://uppershirleyhigh.org/virtual-open-morning-2020

Redbridge Community School:

https://www.redbridgecommunityschool.com/virtual-open-evening

St Anne's Catholic School and Sixth Form College:

https://www.st-annes.uk.com/web/open_events_2020/414275

Oasis Academy Lord's Hill:

https://www.oasisacademylordshill.org/news-and-events/open-event

Cantell School:

http://www.cantell.co.uk/

Please note that not all of the above schools open days are live yet, but clicking on the link should take you to the page to inform you of the dates that they start.

Dear Parents and Carers

I’m sure you will have seen in the press that the cases of Covid are increasing across the country and that more schools are having to close in response to this.

As shared with you recently, we will respond to covid issues as they arise. With this in mind please help us with the following requests.

• From tomorrow- Wednesday 9^th Sept, all parents are asked to wear face coverings when they enter the academy grounds. This request is for drop off in the morning and collection in the afternoon.

• Please arrive at designated times in the morning and afternoon and keep the footpath clear for the general public. (It would also be most helpful if you wore face coverings when waiting in the mornings and afternoons)

• We know it can be difficult to social distance when outside, but would request you follow the government guidance of 2m spacing where possible.

We will be revising our systems daily, this includes staff now wearing face coverings at the beginning and end of the day and when moving around the academy in the company of our pupils.

Many thanks for your support and understanding at this most difficult of times.

Mr B and the Freemantle team.

Dear Parents and Carers

Just a quick message to say thanks for the support you have shown the academy and children this week. It has been an eventful week, and we know the start and end of the day are not the norm and has caused some inconvenience.

We will continue to review the situation but assure you we have looked at many scenarios and suggestions we’ve received from parents. If we can improve it we will, but I have to say your understanding in this difficult and challenging time is much appreciated.

We will ensure that the children are let in on time and are ready to go on time, we just ask that you vacate the premises as soon as you can at the beginning and end of the day and continue to help us to help the children.

I would like to report that your/our children have been amazing this week. They have shown real resilience and a positive attitude to their learning they are a credit to you and us also. Many of them were exhausted by 2.00 o’clock on Friday so should sleep well tonight.

Once again, we appreciate your understanding.

Kind Regards,

Mr Barnett

Please do not have your children bring in school bags or pencil cases. Pencil cases and stationary will be provided by the school.

Please label water bottles that are brought into school.

Dear Parents and carers- further info

I have had a couple of enquiries about the dates the children return to school. We did send you a comprehensive parentmail in June, to tell you the dates that the children return. This was to give you sufficient time to prepare for the new term.

Here are the dates again for your reference.

The school will open early for our children in September, we were due to open on Monday the 7^th Sept, we are bringing this forward by almost a week and taking children back on the following dates;

Tuesday 1^st September- Year 3 return to school

Wednesday 2^nd September Year 4 return to school

Thursday 3^rd September Year 5 and Year 6 return to school

Friday 4^th September Year 1 and Year 2 return to school

Monday 7^th September- Year N and Year R will begin to return. (Families had 1-1 meetings at the end of last term with teachers to give exact times).

DROP OFF TIMES We are aware there are a few families that have children at different drop times and from different year groups. There will be a number of staff on site to advise you how this will work, there are so many connotations that we could not make it work for all 400 pupils, despite our best endeavours.

Lunch boxes- please send children with hard plastic lunch boxes where possible, and clean them at the end of each day.

Any further queries please email us at info@freemantleschool.co.uk

MPORTANT INFORMATION - 24/08/2020

We continue to get things ready so we can have all of our children back safely from next week, this is based on the information we have at present. We will continue to modify our risk benefit statement and modify this as is required. You may have seen from our video sent out earlier today, we are now sharing final details with you all.

There are some things we NEED you to read very carefully and help us with to keep the children and staff safe; please see below;

Beginning and end of the academy day- (There will be signs at the entrance to help you all).

