Positive Case in School

22nd January 2021

We have had to close our first bubble in school yesterday. Children in Nursery and Reception who have been coming into school still have been asked to self-isolate following confirmation of a positive case. This is our first bubble closure since we reopened fully in September, but I think we have been extremely lucky not to have had to close one earlier. Sadly, with the rise of cases locally and nationally due to the new variant, it was only a matter of time before it affected the school directly.

Pupils and staff who have been affected and identified as close contacts have been notified and told that they must self-isolate at home. Those isolating should not leave their house, even to exercise outside of their own garden. 

I urge all parents and carers to be extra vigilant over the next weeks, and to only leave the house when it is essential to do so. The safest place for us all to be is at home, where possible.

Government Covid-19 Campaign

11th January 2021

Can I please draw your attention to the latest Government Covid-19 campaign that urges us all to stay at home unless leaving the house is absolutely essential. To reduce the spread of the virus, we must all do our part.

For parents using the school's childcare provision, I must remind you that this is only to be used when you are at work and there is no other option for childcare. The safest place for your child to be is at home.

Covid-19 video

Daily Seesaw Work

06th January 2021

Please let us know straight away if you are unable to access Seesaw or have mislaid your child's log-in details.

Daily work will be set on Seesaw for your child to complete by their class teacher for English, Maths, Reading, Spelling and Topic. Teachers will respond to submitted work and provide feedback to pupils daily as tasks are completed. The vast majority of the work can be completed directly onto the worksheet either by writing onto it if you are using a tablet, or by typing onto it if you are using a PC or laptop. Other pieces of work, e.g. writing tasks or Art activities, can be completed on paper and then photographed and uploaded onto Seesaw.

If you require any help using Seesaw, please contact your child's class teacher for further guidance.

TEAMs Online Lessons

06th January 2021

From next week, we will begin to offer some weekly online lessons on TEAMs for children in Reception to Year 4. You will receive an email shortly with your child's log-in details. Please test these and let us know if you are unable to access TEAMs with the information provided.

You will be informed each Friday by your child's class teacher when the online sessions will take place the following week. Two of these sessions will vary week-to-week and will be held Monday to Thursday during the school day, depending on when your child's class teacher is not on the childcare rota in the key worker provision. The third session will always be on a Friday afternoon so that children who are coming into school still have at least one opportunity to join their class for a session.

Please bear with us as we start these sessions next week, as I'm sure we will have some teething problems initially!

Government Announcement

04th January 2021

Following the government announcement tonight at 8pm, the whole school will remain closed tomorrow to all pupils. Apologies for the short notice.

Nursery will reopen on Wednesday morning from 8:45 am to 3:30 pm as normal. There will no before and after-school club for Nursery pupils until February half term.

For parents of children in Reception to Year 4 who are key workers and are unable to work from home, if you would like to request a childcare place in school from Wednesday, please email the school office by 11am tomorrow morning with a copy of your work ID and your working days/hours. We will then contact all parents who have requested a key worker place tomorrow afternoon to confirm the arrangements and timings from Wednesday onwards.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause but hopefully you will all appreciate the very short notice we have been given by the government on this.

Home learning will be placed on Seesaw tomorrow morning for pupils in all year groups. We will be in contact again tomorrow once we have more information to share with you.

Thank you for your co-operation and continued support and understanding in this difficult time.

Miss Roberts and all the staff at St Paul's

Christmas Tree at Church

14th December 2020

Thank you to Mrs Jones, our churchwarden, for sending a photo of the tree at church now that it has been decorated.

I would also like to say a big thank you to all of the children and staff for making such lovely decorations for us to send to the church.

It’s such a shame that we couldn’t visit this year, like we normally do, to hang our decorations on the tree and sing some carols but it is still lovely for us all to see how great the tree looks.

Changes to PE Days

25th November 2020

From next week, we will need to make some further changes to our PE days. Apologies for any confusion this may cause.

From Monday 30th November, PE days are as follows:

Nursery - Wednesday

Reception - Tuesday and Wednesday

Year 1 - Monday and Tuesday

Year 2 - Monday and Tuesday

Year 3 - Wednesday and Thursday

Year 4 - Thursdays only (double session) until February half term

There will be no PE on the last week of term, Monday 14th to Friday 18th December due to Christmas parties. 

Online Safety Questionnaire

03rd November 2020

Could we please ask you all to complete the following online safety questionnaire with your child at home?

https://bit.ly/2TNMv93

Thanks

Harvest Videos

20th October 2020

Our Harvest videos are now available for you to watch on Seesaw. Please log into your child's account to view.

PE Day Changes from November

20th October 2020

PE days will be changing after half term. From Monday 2nd November, PE days will be as follows:

Nursery - Wednesday

Reception - Wednesday and Thursday

Year 1 - Monday and Tuesday

Year 2 - Monday and Tuesday

Year 3 - Wednesday and Thursday

Year 4 - Wednesday and Thursday

Many thanks in advance for your support.

Seesaw Log-ins for Remote Learning

08th October 2020

Can you please click on the link below to fill in a short questionnaire about the home learning log-ins we have sent out?

https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=hf227rv6mEq7fP8dx7mUJGu8HH4_p8VMtPZiU5LtvS9UMUo0SkxNNDQ4N0FPSlVLNjBCQ1lZQzBLTC4u

Maths Pupil Questionnaires

30th September 2020

Could we please ask you to complete this questionnaire with your child at home? We would like to find out their views about Maths at school. There are different questions for different year groups so please click on the correct link. Thank you in advance.

Reception link: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=hf227rv6mEq7fP8dx7mUJGu8HH4_p8VMtPZiU5LtvS9UMVlPNEVHTjhSWU4wT1lRSlFKMlNSWUswTy4u

Year 1 and 2 link: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=hf227rv6mEq7fP8dx7mUJGu8HH4_p8VMtPZiU5LtvS9UOUZNWlAzN1ZIUElDUDAzUkpIWDM1Nk5BWi4u

Year 3 and 4 link: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=hf227rv6mEq7fP8dx7mUJGu8HH4_p8VMtPZiU5LtvS9UQzg0SFU0STlZME5YMUJaQU5UWExCWDBLWi4u

Parent Forum

24th September 2020

We are currently looking for new parent forum reps for Nursery and Year 2 if there are any parents who would like to put themselves forward. We have parent reps for the other year groups but always look to welcome additional reps if there are any other parents who would like to become involved. If you would like to be involved, please email or call the school office to speak to Miss Roberts. 

