Latest News

Welcome information for our new starters in Early Years and Year 3

Sun 21 Jun 2020 Mr. O'Connell

Our staff are looking forward to welcoming our children back into All Saints' in September.

We have made welcome videos and prepared information for our children and parents and this is all available online:

Children starting school in Early Years: www.allsaintsfed.derbyshire.sch.uk/starting-school-in-early-years/

Children joining our Junior site in Year 3: www.allsaintsfed.derbyshire.sch.uk/joining-our-junior-school/

I am looking forward to meeting parents over the next few weeks, in a series of Zoom meetings. Please contact the schoo office if you've not received the link to the meeting.

Many thanks, Mr. O'Connell

June newsletter

Wed 10 Jun 2020

Our latest newsletter is now available online. It includes:

A brief update regardng the re-opening of both schools;
Exciting news about significant school improvement works scheduled to take place at both schools this term;
Staffing update: congratulations to Miss. Ferguson who has been appointed as our new, acting Assistant Headteacher from September;
Best wishes to Mrs. Sargeant who is joining Highfields in a new role (you can view some messages for the children by using the links below):
- Children in EY and KS1;
- Children in Year 3;
- Children in Key Stage 2 (Years 3 - 6);
Thoughts and plans for the next academic year.

Many thanks for your continued support. We know from our conversations online, over the phone and in person that you are continuing to make the most of the challenging situation we all find ourselves in.

Please keep in touch and let us know if there is anything further that we can do support you and your family.

Keep safe and well.

Mr. O'Connell

Update on our limited number of school places

Thu 04 Jun 2020

Good afternoon,

We have shared a letter with all parents, via ParentMail, regarding our safe school places at this time.

Whilst I know that many parents and carers will be disappointed that their child is unable to return to All Saints’ just now, we hope that this won’t be for long and we can all return to some normality soon. We will continue to be in contact as and when we are able to offer additional, safe spaces.

Many thanks, Mr. O'Connell

Update on our phased re-opening of All Saints'

Fri 29 May 2020 Mr. O'Connell

Week commencing: 1st June 2020 for vulnerable and key worker children ONLY

We are looking forward to welcoming more of our critical key worker children into both schools on Monday. We have shared a short presentation/video with our critical worker families today, explaining our arrangements for Monday 1st June. This is available on our website.

Week commencing: 8th June

We will be in contact with families during the middle of next week as we look to carefully support the safe return of more children to All Saints' (as outlined in our letter on 20th May).

Rest assured that our staff will continue to plan and provide daily learning via Google Classroom.

Many thanks, Mr. O'Connell

Phased re-opening of All Saints’ CE Infant and All Saints’ CE Junior schools

Wed 20 May 2020 Mr. O'Connell

Dear parents,

I would like to share two important letters with you, as we carefully plan for the phased re-opening of our schools.

1. Phased re-opening of All Saints’ CE Infant and All Saints’ CE Junior schools

Please can parents read the short letter outlining our plans for the phased re-opening of both schools, from the 1st June (subject to confirmation). It is our intention to return in a phased and careful way, which will allow us to safely scale-up attendance and build resilience, as safe routines become established and confidence increases.

At this time, unfortunately, I need to be very clear to parents that we do not have the safe capacity for all children to return.

Please can I ask you to take the time to read this short letter.

2. Guidance on how we are planning to safely re-open our schools in a phased way

We know that many parents have understandable questions and concerns about the possible re-opening of schools. We have published a a letter on our website which outlines the steps we are planning to help ensure the safety of our children, staff and the community. I appreciate that the letter is lengthy, but I hope that the different sections, accompanying photographs and the Q&As will help answer any questions or concerns.

You can also view our risk assessment for re-opening online (Key Information/COVID-19).

Please remember: our Senior Leaders are available tomorrow and on Friday for a Zoom call if you have any further questions or concerns. Please contact the office who will help schedule a call (either info-inf@allsaintsfed.derbyshire.sch.uk or info-jun@allsaintsfed.derbyshire.sch.uk).

Thank you for your continued support and very kind messages to school over the last 8 weeks. Your support has helped to keep us smiling and we have enjoyed hearing from you and the children. We miss having our children in school very much and are looking forward to the day when we can welcome all our children back in to school again.

Many thanks,

Mr. O'Connell

Update regarding possible re-opening of schools

Wed 13 May 2020 Mr. O'Connell

Good morning,

We have sent all parents a letter regarding the possible (and partial) re-opening of schools. It is also available online, on our website.

Please can parents read our letter alongside the Department for Education's Guidance for parents and carers (published 11.3.20).

Careful next steps

I hope that the Dfe’s Guidance for Parents, plus the information within our letter, will go some way to answer the questions and concerns you undoubtedly have.

We have a clear timetable for the next few days, which we are pleased to note is in line with the Dfe’s initial planning framework (which was only published late last night):

Wednesday afternoon: Parents of children in Early Years, Year 1 and Year 6 will receive a ParentMail Form asking them to complete a survey so we know how many of you intend - at this stage - to take up the offer of a possible place in the event of a re-opening.
Thursday morning: Trust meeting where the Trust will share their essential principles on a safe possible re-opening;
Friday morning: our Senior Leaders will be working on site, reviewing and revising a risk assessment (based upon the Government’s guidance and the Trust’s principles).
Friday afternoon: headteachers from the Highfields Cluster will be meeting online to share plans and considerations for possible re-opening.
Next week: we will update parents with the next steps/principles for safe re-opening.
Next week: Parents’ Meetings: Mrs. Lee (Deputy Head and Y6 teacher), Miss. Outhwaite (KS1 Senior Leader and Y1 teacher) along with Miss. Ferguson (EY Leader and teacher) and I will schedule individual online meetings so that parents can meet with us to answer any specific questions and concerns which they may have.