• There will be a ‘window’ when the gates will open and close for your child’s year group, this is to maintain social distancing so please do not come before your allocated time. If you are late, you may be asked to wait until ALL other pupils are in school to minimise potential cross contamination.
• Nursery, Reception and Year 1 pupils will enter school via the main gates in Mansion Road. (Parents can come on site for Nursery, Reception and Year 1 but MUST social distance and must wear masks if coming into classrooms)
• Year 2,3,4,5 and 6 pupils will enter via Waterloo Road gates. (Parents will not be able to come onto site in the morning for these year groups unless there are exceptional circumstances- staff will be on hand to support any pupils finding it difficult to come back to school)
• ·At the end of the day, Nursery, Reception and Year 1 will leave via Mansion Road.
• ·For Years 2,3,4,5 and 6, you will be asked to collect your children via Waterloo Road gates and exit via Paynes Road gates.
• ·PAYNES ROAD gates cannot be used to access the academy at any time.
•  

Opening and closing times- a separate parentmail will be sent to you today with your specific times for opening and closing times.

UNIFORM is NOT compulsory, we have received mixed feedback from parents during the summer, parents can choose to send their children in uniform or not, but clothes MUST be changed and washed daily to protect the children and staff.

COATS if your child needs to bring a coat to school it will be placed on the back of their chair and will need to be washed daily if going between school and home, again to reduce risk of cross contamination OR we are happy for children to leave a coat in school for school use only for the week. It should then be taken home at the weekend and again washed please.

PE KITS are not required in school until further notice

We will only be providing ‘picnic’ lunches for pupils who are entitled to them until October half term, hot meals will not be available.

There will be NO paid ‘before and after school care’ available. (This will be reviewed at October half term)

Kind regards and we look forward to seeing you all from next week.

Mr B

Skool Kit Delivery

As much as possible we are encouraging parents/carers to order uniform online from our website for this year’s ‘Back to School’ as we need to try and limit the amount of people in our shops during the busy Summer months.

We have free delivery codes for on-line orders placed on specific dates as follows:

26^TH – 28^TH JUNE

ENTER CODE: JUNEDEL20

27^TH JUNE – 26^TH JULY

ENTER CODE: SUMMER2020

29^TH – 31^ST JULY

ENTER CODE: JULYDEL20

5^TH – 7^TH AUGUST  

ENTER CODE: AUGDEL20

www.skoolkit.co.uk

Our aim to become 100% cashless

We use SCOPAY for our online payments, you may already have an account, if so great news, they’ve released a new mobile app.

For parents not yet using SCOPAY, did you know you can;  pay for dinner money, trips, events and clubs. Using SCOPAY allows you to top up your child’s account anywhere, anytime using a credit or debit card.

All parents have access to SCOPAY, if you have not yet registered to make online payments, please let the office know and an access code will be issued to you.

To find out more, visit www.scopay.com

Dear Parents / Carers

As previously mentioned earlier today, the staff at the academy have a comprehensive plan in place which we will continue to work on; its core purpose will be to keep our children and staff safe.

In the meantime we have a questionnaire for you to complete to support this planning and help us put appropriate safety measures in place.  We do understand that the results of this survey will be based on individual circumstances and needs. 

The link to respond to this survey is: https://forms.gle/oHsTPwLaF19ZBbme8

We want to support you and your child/children, we want to hear your feedback to enable us to work together for the benefit of our children, to plan and understand how parents / carers feel about the government’s announcement.

Please spend a few moments completing this survey as we need the results to be able to minimise the potential spread of coronavirus upon our return.

With kind regards

Mr B and the team.

Dear Parents and Carers

You will all be aware of the governments expectations on pupils returning to school, ‘possibly the 1^st June’. I wanted to reassure you that the directors and senior leaders have been working toward this for some time, however the ‘guidance’ yesterday was not as clear as we were hoping and leaves many questions unanswered.