Please see the link below for the remit of the parent forum committee and what the rep role would entail:

Parent Forum Committee Remit

Autumn Term Parent Teacher Consultations

22nd September 2020

The booking system will go live on Thursday 24th September and parents will have until 1pm on Thursday 1st October to book a 10 minute phone call with their child's class teacher. If you require a longer appointment to discuss your child's progress at length, please call the school office to discuss an alternative appointment time.

If you do not wish to make a booking for a phone appointment, you will automatically receive a short email report from your child's class teacher instead. If you have any questions after receiving this report, you can email your child's teacher to discuss further.

Home Learning and Isolation

18th September 2020

This week we have been busy making preparations in case we have to close a class bubble. As such, we have updated the Home Learning section of the school web site.

If your child is isolating at home, or in the eventuality that a year group bubble has to close, please use the links on the Home Learning page to relevant resources for them to complete at home. If you would like paper copies of the resources providing, please email the school office on: office@st-pauls-coven.staffs.sch.uk, and allow 48 hours for your request to be processed. We will notify you when the resources can be collected from the office, or we can post them out to you for a small charge which will be added to ParentPay.

For any queries or help to complete the home learning, please email your child's class teacher directly.

Parents' Evening Survey

17th September 2020

Please complete the survey to let us know your thoughts and preferences for how we can hold our Autumn Term Parent/Teacher consultations:

https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=hf227rv6mEq7fP8dx7mUJGu8HH4_p8VMtPZiU5LtvS9UQUJNNk9XMjRVNUU3QjlEVDFKT09XUzRVRy4u

School Association Summer Sponsor Event

22nd July 2020

The School Association thought the summer holidays would be a great opportunity to get our fundraising for the year off the mark.

Your child can choose what they would like to be sponsored for, it could be a danceathon, a reading challenge, a walk - it really is their choice!  They can then collect sponsorship money and pass it to a member of the SA team in September. 

If your child would like to take part in our fundraising event please download the sponsorship form:

Sponsor Sheet

Sponsor Sheet 1

We look forward to hearing all about it from the children in September!

Many thanks for your continued support in raising much needed funds for the children of St. Paul's.

Year 4 Photo Arrangements

09th July 2020

Dear Parents,

We look forward to seeing the Year 4 children tomorrow for their photographs. Please ensure that your child is wearing their school uniform and that you arrive at the given time for your photo. Please do not arrive early. We will ask parents to wait by the car park gate entrance until the main school entrance is clear of the previous child/parent. We will then ask you to come forward to the door. Your child will then be invited into school to have their photo taken and collect their dictionary/autograph book on the way out. 

Please ensure that only one adult accompanies each child onto the school site, in line with our previously issued risk assessment. Unfortunately, parents will not be able to enter the building and will need to wait at the main entrance for their child to return. Once you have collected your child and exited the car park, we will then ask the next parent to come forward.

Thank you for your cooperation with this.

Regards

St Paul's

School Uniform List / Reminder of Uniform Expectations

09th July 2020

We have just sent parents an email with our school uniform list and expectations for September. Our uniform has not changed but we wanted to remind parents of the expectations before they buy new items for September.

Trainers are not permitted as school footwear. Children may bring trainers to change into at playtimes when playing football, although this is something that the children will not be able to do for some time as contact sports are currently not permitted.

Tracksuits that are worn during PE lessons must be plain black or navy only.

Boots can be worn in winter to walk to and from school, but children must change into their school shoes on arrival at school.

Plain red or black headbands can be worn. We kindly ask that children do not wear big bows in their hair.

Earrings, headbands and hair clips/grips must not be worn on PE days.

Thank you for your cooperation with this.

Year 3 - Home Learning - Week 7

09th July 2020

Miss Evans has added the home learning for Week 7 onto the web site for Year 3. This links to their new topic in September, 'Traders and Raiders', which is about the Vikings.

It would be really helpful if the children could complete this learning before September in order to prepare them for the new topic when they return to school.

If you have any questions, please email Miss Evans directly: j.evans@st-pauls-coven.staffs.sch.uk

Virtual Sports Day

24th June 2020

Dear Parents,

Mrs Walsh has organised a virtual sports day for all children to take part in next week, whether they are at home or in school.

Please see the information on the Home Learning page for the resources and score sheet. If you have any queries, please contact Mrs Walsh by email: j.walsh@st-pauls-coven.staffs.sch.uk

Summer Holidays

17th June 2020

St Paul's will be closed over the summer holidays to all children. Our last day in school will be Friday 17th July.

We expect to reopen on Wednesday 2nd September, as planned.

My Maths

17th June 2020

Parents in Years 1-4 will have received a letter via the Parent App with details of how to access My Maths using the school's username and password. Your child will also receive an individual log-in which will be sent to you by text today.

Over the next two weeks, we would like your child to work through the Booster Pack for their year group. 

Go to www.mymaths.co.uk and log in at the top of the page with the school's username and password.

On the left of the screen, you will see an area called Booster Packs. Click it and select your Year Group. Children in Year 4 can also access the Times Table Booster pack in addition to the Year 4 Booster pack. You will see a list of topics which you need to understand and be confident with. Each topic has several resources to choose from:

• Lessons: use the lessons to remind yourself about a particular part of the topic
• Online Homework: alongside each lesson there is a homework task to test that skill
• Games: some of the topics also have games for fun practice
• Revision Lessons: work through the revision lessons to remind yourself about the topic as a whole
• Online Worksheets: when you are confident with the whole topic, test yourself with the worksheets to monitor how well you are doing with your revision and see where you may need more help

Remember to log in with your personal username and password before you do any homework tasks or worksheets so that your scores can be recorded. You can see all of your results and leave ratings by logging in to My Portal and looking in the Results area.

If you have any issues accessing the site, please email the school office and we will get back to you.

