Dear parents and carers, Here we are at the end of another great week with our remarkable children. As always, they have done us proud in how they have adapted so well to the changes in their school environment and how well they have settled into their new classes with their new teachers. We are privileged to work with such amazing young people.
We are all working incredibly hard in school at the moment to adhere to all of Welsh Government guidance and to keep our children and staff safe. We can only do so much; we need your help in protecting our school after school hours and on the weekend. We are hearing more and more reports of children from different households socialising outside of school. This is against current guidance for the Caerphilly Borough and puts our school at direct risk.
Please also support us by adhering to social distancing guidance when dropping off and collecting your children. Please don’t be offended if a member of staff reminds you about social distancing. I can assure you we don’t enjoy having to remind individuals on a daily basis, but we have to do it to protect our children and staff.
The last thing we all want is a positive case within our school community that then spreads amongst the classes due to out of school contact or lack of social distancing. Please help us to keep our school safe.
Thank you for your support,
Mrs Wangiel
Hero of the Week
We held our certificate assembly virtually today to celebrate all of this week’s certificate winners.
This week’s heroes are:
Dosbarth Coch (N/R): Ava. W and Cassie. H
Dosbarth Oren (R/Y1): Brooke. P and Ava. J
Dosbarth Melyn (Y1/2): Ashton. M and Isaac. R
Dosbarth Gwyrdd (Y3): Zavien. K and Jayden. B
Dosbarth Glas (Y4): Roisin. M and Renee. M
Dosbarth Porffor (Y5): Lloyd. H and Lacey. P
Dosbarth Enfys (Y6): Ioan. W and Ruby. W
Well done to all of our heroes, we are very proud of you all!
Lunchtime – easy to open items
As part of our school risk assessment to reduce cross contamination, staff are currently advised not to touch the children’s food. As far as possible, please provide the children with easy to open items in their lunchboxes and also a small food bag to bring home waste and prevent leakage in school bags. Thank you.
Face Coverings
I’d like to remind everyone that face coverings are not recommended for Primary aged children. Welsh Government guidance states:
“No one who may not be able to handle face coverings as directed (e.g. young learners, or those with special educational needs or disabilities) should wear them as it may inadvertently increase the risk of transmission.”
We are discouraging the wearing of masks for our children. However, if you feel that your child should wear a mask when arriving at and leaving school, please ensure they have been shown how to put it on correctly using the guidance at the link below:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OZe8hhc5IEGg05k4eADQEJ4sYXjR4GJ-/view?usp=sharing
Contact Sheets/ Medical Issues
Next week, we will be sending home the children’s current contact information sheets. Please check them carefully and return them to school as quickly as possible. Please pay close attention to the medical issues section. It is vital our medical issues records are up to date.
Drop Off/ Collection
Thank you once again for your patience and support as we review our drop off and collection procedures. Key Stage 2 entry and exit is working well so times will remain the same. Foundation Phase procedures are being reviewed today. Any changes will be communicated via Class Dojo ASAP. Please inform your child’s teacher if they are to be collected by someone different to the norm who we may not recognise. I’d also like to remind you that part of our school safeguarding policy outlines that pupils are not allowed to be collected by anyone under 16.
Upcoming Dates
Chromebook scheme virtual meeting (Years 3, 4 and 5) – Thursday, 24th September 2020 (The meeting will be held virtually on Google Meet. The link will be shared via Class Dojo ahead of the meeting)
An open letter to residents, businesses and partners across the Caerphilly county borough:
Dear all,
A week has now passed since the introduction of our local coronavirus restrictions, so we thought it would be an opportune time to write to you, with an update on the latest position. First and foremost, we would like to thank each and every one of you for your ongoing efforts to help control the spread of this deadly virus. None of us wanted these restrictions imposed on our daily lives, but it’s been great to see the resilience and determination of the community response.
The vast majority of people across the county borough are co-operating with the rules and we are seeing high levels of compliance in terms of the use of face masks, social distancing, adhering to the travel restrictions and Test, Track and Protect protocols.
Our partners in Gwent Police are also reporting the same positive picture overall across the county borough. Our own enforcement teams have been working closely with shops, pubs, supermarkets and other premises to ensure everyone is aware of their obligations. We are working hard to support and encourage the local business community, but it is important to note that we also have powers of enforcement if required.
We know the situation in schools is a concern for many families. Please be assured that robust plans and protocols are in place to respond to any confirmed cases within school settings. The health, safety and wellbeing of children is our main priority and everything possible is being done to keep them safely in school.
Temporary testing facilities were established in Ystrad Mynach and Caerphilly over the past week or so. These are now being decommissioned having served their purpose. These were always intended to be a temporary provision to help us understand and track the spread of coronavirus within the community. Through these local testing centres we have tested many people, but these numbers have now reduced significantly. Another testing centre has now been provided in New Tredegar for a week to serve communities in the north of the county borough. Thereafter, the many testing stations across the region will be available to those who require it.
It’s a little early to determine if our collective actions have reduced the spread of the virus. The figures are being monitored on a daily basis, but we won’t see the impact of the interventions for at least 3 weeks. At that point, we will formally review the position jointly with Welsh Government.
The Council has continued to work tirelessly since the initial lockdown was announced back in March. We have reshaped and reconfigured our services in order to respond to the pandemic, whilst continuing to support the most vulnerable people within our communities. Our staff and local councillors have been amazing and we cannot thank them enough for their continued professionalism and dedication.
Our message going forward is simple – Your response so far has simply been astounding, but please continue to work with us as we are certainly not out of the woods yet! Working together, with each and every one of us doing our bit, we can and will combat the spread of this terrible virus.
Cllr Philippa Marsden Leader of Council
Christina Harrhy Chief Executive