Daily Updates from the Department of Education can be accessed via this link https://www.gov.uk/government/latest?departments%5B%5D=department-for-education
With the country entering another lockdown period, here at Fosse Bank we are proud of the home learning platform that was quickly established during the first lockdown earlier in the year.
However, as soon as was it was permitted and with the help of staff and support of the school governors, the school was able to re-open on 1st June.
Each year group (“pod”) was set up with adherence to social distancing rules and each pod was allocated their individual playing field/ area and facilities – one of the many advantages of having lots of outdoor space! – Outdoor activities were encouraged and increased to achieve the best wellbeing for all.
Throughout this challenging period, we have kept our communications with parents frequent and carried out a parent survey to gather feedback. The results showed how hard lockdown had been for many working parents, particularly those with young children, and we learned from these comments.
Dear Parents,
I am writing to update you on the practicalities for your children returning to school on Thursday next week. We will continue to follow DFE advice but go further to do what we believe is right to keep your children as safe as possible.
From 3rd September we will:
As a small school we pride ourselves on the sense of community that we impart across the whole school. Despite the difficulties of remote learning, we were able maintain this sense of community by organising a weekly Zoom assembly for the whole school. The children were able to see everyone and celebrate house points and birthdays. Whole school activities included den building, designing super- heroes and all manner of activities, adding to a sense of being part of the school.
Our PTA, the Fosse Association, also helped enormously. The transformation of our annual summer overnight camp-over (which normally takes in the school fields) into a fabulous ‘virtual Camp-over’ was a big success, with many families camping in their gardens or under canvas in their homes.
Overall, as Headmistress, I am very pleased with the how the school has been able to quickly adapt to this ever-changing environment. With a tremendous effort from both teachers, support staff and parents we have been able to continue to provide an education with minimal disruption. Being a small school has been particularly advantageous, ensuring the safety and wellbeing of staff and children as we swiftly installed control measures. Just having the children back in school, happy and so accepting of the ‘new normal’ reminds us all how lucky we are to be part of this community.
Resources for mental health and wellbeing can be found below.
Places are available throughout the school from September and whilst we cannot conduct prospective parent visits we have created a Virtual Tour to try and give you a snapshot of life at Fosse Bank. If you are interested in joining our family then please do get in touch and we can arrange a virtual taster day for your child so they can meet the class teacher, pupils and sample some of our remote lessons.
Kind regards
Alison Cordingley
Headmistress
Daily Updates from the Department of Education can be accessed via this link https://www.gov.uk/government/latest?departments%5B%5D=department-for-education