INSET Day

09th June 2020

The INSET Day originally planned for 1st June will now take place on Monday 6th July. 

School will be closed to all pupils on 6th July. 

Weekly Big Write

29th May 2020

From next week children will be given a Big Write task to do each week. These can be found on the Home Learning page under each year group. We would really like to see what the children have done each week so invite parents to email the completed work to the class teacher. We will then aim to publish them on the website as well as on Pobble. 

Home Learning - 1st June onwards

28th May 2020

Dear Parents/Carers,

The school web site's Home Learning page has been updated to include resources for next half term.

For any queries about home learning, please email Mrs Pope in the first instance: a.pope@st-pauls-coven.staffs.sch.uk. She will be your first point of contact for home learning during the school day from 1st June, as the other staff will be working with their classes. If your email query needs forwarding onto your child's main class teacher, Mrs Pope will do that and ask them to get back to you as soon as is possible. Please be patient - once we return to some kind of daily teaching routine, class teachers may not be able to respond as quickly to your emails as they have been doing over the last two months.

Nursery

Work will be added each week, along with resources, for the children to complete at home. This will be added each Friday for the following week.

Reception

For children in Reception who will not be returning to school next week, please access the weekly English and Maths resources on the Hamilton web site: https://www.hamilton-trust.org.uk/blog/learning-home-packs/. Please start on Week 8 next week and work your way through each week.

For afternoon work and other areas of learning, please follow the links on the web site. There are seven week's worth of resources for other areas of learning.

Years 1 to 4

For children in Year 1 who will not be returning to school next week, and for children in Years 2, 3 and 4, please access the weekly English and Maths resources on the Hamilton web site: https://www.hamilton-trust.org.uk/blog/learning-home-packs/. Please start on Week 8 next week and work your way through each week.

Afternoon topic work has been set by your child's class teacher, along with any relevant resources. The planning for the whole of the half term has now been added to the web site for you to access each week.

If you require any additional information, please do not hesitate to contact us. Thank you for your continued support.

Miss Roberts

Hello from everyone at St. Paul's

22nd May 2020

Hello from everyone at St. Paul's!

We've got something we'd love to share with you so please click on the link above.

Leavers' T-Shirts

07th May 2020

Dear Parents/Carers,

As in previous years, Treehouse Crafts are offering parents the opportunity to buy a Leavers' T-shirt for their child to celebrate their time at St Paul's. In the past, the children have had the opportunity to sign each other's T-shirts on the last day of term.

Whilst we are currently unsure what the remainder of the academic year will look like, we would still like to provide the option for parents to purchase these T-shirts to be kept until we have our Leavers' party where the children will hopefully be able to sign them as usual.

Details are provided on the order form of how to place orders. Please contact Treehouse Crafts directly with orders and for payment information. For parents who are currently experiencing financial difficulty, Treehouse Crafts have asked that you keep hold of the order form and they can produce orders in the future, instead of imposing a usual order deadline.

Home Learning - Week beginning 11th May

06th May 2020

Home learning resources are now on the school web site for next week. Children in Y1-4 will need to follow Week 5 on the Hamilton site for English and Maths.

In addition, as next week is Christian Aid week, Mrs Pope has added some additional resources for this that ordinarily we would have looked at in school and discussed during assembly. They can be found in the General Resources section.

Christian Aid Week

06th May 2020

Next week is Christian Aid week and normally we would  complete lots of activities in school to raise awareness of Christian Aid as a charity as well as to fundraise vital money.

Mrs Pope has prepared some Christian Aid resources which can be shared at home with your child.

If any families are still able to make donations to Christian Aid in these difficult financial times, we would invite you to do so directly via their web site: https://www.christianaid.org.uk/

04th May 2020

VE Day

Further VE day resources have been added to the Home Learning page. Please share these with your child to help them learn more about this important and historic event.

VE Day Resources

01st May 2020

As parents are no doubt aware Friday 8th May is VE Day so we have added some reources to the Home Learning page which will allow you to help your child learn about this momentous event in our history. 

Home Learning Resources - Week 2 - Week beginning 27th April

24th April 2020

The Home Learning Resources for next week are now on the school web site in the home learning section.

For children in Y1-4, please follow Week 3 next week for the Hamilton English and Maths resources. Hamilton have removed the Week 1 and 2 resources from their site.

Oxford Owl Phonics, Reading and Spelling Resources

20th April 2020

To further support your child with their phonics, reading and spelling learning please follow the link below to access Oxford Owl Resources. These include a wide range of ebooks, to help develop fluency when reading as well as comprehension skills.  Alongside the reading resources are a range of spelling resources so please also have a look at these with your child.  The login details will be sent out by email. 

Oxford Owl Ebooks and Spelling Zone

Guidance for Parents and Carers

Important Advice About Coronavirus For Parents and Carers

17th April 2020

Please click on the link below for important advice about Coronavirus for parents and carers. 

Advice about Coronavirus for parents and carers 

Home Learning - Summer Term

15th April 2020

Dear Parents/Carers,

I hope that you are all well and that you are enjoying the sunshine?

From next week, we are going to be setting the children weekly work to complete. For all year groups, we would like the children to spend approximately 3 hours per day working on their school work. This should be roughly broken into 3 hours of English, Maths and other areas of learning/subjects.

In addition to this, we would also like the children to be reading for pleasure; reading their own books, using the free Oxford Owl e-books, accessing the Ruth Miskin daily Phonics videos for children in Nursery to Year 1, and using My Book Blog for children in Y2 - Y4. There are also the daily David Walliams stories which the children can listen to. All of the links for these resources can be found on the school web site in the 'General Resources' section.

Early Years: Mrs McKenzie and Miss Jones will plan work each week for the children to complete at home. The plans and resources will be put on the web site by Friday each week for the following week.

Years 1 - 4: Please use the following link: https://www.hamilton-trust.org.uk/blog/learning-home-packs/ to access the English and Maths weekly plans for your child's year group. All resources and PowerPoints are also available to download. We suggest the children use a tablet or laptop to access the work, then record their answers in a notebook or exercise book. Please start on Week 1 and work your way through the resources each week.

