Dear Parents/Carers,
Welcome back. Spring has sprung! Although the temperature outside does give things more of a wintry feel. But the sunshine and blue skies are good for the mood. Here’s hoping things continue to go in the right direction and the vaccines help us towards more normality by the summer. It’s certainly looking more likely now.
In the meantime, we must remain vigilant and avoid becoming complacent. Despite the fact that millions of people have received their first and second vaccine jabs, the threat from Covid-19 is still there. Allowing free travel across the country, the opening up of non-essential shops, gyms, beer gardens and so on is a welcome relaxation of the rules, but it does increase the risk of transmission rates increasing if we do not adhere to the rules. Therefore, until the advice we receive from the government changes, we will continue with the same measures we had in place before the Easter break.
- We will still ask you all to wear masks whilst waiting outside the gate in the mornings and the afternoons.
- We will still ask about the health of your child and your family on their arrival at school
- We will still wear masks where social distancing cannot be guaranteed
- We will still encourage regular and frequent hand washing and/or sanitising on arrival and during the day
When we are able to relax these measures further, then we will do so.
School Uniform
Our aim is to make things as normal as possible for everyone. To this end we are encouraging all our pupils to wear their school uniform this term. Uniforms give pupils a sense of belonging and create an identity. Wearing a uniform can reduce peer pressure and can have a positive impact on behaviour and bullying. Many parents welcome the fact that a school insists on the wearing of a uniform as it simply makes things easier. Please ensure that names are marked clearly on all clothing.
Behaviour
We understand that the last twelve months have been extremely challenging. Many families have struggled during what has been a stressful time and it is true that the pandemic has hit the youngest members of our communities really very hard. Learning online has been a challenge, they’ve seen so much less of each other, they’ve not been able to see grandmas and grandads and the activities they enjoy most, like football, rugby, gymnastics, youth clubs, swimming clubs and so on have been cancelled for months on end. To be honest, it has been pretty rubbish and I am sure that many children will be feeling hard done by due to the apparent unfairness of it all. Again, we fully understand.
We appreciate that learners will be returning to school at different levels of preparedness. Some will be anxious about coming back. Some may have had an adverse experience of lockdown, maybe losing a relative or someone close to them, perhaps they suffered an especially stressful time due to parents’ loss of earnings or parental separation.
We understand that pupils may be emotionally more fragile due to the effects of lockdown and that is why it more important now than ever that we encourage all our learners to treat each other and all the staff at school with the dignity and respect that everyone deserves. I am sure that you will all agree that no one should be the victim of any behaviour that threatens their wellbeing or safety in school or disrupts their learning. If this does occur, we will act according to our behaviour policy and we will look for your full support in addressing any behaviours that are deemed inappropriate.
Yours sincerely
Iwan Jones
Headteacher