It is with great pleasure to report that all our new and old pupils have settled in well. Our new pupils are getting used to their class teams, routines, and procedures. 

The end of term draws close as I write this update. At Larwood it’s still go go go go!

Go for bubble based Sports Day events.
Great to see small groups of parents supporting children. For some this may be the first Sports Day they have been allowed to participate in and the first one you have watched? Enjoy!

Go for end of term reports!
These will be sent to you electronically by the end of the week. Having had the pleasure of reading and signing all of them, there are some cracking reports to go home. Plus, amazing progress has been achieved in the most unusual and again challenging of years.

Go for school based trip day on Thursday 22nd July.
A number of activities that will help to round off the year and if course, lots of fun for all involved.

Go for our end of year goodbye to our Year 6 pupils and parents.
For many this year, we continue the relationship, and we will ‘see you down the road’ at Brandles. For others going to Special or mainstream, I will be just as keen to check up and see how you are getting on. Due to the pandemic, this will again be in a different format, but it will always be a very special day for us all.

The weeks are flying by and it is so much better having our pupils on site.

A strange consequence of the pandemic is that we do not have any pupils taking SAT’s, as they would have done up until the summer of 2019. This is the same for all primary aged children across the country. They didn’t happen last year, and they are not taking part this year either. We have reflected upon this, the process, the results and how useful they are for all involved. We have ended up drawing a fairly certain conclusion that they are not missed! They also do not give our pupils the chance to show how well they have done in other areas, such as key skills included in personal and social development. Therefore, next year, we will design our own tests that will continue to review key skills such as reading and maths, alongside others. We will plan for how best to deliver these and our teaching staff will be heavily involved in the process, with our pupils.

Possibly, the shortest blog message ever!

Welcome back and happy New Year to you all. Not the start to the year that any of us would have hoped for, but we remain optimistic for the future. Due to the current serious nature of the pandemic and the impact of the new strain of Covid - 19, we are educating some pupils in school and some will be at home. Our online learning has been set up and is ready for such a situation. Therefore:

1. Many of our lessons will be live. There is much debate about if this is the best way to deliver such leaning. However, we believe that some social interaction each day is vital for our pupils.
2. If you haven’t got a device, we will provide you with one-just ask. If broadband/data is an issue, please let us know (see letter sent out on Friday 8th Jan)
3. It is different but it will still be fun and engaging. Many of our pupils have really enjoyed this new style of learning.
4. Having written No. 3, we also know that it’s not for everyone! If your son/daughter has issues with this type of learning, let us know and we will provide other formats. We are using other formats of learning alongside live lessons during this time.

We will get through this difficult time and all of our pupils will be back, where they belong at some point soon when it is safe for all parties.

Much of this month has been dominated by Covid, the substantial rise in infection rates and the associated uncertainty that it also brings to many areas of life. We continue to provide the following:

• Different methods of entry/exit to school to reduce potential transmission
• Revised lesson plans that include outdoor learning where possible and all activities are based on site
• Pupils remaining in class bubbles whilst on site
• Revised lunchtime arrangements to avoid classes mixing
• Enhanced cleaning and the we have purchased our own ‘fogging machine’ as an additional cleaning measure
• Regular hand washing by all staff and pupils
• Limited entry to visitors to try and maintain our continuity of provision
• Revised risk assessment and operating protocols. This deals with risk and procedures for when staff/pupils catch Covid 19
• Dedicated planning and training for staff/pupils to use Microsoft Teams in a variety of situations

We will monitor and revise our practice as we need to but we have ensured that we meet guidance and in fact where possible, go above and beyond any guidance offered. Staff and pupils continue to react superbly to the changes and I thank them all for their help and cooperation.