In addition to the daily English and Maths work, the children will also have some Topic work to complete each day. Staff have included weekly plans and resources for these topics which can be found on the Home Learning page in the relevant year group's section.

If you require any assistance with any of the tasks, please email your child's class teacher:

Nursery - Mrs McKenzie - h.mckenzie@st-pauls-coven.staffs.sch.uk

Reception - Miss Jones - a.jones@st-pauls-coven.staffs.sch.uk

Year 1 - Mrs Walsh - j.walsh@st-pauls-coven.staffs.sch.uk

Year 2 - Mrs Pope - a.pope@st-pauls-coven.staffs.sch.uk

Year 3 - Miss Evans - j.evans@st-pauls-coven.staffs.sch.uk

Year 4 - Mrs Richards - c.richards@st-pauls-coven.staffs.sch.uk

Thank you for your continued support.

Miss Roberts

Easter Holiday

02nd April 2020

Dear Parent/Carer,

Thank you so much for your support over this really difficult time. I know that you are all doing your best to ensure that your child is working from home but I want to reassure you this is not an easy task. Some students will just be able to organise themselves and will be keen to get on, others however, will find it much more difficult and no doubt you may become frustrated because you think they are not doing enough or sometimes even doing too much and feeling stressed about it.

Can I please reassure you from my own experience, even teachers find it difficult to get their own children to work at home. This situation is totally alien to everyone. Students will be struggling perhaps because they can’t ask questions or get reassurance from their teachers or peers. Parents/carers are finding it difficult in these very anxious times trying to keep themselves and their families safe as well as trying to essentially ensure that their child is home schooled. We can all only do our best.

I have asked teachers to not set work over the school Easter holidays. I think that parents/carers and students definitely need a break. You know your child best; some will want to continue to do some school work over the holidays which is great and they may well have done this over the holidays in normal circumstances.

If students do some work every day during term time, it will get easier for them. Once we are all back to normal, I am confident that with your support, the amazing teachers here at St. Paul’s will pull out all of the stops to ensure that the children in our care receive the best education possible and are well supported.

After Easter, we will be setting weekly work for the children to complete at home which will be broken down into daily chunks of English, Maths and Topic. Work will be emailed out each Friday for the following week. We would advise that the children having an exercise book or notebook to complete their work in, and use a tablet or laptop to access the tasks that we set.

May I take the opportunity, on behalf of all of the staff at St. Paul’s, to thank parents for their supportive emails; it really gives teachers a boost during these difficult times.

Kindest Regards

Miss Roberts 

Facebook Page

01st April 2020

We have now created a Facebook page which will be used to share updates. This is another way in which we wish to communicate with our families and we ask that if parents comment then these are of a positive nature. Unfortunately if it is used in a negative way then we will have to block users or take the page down. 

Please follow this link: Facebook page

Scholastic Learning Zone

01st April 2020

All children from Reception to Year 4 should now have received login details to access the ebooks on the Scholastic Learning Zone. Please let the office know if you have not received this information. These books will be regularly updated so please ensure that your child is reading them and then answering the linked quiz questions. 

Maths Teaching Strategies

28th March 2020

We have now added two parent workshops to our Home Learning page. These will hopefully enable parents to further help their children with maths learning. If any additional advice is required then please email the School Office or Miss Jones directly. 

British Values Resources

28th March 2020

British Values resources have now been uploaded to the Home Learning page.These will be added to weekly so please remember to check regularly. There are discussion ideas and activities to complete.

Home Learning using Square 1

26th March 2020

Our IT support providers Concero have kindly provided access to their Education website Square1. It has over 200 carefully curated curriculum websites and links to online classroom activities and resources that children can access and utilise when at home. There are recommended apps for mobile devices e.g. iPads that are free to use and engage the pupils in fun and creative ways. As well as recommended links to a variety of websites, there are useful features such as Video of the Week and much, much more. The search engine on the home page uses Kiddle – a child friendly search engine that can allow your children to SAFE Search the internet. Please click on the link below to enter the site. 

Square 1

Useful Websites and links for Home Learning

25th March 2020

We have now added some new weblinks to the Home Learning page. These include: White Rose Maths, audible stories, the Maths Factor, David Walliams free daily audio stories and Read Write Inc Phonics films. 

Contacting School

24th March 2020

From tomorrow, the office at St. Paul’s, along with the rest of the school building, will be closed until 20th April, and the teaching and office staff will be working from home. If you need to contact the office staff, please do so by email: office@st-pauls-coven.staffs.sch.uk. Emails will be responded to between 9:00 am and 3:00 pm, weekdays until Friday 3rd April. 

Parents who are accessing the childcare provision at St Mary’s can continue to take their children directly to St Mary’s until Friday 3rd April where members of St. Paul’s staff will support. The provision will then reopen on Monday 20th April at St. Paul’s. More information will be sent out later this week about applying for places at this provision.  

In the meantime, if any parents accessing the provision at St Mary’s need to urgently talk to a member of St. Paul’s office staff, they can call the Kids Club mobile number: 07568 359929. Please note, this number is for emergencies only relating to children who are using St Mary’s and not for general queries. 

TTRockstars

22nd March 2020

All children in Years 2, 3 and 4 should have login details for Times Tables Rockstars which can be accessed via this link: 

TTRockstars

If you encounter any issues accessing this excellent resource then please let the school office know.

Urgent Information regarding the escalation of control measures

22nd March 2020

Dear Parent/Carer,

I know that you will have been watching the news over the weekend and will see that the situation is changing rapidly, with pubs and restaurants closing and social distancing becoming the norm. 

In line with other responsible employers, school staff at St. Paul’s and St Mary’s will be deployed on a rota basis to support the emergency childcare that we have been asked to provide to critical key workers.  As of tomorrow, school staff will be on the frontline of risk management and infection control.  

Our aim will be to keep as few people in the school as possible to avoid social contact.  We have put plans in place for tomorrow that are based on the Government’s guidance on social distancing.  I must emphasise that the safest place for your child is at home.  In school there will be increased social contact.  You must not send your child to school tomorrow unless you have  spoken to us and your place has been confirmed.