Many thanks,

Mr. O'Connell

May newsletter

Mon 04 May 2020 Mr. O'Connell

Our latest newsletter is now available online. It includes:

Details of new links on our website to support well being and home learning including:
- The Book of Hope shared by the Literacy Trust;
- Resources to support mindfulness and self esteem from CAMS;
- Links to the optional Learning Packs from DDAT, for every year group from Early Years through to Year 6;
- A reminder of our Infant and Junior online safety rules;
An invitation to take part in our Parents' Forum next Tuesday, the 12th May, using Teams;
Update on Mrs. Cannell's retirement at the end of this month.
Information from our Family Support Manager about a planned School Recycling Project.

Many thanks for your continued support. We know from our conversations online, over the phone and in person that you are making the most of the challenging situation we all find ourselves in. Please keep in touch and let us know if there is anything further that we can do support you and your family.

Keep safe and well.

Mr. O'Connell

April newsletter

Fri 03 Apr 2020 Mr. O'Connell

Our latest newsletter is now available online. It includes:

Details of new links on our website to support home learning;
Information which we hope will support you as we continue to adjust to our new arrangements;
A reminder regarding online safety and safeguarding;
Details of our contact details for parents.

Many thanks for your continued support. Keep safe and well.

Mr. O'Connell

IMPORTANT UPDATE

Sun 22 Mar 2020 Mr. O'Connell

Dear parents,

If your child is one of the few who has been offered a childcare place while both schools are closed, and you have indicated this is because you are a key worker who does not have alternative care provision for your child while you are at work, you will be required to evidence why both you and your partner's work (if appropriate) is critical to the COVID-19 response. This could be your work rota for critical workers.

The principle of mass school closure is clearly to keep as many children out of school as possible, to help stop the spread of the virus. If there is a non-critical worker in the family, or childcare arrangements can be made elsewhere, it is expected that these alternatives are exhausted before considering taking a limited childcare place in a school. Once again, I attached a flow chart to help you make the right decision for the safety of your children and for the safety and welfare of our staff, their families and the wider community.

If you are forced to use the place because both parents are undertaking critical work, then please bring your child to our Junior school (please note the Infant school site is completely shut until further notice). Please provide all the following and note that your child cannot be left with us if this information is not provided:

Details of the critical jobs of both parents and the times of work/shift details.
Contact details for both employers. Senior leaders at Derby Diocesan Trust will contact both employers to ensure that both jobs are CRITICAL to the COVID 19 response.
Emergency contact numbers for both parents. Parents and guardian MUST check phones every hour. If your child becomes ill, you MUST come and collect them immediately.

This principle also applies to children who are vulnerable. Whilst there is a space, if your child can be at home then they should be cared for by their parent/carers etc.

Thank you for your support with our efforts to ensure school care is only used as a last resort. It is important that we all work together in our aims to keep our children, staff and everyone’s families safe.

Many thanks,

Mr. O'Connell

Important update re: Key Workers

Sat 21 Mar 2020 Mr. O'Connell

Good afternoon,

I hope this message finds you well.

As you know, both All Saints' CE Infant and All Saints' CE Junior schools are being closed to reduce the spread of the Coronavirus, as are all schools across the UK to help limit the spread of COVID 19.

During this unprecedented period of school closure the majority of our staff will be working from home, in line with the government's social distancing guidelines. We have worked hard behind the scenes to prepare, to ensure our children can still access high quality learning remotely and during this time our staffing team still be fully engaged in supporting our children’s learning via Google Classroom. This will take a lot of time, effort and careful planning, to ensure our children consistently have access to a quality education during the time they are not in school. I am hoping our staff will soon be able to live stream learning during the day (thank you to Emily 's Mum for your help this morning!)

It is important to realise we will only have a skeletal team of staff in one of our schools to be able to provide care for a limited number of children, for whom care at home is not possible. The government has set clear guidelines to outline which children should continue to be cared for in school premises during this difficult time. These include children who are vulnerable, and children whose parents are critical to the Covid-19 response and that therefore cannot be safely cared for at home.

Last night Mrs. Lee and I worked past 9 pm, personally speaking to over 120 parents who had applied for the limited places we can offer. I am sorry to report that we had received a great number of untenable requests for a place, from parents whose children are not eligible for the limited childcare resource we are able to offer. Our initial ParentMail response indicated that we were set to have over 170 children with us (nearly half of both schools) - defeating the aim of the closure.

We must all support each other in making sensible choices and whilst we have now issued places, we would ask that as responsible carers and parents, you think very carefully before taking a place for your child and ensure you use this service as a LAST RESORT, and use it during the times you are at work ONLY. Please think of others as well as your own family. It is critical that key workers, those who are critical to the COVID-19 response, are able to support our communities effectively, knowing that their children are being cared for safely and that our vulnerable children are supported.

We need to all work together to protect and keep our community safe and healthy and accept that this will mean we are placed under some inconvenience.

Please remember, if one parent can work from home then the children must be at home also. Careful planning between parents/careers to manage shifts of work, to balance the responsibility of childcare within the home should also be considered whenever possible.

We may need to phone you for further information and clarification.

We are conveying this message in the strongest terms for the safety of our school community and beyond.

It is very important we work together during these uncertain times.

If in doubt, please refer to the attached flowchart.

Thank you for your support and understanding.

Mr. O'Connell

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