We have taken a number of measures to keep both pupils and staff safe; if and when we return, ongoing deep cleans, restricted areas of use in school, staggered start and finish times, breaktimes etc., will be in place, however social distancing is going to prove the most difficult issue.

We have a comprehensive plan in place which we will continue to work on; its core purpose will be to keep our children and staff safe. In the meantime there will be a questionnaire coming to you; PLEASE complete it, we need the results to be able to minimise the potential spread of corona virus upon our return.

Please do not email and ask questions about the phased return, we will share the plan very early next week and all the safety measures we are taking will be explained.

Be assured, that the directors, staff and myself will not compromise on the safety of our children or staff.

Thanks for your cooperation.

Mr B and the Team.

Love Southampton is the initiative of Churches, Charities and individuals across the city in Southampton, uniting to help support those most in need during the current Coronavirus outbreak.

We are working together with the Council to focus on 5 key areas of need - older people, those with mental health needs, refugees and asylum seekers, the homeless and those in extreme poverty as well as families in crisis.

A broad range of charities and Churches have partnered with us to ensure that we can provide practical and emotional support to each of the above identified groups.

The website: lovesouthampton.org.uk is a place where people can offer help, or go to for help. A dedicated team are available to match the help to the need. We are currently signposting to the partner charities for specialist help as well as helping people get food and offering relational support for those who are lonely and struggling.

We want to highlight what we are doing in order to show that there is hope, and no-one needs to feel lost or without support. In the words of Debbie Sellin, Bishop of Southampton - "Love Southampton is helping mobilise people and strengthen initiatives, working open-handedly with other partner organisations for the common good.

We have a video: www.facebook.com/lovesoton/videos/1459412850899080 which is being shared across the city through Facebook channels so that we can reach people who need the support. This is one of 3 clips we have made, covering different problems.

24.03.2020

Doctors of the World have the NHS Covid 19 guidelines translated into 26 languages on front page of their website.

https://www.doctorsoftheworld.org.uk

23/03/2020

The Links below have the guidance for self-isolation and social distancing in the following languages:

English

Arabic

French

Mandarin

Cantonese

Polish

Welsh

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-stay-at-home-guidance

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-on-social-distancing-and-for-vulnerable-people

17/03/2020

Dear Parents and Carers,

To continue to be responsible and proactive in supporting families we decided to wait until the COBRA meeting yesterday before making a final decision on parent evening this week………………..

The update from COBRA at 4.30 pm yesterday, gave a further range of ‘advice’ and remains non-committal.

I met with the Chair of Directors and the SAT (strategy) team this morning and the decision has been made that parents meetings for this week are postponed based on the info we received from COBRA until further notice.

We are looking at a range of things to implement now which will impact across the academy, as we to continue the responsible, measured and proactive good work we have already put in place. We are looking to minimize the interaction and access to the academies building.

From tomorrow, Wednesday 18^th March the following are being put into place;

• Parents of Years 3, 4, 5 and 6- you will be asked to leave your children at the school gates. Senior staff will be on hand to ensure all children get to class.
• Parents of Nursery, Reception, Years 1 and 2, you will be asked to leave your children with the teacher at the door.
• Late arrivals- there will be a sign in sheet by the front door, you will be asked to fill in the form there rather than enter the building. A member of staff will then escort your child/children to their class and update our electronic system.
• After school- the gates will open at 3.20pm and close promptly at 3.35pm. There will be no access to the school buildings after school, and we ask that you leave the school premises immediately you collect your child.
• All after school clubs are suspended until further notice.
• SELF-ISOLATION- if you have notified us that you have already or intend to self-isolate, your child will not be allowed to return to school for 14 full days. In this instance we will not be chasing parents for evidence or take the matter any further; this is only for SELF-ISOLATION. Any other illness will be coded in the normal way.

Childcare

We are also having to take drastic action with childcare and are giving as much notice as possible; in the event that the C19 situation changes or the academy closes there will be no childcare available: I would encourage parents and carers to look for alternative care as this could happen at any time.