Sending your child to school is a last resort to support key workers and students that are vulnerable.  It will not be like a normal school day, there will be no formal lessons and breaks will not be as they usually are.  Social distancing procedures will be implemented strictly.  There will be no one-to-one support for any student.  We have an ever decreasing number of staff who are available to staff this emergency provision so it should only be used if there is absolutely no alternative.  Our priority is to keep staff including teachers, support staff, cleaners, caretakers and students as safe as possible.  Some of our staff, including cleaners, have been told to self-isolate for twelve weeks; this is presenting us with considerable problems. 

Children will need to remain at least two metres apart in all situations.  Soap and water will be provided and children will be expected to wash their hands for at least 20 seconds when they enter and re-enter the school.  Classroom doors will be propped open to avoid unnecessary touching of the door handle.  Parts of the school will be mothballed in order to concentrate cleaning at the end of a day to a limited area. 

You must have arrangements in place to collect your child quickly if they show symptoms of coronavirus at school.  You will then have to self-isolate for fourteen days.  If you tell us that you are a self-isolating family at any point, then you must see out the fourteen days at home and not send your child back into school within this period.

I know that these measures will be alarming to some children.  However, we cannot be irresponsible about this. It would be advisable for you to explain to your child that things will be very different in school tomorrow and that staff will do everything we can to keep them as safe as possible. 

Our last piece of advice would be if a child can stay at home safely, this is absolutely the best option.

Miss Roberts
Headteacher 

Covid-19 Update

20th March 2020

Please see the link below for the latest government advice on Covid-19:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-maintaining-educational-provision/guidance-for-schools-colleges-and-local-authorities-on-maintaining-educational-provision

The government has given clear guidance on self-isolation, household isolation and social distancing.

And 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Parents whose work is critical to the COVID-19 response include those who work in health and social care and in other key sectors outlined in the link above.
• Many parents working in these sectors may be able to ensure their child is kept at home. And every child who can be safely cared for at home should be.

Please, therefore, follow these key principles:

1. If it is at all possible for children to be at home, then they should be.
2. If a child needs specialist support, is vulnerable or has a parent who is a critical worker, then educational provision will be available for them.
3. Parents should not rely for childcare upon those who are advised to be in the stringent social distancing category such as grandparents, friends, or family members with underlying conditions.
4. Parents should also do everything they can to ensure children are not mixing socially in a way which can continue to spread the virus. They should observe the same social distancing principles as adults.

Hamilton Home Learning Packs

20th March 2020

Hamilton Trust have also made their home learning packs available. They can be accessed using the link below:

https://www.hamilton-trust.org.uk/blog/learning-home-packs/

They have agreed to issue a full week's worth of learning for each week that schools are closed, and have even broken tasks down into daily lessons.

New RE Home Learning Resources

20th March 2020

Lichfield Diocesan Board of Education have produced some free home learning resource packs which are suitable for children of all ages. I have added these to the home learning page.

Themes include:

Easter

Parables

People of Faith

Values - Courage linking to David

Free E-books

20th March 2020

Oxford Owl are offering free access to their e-book library using the link below:

https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/for-home/find-a-book/library-page/

This is an excellent way for children to continue reading whilst they are at home, especially if families are self-isolating and unable to visit local libraries.

Miss Roberts

Update on Childcare Provision for Children of Key Workers / Vulnerable Children

20th March 2020

Dear Parents/Carers,

Thank you for your patience as we have awaited details of the key worker list from the government. The full list has now been published and can be accessed through the following link: 

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-maintaining-educational-provision/guidance-for-schools-colleges-and-local-authorities-on-maintaining-educational-provision

St Paul's School is currently closed following the flood that occurred during February half term while repairs are carried out to the inside and outside of the building. The school site is not currently safe for all day occupation as we have no access to the hall, the playground or catering facilities from the available rooms that are currently used by the before and after-school club.

The school will reopen on Monday 20th April to children of key workers and vulnerable children, when we will be able to provide childcare and offer catering during the school hours of 9:00 am to 3:15pm. The childcare provision will run in the Kids' Club room and will be run by school staff as well as Kids' Club staff. Children from all year groups will be supervised together. 

For the next two weeks from Monday 23rd March to Friday 3rd April, I have made arrangements with St Mary's Wheaton Aston for the children of our key workers to access their childcare provision during the school day. Parents can drop children off at St Mary's at 9:00am and collect them at 3:15pm. If any parents would like to use this childcare provision for the next two weeks, could they please let us know by tomorrow lunchtime by calling the school office today before 4:30 pm, or by emailing the school office between 4:30pm today and 12:00pm tomorrow: office@st-pauls-coven.staffs.sch.uk

Please note that there will be nobody in the school office tomorrow morning to take phone calls so it is important if you cannot phone us during the day today, that you email us by lunchtime tomorrow so that we can confirm the numbers with St Mary's so that they can sort out staffing.

We will need to know which days you will require the childcare. Please note that if parents are accessing this facility, normal attendance and safeguarding procedures will apply. Parents will need to notify the school office in the usual way if their child cannot attend on a day they have requested.

There has been much speculation in the press over the last 24 hours about the rules over key workers and whether both parents need to be key workers to qualify. We can confirm that if only one parent is a keyworker, they can access the childcare provision as long as the other parent is working as well. E.g. if one parent is a key worker and the other parent doesn't work, it would be expected that the parent who doesn't work looks after the children.

Therefore, we kindly request that parents only use the childcare provision on the days that both parents are working so that we can limit the exposure and risk to staff and children during this unprecedented situation. We can offer half day session for parents who only need childcare for part of the day to keep everyone safe. Sessions will run from 9:00 - 12:00 and 12:15 to 3:15 with children who stay all day being supervised in the 15 minute break in the middle while they eat their lunch.

I can confirm catering arrangements for the next two weeks at St Mary's. Chartwells will continue to provide hot meals for the children although there will be a limited menu of one hot meal as well as jacket potatoes and sandwiches. For the next two weeks, meals can be ordered on the day - there is no need to pre-order. If you would prefer to send in sandwiches from home, then please ensure your child has these with them when you drop them off.

