By Robert Staples, Headteacher - Monday, 30 March 2020
Please find attached the results to the spot-check survey about our current home learning arrangements.
Thank you to everyone who responded!
It was good to see that most parents/carers feel we are sending out about the right amount of work. We will be starting to include an optional extension activity in each weekly blog for those parents who feel there could be a bit more for the children to do. We are also going to start sending out weekly phonics and spelling activities so keep an eye out for those.
Nearly all parents/carers have access to the technology & wifi/data needed for the online activities. We will continue to provide offline activities for those who don't.
11% of parents don’t feel confident in helping their child. That's fine! It's a while since you were in school! We will make sure our blogs include simple explanations and examples where needed, or definitions of technical words which parents/carers might not know.
96% of parents have had all the resources they need for the activities we have set so far. We will continue to be mindful that it is tricky to get hold of some resources during this period of lockdown.
VIEW THE RESULTS HERE
Our value for the month of April is Happiness!
Talk at home:
What is happiness?
What things make you happy?
What things do you do which make other people happy?
If you were feeling sad, what could you do to make yourself feel happier?
Every member of staff received the following letter today...
Dear critical worker…
I want to say thank you right from the outset for everything you will be doing in the coming weeks as we work together to find our way in this new world.
You are now a critical worker in an unprecedented national effort. You are going to contribute in many ways, and each are as important as the others.
• You might be asked to come in and care for some of our most vulnerable children, supporting them and meeting their needs so that their family avoids reaching a crisis point.
• You might be asked to care for the child of another critical worker, maybe someone right on the frontline, a nurse or a doctor, or an ambulance driver, enabling them to go to work without worry and focus on the difficult job they have to do, or to get sleep between shifts.
• You are likely to be asked to do different tasks than you usually do, work unusual hours or days and be willing to offer your help at short notice.
• You might be asked to work creatively to provide inspiring activities, help and support for all the children who are away from school and their families.
• You might be asked to stay home and follow stringent self-isolation rules to protect yourself, your family, and indeed our childcare provision. I know this will be hard, and you will face difficult personal decisions and circumstances. Please be assured that the school will support you in this.
Whatever you are asked to do, I want you to know that it is deeply appreciated. Not just by me, but somewhere there will be a person lying in a hospital bed who you are very directly helping to get better and make a recovery from this awful disease. So I am saying a heartfelt thank you to you now, on behalf of them and their family.
I am also thanking you on behalf of the children. You will be helping to create a small oasis of safety and security in a world which must feel very scary and unknown right now. None of us went through this as a child, so we can’t really imagine what it’s like for them or tell what the impact will be. Your role will be critical in mitigating the trauma this experience may cause.
We all came into this job because we wanted to make a difference in those children’s lives. Now more than ever, we have a chance to show what that truly means and I am thankful to every single one of you for the positive difference you will make.
We are Fairlands. We can do this!
Robert Staples, Headteacher, Fairlands Primary School
I will always remember Faridah Kelani performing this poem at the Year 6 Leavers' Assembly last year. She was so inspirational, reading each word with passion, punching the air with power and conviction and reminding us all of what a wonderful community we have here at Fairlands.
As school closes today, under such difficult and worrying circumstances, I can't think of better words than those of her poem to sum up my feelings. I am immensely proud of how sensibly and supportively we have all worked together over the last couple of weeks... it really feels as if the community of Fairlands is stronger than ever in the face of this adversity.
We are all sad that we are having to close our doors today, but we know that it is only for a little while... and we will all be back together soon, stronger and even more united in our knowledge that WE ARE FAIRLANDS!
From this week, all our teachers are introducing new, weekly Home Learning Blogs in each year group!
If your child is at home, either due to self-isolation or full/partial school closure, these blogs will provide you with learning activities for your child to be getting on with when they are able.
Each blog will contain a PDF document explaining everything, based around our CHAT, PLAY, READ approach, and will give ideas for actvities which are both online and offline.
Thank you for your ongoing support during this tricky time.
We were really proud to join Stevenage Football Club as they celebrated the EFL Day of Action yesterday. Our PE curriculum leader Mrs Jeffries was formally invited to meet the First Team Squad and talked passionately about the work SFC have been doing in the school over the past year, running weekly sessions with the children and also training up the staff on their football skills as well! We were able to share how the sessions have really increased the motivation and engagement of the children and helped build their sense of respect for their community. Watch the full video here!