Yours most sincerely

Mr Barnett

Centre Director

16/03/2020

Update on C19; We start with some good news

I am very pleased to say that the ‘extended’ family member who we reported to you last week, has been given the all clear and has tested NEGATIVE-  NO Coronavirus.

Parents evenings will go ahead this week as normal, the teachers will be distancing themselves from you a little at tables, this is a precaution and nothing to worry about but we want to continue as best we can. Please only come for your appointment and leave as soon as you have met with the teacher (thanks for your support with this) If you choose not to attend, we will not be able to hold meetings with you at other times. The next parents meeting will be in July.

I like yourselves am watching very carefully and implementing advice as and when we get if from the DfE. Be assured we continue to be vigilant with hand washing, we have changed some of our handwashing soaps following concerns about pupils having sore hands.

We will keep you updated as soon as we know any more.

Kind regards

Mr Barnett

13/03/2020

UPDATE FOLLOWING ANNOUNCEMENT FROM DOWNING STREET 12th March 2020

The Coronavirus pandemic has gone beyond "containment" phase into "delay".

The current advice is that if you develop the following symptoms you, and everybody in your household, should self-isolate for 7 days: -

• a new persistent dry cough and
• a temperature/fever of over 37.8

Please inform the academy if you choose to self-isolate.

Schools are advised not to close unless specifically told to do so by Public Health England.  We are unaware of anybody in our academy community who has tested positive for Coronavirus.

This is a fast-changing situation and the academy will continue to receive daily briefings from Public Health England.  Please make sure that we have your up-to-date email/phone details so that we can contact you quickly. As previously advised please keep your eye open for parent mail messages and emails as these will be our communication method with you. You can download the parent mail app for free from the android and iOS store to ensure that you do not miss any updates from the Academy. In the event of a potential closure we will also be sending a written letter to every parent, we will also send a text message so please ensure we have your correct mobile phone number.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

The Government is closely monitoring the spread of COVID-19 (Coronavirus) and is taking actions at home and abroad.

ACTIONS TAKEN SO FAR BY THE ACADEMY

• • Daily briefings received from Public Health England and Southampton City Council
  • Children reminded and monitored of regular and effective hygiene routines
  • Additional time for children showing them how to wash their hands with soap and water
  • Adult visitors to the academy asked to wash hands upon arrival (alcohol-free anti bacteria gel will not be effective for any virus)
  • Additional deep cleaning of classrooms and communal areas this ongoing on a daily basis
  • Assemblies have been cancelled until further notice, these are now held in class
  • Lunchtimes have been modified and rescheduled to reduce any unnecessary interaction between classes and to enable tables and seating to be deep cleaned between sittings
  • Visitors to the academy for teaching and learning have been asked not to attend.

We will keep you informed of any updates/changes as advised by Public Health England and/or Southampton City Council.  The current advice is that no school should close in response to a suspected (or confirmed) COVID-19 case unless advised to do so by Public Health England.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

The most important action that we can all take is to follow effective normal hygiene routines to prevent and slow the spread of coronavirus:-

• • Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds (singing 2 verses of Happy Birthday).  Watch the following video  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5JIWmetma0&t=21s
  • Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands
  • Avoid close contact with people who are sick
  • If you feel unwell and demonstrate the symptoms, stay at home and don't attend school
  • Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue and then throw the tissue in a bin (Catch it, Bin it, Kill it)
  • Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces in the home
  • If you are worried about your symptoms, please call NHS 111 - don't go directly to your GP or other health care environment

SYMPTOMS OF CORONAVIRUS 

• • a dry cough
  • a high temperature
  • shortness of breath

But these symptoms do not necessarily mean you have the illness.

The symptoms are similar to other illnesses that are much more common, such as cold and flu.

USEFUL INFORMATION SOURCES

• • Coronavirus Helpline: Phone 0800 046 8687

                                           Email DfE.coronavirushelpline@education.gov.uk

• • Travel advice for those travelling overseas: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/travel-advice-novel-coronavirus