Thank you for your support during a difficult time. If any parents wish to discuss this with me, I am available at the Memorial Hall at the end of the school day, or if you leave a message with the school office, I can call from St Mary's during the day today.

Miss Roberts

School Closure Update

19th March 2020

Dear Parents,

Further to my earlier email, I am still awaiting further clarification from the government on the guidelines regarding provision for the children of key workers and vulnerable children.

I will provide a further update tomorrow as soon as I know more. I thank you for your patience during this unprecedented situation.

Miss Roberts

School Closure from Monday / Key Workers

19th March 2020

Dear Parents,

At 5.15pm yesterday, the Secretary of State for Education gave a public statement that all state-funded schools in England would be closed from the end of the school day on Friday. 

Having indicated that all schools would be closed, he then indicated that they would be expected to remain open for the children of key workers and for those in various vulnerable categories – providing a safe place and access to meals. We are expecting a definition of ‘key worker’ later today from the Cabinet Office. It will take time to determine the nature of this provision.

We are waiting for the government to publish more information on what this means, but it would help us in the meantime if you could let us know if you think your child may fall into one of these categories. Please call the school office on 01902 291124 by 2pm today. We’ll be in touch again as soon as we are sure who this does apply to.

All other children will need to stay at home, so we ask that you do not send your child into school from Monday onwards.

Although we have been anticipating such an announcement, and prepared for various scenarios, the limited details so far released raise considerably more questions than answers. You will all have your own legitimate concerns and queries.

The Secretary of State gave no undertaking that schools would be expected to sustain a pattern of normal learning during the closure; rather that any available staff would be expected to support other frontline efforts. Our school response is yet to be determined.

I will be working today with my senior leadership colleagues and all staff, to clarify as best we can what this announcement means for our school, for our pupils and for you. I anticipate providing more details later today.

Please note that this is a national closure – as you may have heard in the news – so while it is a challenging situation, we are not alone. We’ll re-open fully as soon as we can and will let you know when this is by email and on the Parent App.

What we won’t be able to go ahead with

• School trips
• Breakfast and after-school club
• Events – Easter service
• Internal exams or tests
• All statutory tests, e.g. Y1 Phonics Screen, Y2 SATs, Y4 Multiplication Test

 Thank you for your support and for your patience in the meantime.

For the next two days, pupil attendance is expected to continue as normal within the COVID-19 Public Health England guidance.

Miss Roberts

Headteacher

Extra Resources

18th March 2020

More resources have been added onto the Home Learning page.

1. Cursive handwriting mats and the Read Write Inc letter formation cards and rhymes have been added to the General Resources section.

2. A new Year 2 SATs revision section has been added with practice papers for Reading, Spelling and Maths.

3. Writing resources have been added at the end of the Reception section.

4. A Practical Learning resources booklet has been added for each year group at the end of each year group's section.

5. An extra home pack has been added for Years 1 to 4.

Phonics Play - Free Subscription

18th March 2020

Phonics Play are offering parents the opportunity to use their site for free: www.phonicsplay.co.uk

The username is: march 

The password is: home

The resources can be accessed on phones and tablets as well as PCs and laptops, and is a good opportunity for children to have a daily Phonics session.

New Home Learning Resources

18th March 2020

I have now added a 'General Resources' section to the Home Learning page which contains a list of 50 things that children could do whilst at home. Feel free to add some of your own ideas!

Also, there is a times table section which contains all of the times tables cards for Years 2-4. These can be used in a variety of ways to practise times table and to speed up recall.

1. Match the questions and answers. Time yourself and try to beat your previous time.

2. Mix up the question cards in a pile. Lay the answer cards on the table in a random order. Parents ask the question, the child finds the answer and holds it up in the air.

3. Opposite to 2. to practise division recall. Children lay the question cards on the table in a random order. Parents call out the answer and the child finds the correct question.

We will continue to add more general resources.

Miss Roberts

Free Access to Twinkl

17th March 2020

Twinkl is offering a month's free access to their site for parents to download worksheets and resources to use at home, should schools have to close.

Details below:

Setting this up is really easy to do - go to www.twinkl.co.uk/offer and enter the code UKTWINKLHELPS

Home Learning

17th March 2020

For families who are self-isolating, or for children in Nursery who will be unable to attend school from tomorrow, we have set up a home learning tab on our web site. Staff will add resources to this web page for the children to complete at home.

https://www.stpaulscoven.co.uk/home-learning

Parents can download and print these resources for their children to complete if they are well enough.

For children in Years 2, 3 and 4, they can also access My Book Blog and TT Rock Stars using the existing passwords they have been given. 

Please let the school office know if you have any issues accessing these resources.

Miss Roberts

Partial Closure

17th March 2020

Following the new government guidance last night, this leaves us in a position where we are unable to operate as normal for all year groups and keep the students and staff safe.

Having carefully considered the options, we have taken the decision to close to Nursery from Wednesday 18th March. If your child is in all other year groups, they can attend as normal. Work has been set for all students and this can be accessed on the school web site - a separate email will follow.

We will review the partial closure on a daily basis and will update all parents and carers accordingly following our daily reviews.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause. 

Miss Roberts and the staff at St Paul's

Maternity Cover in Reception

13th March 2020

Miss Jones is hoping to start her maternity leave at the beginning of May. She will return to school after Easter for two weeks although this may change if she needs to finish earlier!

Miss Robyn Christie, who is currently covering in Year 3 until Easter, will teach Reception from after Easter until the summer holidays. This means there will be a two week period where Miss Jones and Miss Christie are working together in Reception to complete a handover and to ensure continuity and a smooth transition for the children.

There will be an opportunity for Reception parents to meet Miss Christie after Easter once we are back at St Paul’s.

Please contact me if you have any further questions and I thank you for your continued support.

Miss Roberts

Parents' Evening - new date

03rd March 2020

Parents' Evening will now be held on Wednesday 29th April in school from 3:30 - 6:30 pm for children in YN, YR, Y1, Y2 and Y4. Nursery appointments will be available from 3:45pm.

At the same time, between 3:30 and 5:00 pm, there will be a drop-in Meet the New Teacher session for parents of children in Y3.

Appointments will be available to book online from Monday 20th April at 9:30 am. A letter will come out before Easter explaining how bookings can be made.

Book Week Update

29th February 2020

Unfortunately due to St. Paul's currently being closed we will not be able to hold the planned Reading Cafes next week but once we are back in school they will be rescheduled for the Summer Term. We  would still like children to make their Story In A Box for our competition but ask that these are not brought into school until we return to St. Paul's. On Thursday we would like to invite children to bring a book of their choice to read and share as well as still wearing silly socks to fit in with our chosen text this year. Thank you for your support. 

Y4 Family Lunch

28th February 2020

The Y4 family lunch scheduled for 25th March has been cancelled and will be rearranged once we are back at St. Paul’s. 

Thank you for your understanding. 

Parents’ Evening

28th February 2020

The parents’ evening scheduled for 25th March has been cancelled and will be rearranged once we are back at St. Paul’s. 

Thank you for your understanding. 

Cancelled Events

28th February 2020

Unfortunately the Mother’s Day services on Friday 20th March have been cancelled. 

We have also had to cancel the Y3/4 Youth Proms event on 4th March at the Victoria Hall. 

Apologies for any inconvenience.

Phonic Screen Parent Information Session

28th February 2020

We will be holding two parent information sessions about the Year 1 Phonics Screen on Thursday 5th March at 3:30 pm and again on Friday 6th March at 9:00 am. This will be an opportunity for parents to find out about this statutuory assessment which takes place during the second half of the Summer Term. Mrs Walsh will lead the session on Thursday and it will be repeated again by Mrs Richards on Friday. Both meetings will take place in the small room at the rear of Coven Memorial Hall. 

Rearranged Dates for Year 4 Multiplication Check Parent Information Session

28th February 2020

The Multiplication Check Parent Information Session that was planned for Monday 23rd March will now take place on Thursday 12th March at 3:30 pm and will be repeated on Friday 13th March at 9:00 am. Both meetings will be held in the smaller room at the rear of the Memorial Hall. Mrs Richards will be sharing information about this new statutory assessment which will take place during the second half of the Summer Term. 

Kids Club Update

26th February 2020

Dear Parents,

I am writing to inform you that we will be able to open the Kids Club again from Monday morning (2nd March). Kids Club will operate from the Year 3 classroom which can be accessed through the pedestrian gate and the Key Stage 2 door. There will be a temporary doorbell for you to use on the side of the Key Stage 2 door.

The space has been signed off as safe to use, and the rest of the school where ongoing repairs are being carried out, has been partitioned off with a lockable door to ensure the children's safety.

For next week only, we will not be able to offer any food so children will need to have breakfast at home before they arrive at the morning club and bring a snack for after school. We will be able to offer our normal food service from Monday 9th March. We appreciate your understanding during this time.

The children will be walked to and from the Memorial Hall each morning by the Kids Club staff as well as the office staff, and be delivered to their coaches.

We thank you for your understanding while we have made these temporary arrangements. Bookings can now be made from Monday onwards on Kids Club HQ.

Miss Roberts

Crossing Patrol

25th February 2020

Could we kindly ask parents not to park on Brewood Road near to the crossing patrol? We appreciate that the car park at the Hall was full tonight, but we would appreciate your assistance in keeping the area around the crossing patrol clear so that we can safely cross the children across the road. 

Thank you in advance of your support. 

Transport Arrangements

24th February 2020

Dear Parents and carers,

Transport Arrangements / Update on Arrangements for St Mary’s

I am pleased to share with you the transport arrangements for the travel to and from St Mary’s Wheaton Aston from tomorrow morning. Tuesday 25^th February.

Morning Arrangements

All coaches will leave the Memorial Hall at 8:55 am. Coaches will leave promptly and children arriving after this time will need to be taken to St Mary’s by parents/carers.

Coach 1 will leave from the lay-by opposite the Memorial Hall.

Children in Year 2 and Year 3 will travel on this coach, along with 6 children from Year 4.

Parents of these 6 children will be notified by text.

Coach 3 and Coach 4 will leave from the bus lane outside the Memorial Hall. (For some reason, there is no Coach number 2 before parents think we have made an error!)

Coach 3 – Nursery, Year 1 and the remaining Year 4 children

Coach 4 – Reception

Lunchtime Nursery Transport

The lunchtime coach will leave St Mary’s at 11:40am. Mrs Beason will travel on the coach with the morning Nursery children and Mrs Edge and Mrs Cole will meet the coach at the Memorial Hall to help dismiss the children. It is anticipated that the coach will arrive at the Memorial Hall at 12:00pm.

Once the morning Nursery children have been dismissed, the afternoon children will be allowed on the coach and the coach will return to St Mary’s with Mrs Beason accompanying the children.

Home time Arrangements

The coaches will leave St Mary’s to return to the Memorial Hall between 2:45 and 2:55pm. All coaches will stop in the bus lane outside the hall and the children will be taken into the Memorial Hall for dismissal.

We kindly ask parents not to block the pavements and the footpath into the Memorial Hall so that we can safely ensure that all of the children are accounted for on our return.

Items Needed for School during our time at St Mary’s

During our time at St Mary’s, children will only need to bring the following items to school each day:

• Coats/hats/gloves
• Water bottles
• Lunchbox if bringing sandwiches from home

Spellings

Spelling books for children in Years 1 to 4 will need to be brought into school on Tuesday 25^th February.

Children in Y1-4 will receive a spelling sheet each Friday in order for them to practise their spellings at home. Tests will be done on paper each Friday and brought home for parents to see the results.

PE

There will be limited opportunities for PE during our time at St Mary’s so PE kits are not needed in school for the time being. We plan to have additional PE time once we return to St Paul’s.

Home Reading

As we do not have access to our reading scheme at present, we will not be changing reading books each day. Children are encouraged to continue reading at home, either their own books or books from the local library.

The reading challenge and stamps will recommence once we are back at St Paul’s.

Children do not need to bring reading diaries and book bags to school until further notice.

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me via the school office on: office@st-pauls-coven.staffs.sch.uk or 01902 291124.

Kind regards

Miss Roberts

Y1 Superhero Day

19th February 2020

The Y1 superhero day has been cancelled and will be rearranged later in the half term.

Children will need to come to school in their school uniform as usual on Tuesday morning.

Rearranged SATs Meetings for Y2 Parents

19th February 2020

The SATs meetings with Mrs Richards have been rearranged as follows:

Thursday 27th February - 3:30pm

Friday 28th February - 9:00am

Both meetings will take place at the Memorial Hall in the smaller room at the back of the hall.

Update on Arrangements

19th February 2020

Dear Parent or Guardian,

As you are aware St Paul’s suffered considerable damage when the school flooded during the heavy storms of Saturday 15^th and Sunday 16^th February, with water filling all of the school. Contractors have been working during the half term holiday to begin the process of removing ruined floor tiles, clearing silt from the playground and assessing the damage to the toilets and other parts of the building, including electrical fittings. The work continues and the full extent of the damage to the building is still to be confirmed, but at the moment the school is not fit for use and will be closed on Monday, 24^th February.

Both your child’s wellbeing and continuity of education are of paramount importance to us. As we do not know yet when St Paul’s will reopen, we have made the following, temporary arrangements to continue your child’s education from Tuesday, 25^th February. Children in all year groups will be taught at St Mary’s CE First School and Nursery at Wheaton Aston.

Travel arrangements

From Tuesday onwards, please bring your children to the Memorial Hall in Brewood Road, Coven, between 8.40am and 8.55am. At 8:55am they will be taken by coach to St Mary’s. Children will be accompanied on the coach by members of staff. They will then be brought back to the Memorial Hall in time for collection at 3.15pm.

Coaches will be using the lay-bys outside the Memorial Hall and a crossing patrol will be there morning and afternoon. Please could parents arriving by car use the Memorial Hall car park and then leave as soon as possible. There is a one-way system in operation in the car park. This area will inevitably be congested and we will need to be patient and understanding.

Nursery School Arrangements

Transport for Nursery pupils will be provided at 8:55am from the Memorial Hall and from Wheaton Aston to return to the Memorial Hall at 3.15pm. There will be additional transport at lunch time to return morning Nursery only children to Coven for 12:00pm. Afternoon Nursery children will be collected from the Memorial Hall and taken to St Mary’s for the afternoon session. Children will be accompanied on the lunchtime minibus by a member of school staff.

Travelling direct

It will make organisation easier if children assemble at the Memorial Hall before the coaches depart at 8:55am. If however any parent or guardian wishes to take their child direct to Wheaton Aston, please contact the school on Monday 24^th February between 10am and 1pm. Tuesday morning will be too late.

School dinners

Hot school meals will be provided at lunchtime as usual for those who take them. Those who bring packed lunches should continue to do so. 

Before and after-school clubs

Before and after school club (Kids’ Club) will be closed next week from Tuesday 25^th to Friday 28^th February. We will provide an update of an expected reopening date next week.

Unfortunately we cannot provide any of our usual after-school facilities: sports clubs run by coaches, Tech Tigers and staff clubs are all cancelled until further notice.

The future

I understand this news may come as an unwelcome surprise, but we are anxious to be back in our home at St Paul’s as soon as possible and we will keep you fully informed. As it’s not yet known how the long the clean-up will take, these arrangements have been put in place until the end of Spring term - but we hope the situation may change.

If you wish to discuss any part of this please contact the school on Monday. Mrs Richards and I will be at the Memorial Hall on Monday 24^th February between 9:30 and 10:30am if any parents would like to call in to speak to us. Alternatively, contact the school office by email or by telephone on Monday from 9:30am onwards.

I greatly appreciate the support of the governors and staff, our friends at neighbouring schools, Staffordshire University Academies Trust and Staffordshire County Council in helping us to respond to this situation.

Karen Roberts

Head Teacher

St Paul’s CE First School.  

Y2 SATs Meetings for Parents

19th February 2020

The SATs parents meetings scheduled to take place next week on Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning have been cancelled. 

We will rearrange these over the next few weeks once we have checked if we can use the Memorial Hall as a venue for the meetings. 

Thank you for your understanding. 

Flood Update

18th February 2020

The school has been affected by flooding over the weekend and is currently not accessible to staff and pupils. Arrangements are being made to educate the children off site from Tuesday 25th February. A letter will be sent to parents by the end of this week providing details of the arrangements from Tuesday. 

School will not be open to children on Monday 24th February, and there will be no before or after school next week on Tuesday 25th to Friday 28th February. All after school clubs are also cancelled for next week.

Thank you to everyone who has sent messages of support to us. They are much appreciated. 

Miss Roberts 

Spring Term Parents' Evening

13th February 2020

Spring Term Parents' Evening will be on Wednesday 25th March from 3:30 to 6:30 pm (3:40 to 6:30 pm for Nursery).

This time, parents will be asked to book their appointments online. You will be sent a link on Wednesday 11th March when the booking system goes live.

Y2 Musicians Day

11th February 2020

Mrs Pope would like to say thank you to all the children and parents for making such an effort with costumes and research today. Year 2 have had everyone from Rod Stewart to Madonna to Justin Bieber. They have even had a couple of Michael Jacksons in school today! The children have had a lovely afternoon showing off their costumes and talking about the musician they have been dressed as. They even listened to some of the tracks from their chosen artists!

Safer Internet Day 2020

11th February 2020

Safer Internet Day 2020 has been marked in school with an assembly led by our Online Safety Squad. Please visit the links below to find out more. 

Online Safety Squad assembly

Safer Internet links for parents and carers

Safer Internet links for parents and carers

Annual Parent Questionnaire

29th January 2020

We would like to ask parents to fill in our online parent questionnaire using the following link:

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/QF8KVYT

If you would like to discuss any of your answers in more detail, please contact Miss Roberts through the school office.

Our new website is here!

28th October 2019

We really hope you like our new website and that you can find everything you need.  Let us know what you think.

School Closure

28th October 2019

If for any reason the school has to close, information will be posted on the Staffordshire School Closure List.

You can also sign up for text alerts to keep you informed - see the below website for further information and get signed up!

Emergency Closures

Sign up for alerts