UPDATE (27-03-20)

Sent By: Mr F Barratt

Sent 27 Mar 2020 12:42

Dear Parents and Carers,

I hope you are managing. You are all in our thoughts and prayers every day.

I wanted to take this opportunity to bring you up-to-date with a few things. However, before I do I just wanted to thank our critical and key workers for all you are doing to support the national fightback against the coronavirus.

I know colleagues and many of you joined neighbours across Sheffield last night to applaud and say 'thank you' to the heroes of the NHS, which count in their number some of our own SJF parents and carers in different frontline and support roles. I am pleased that our NHS staff are getting the thanks and recognition that they all so richly deserve.

We are also grateful for the way our critical and key workers have tried keep their children at home, where they are safest, and only access our emergency provision when there has been no other option, in line with government guidance. However we do want to remind you that we are here to provide your children with emergency care when you do need us most and it is impossible to leave your children at home.

BOOKINGS

If you know you will need a childcare place in advance, it would help us if you can pre-book. This will enable me to ensure that we have the right level of support and cover. To do this please contact us (enquiries@st-johnfisher.org and 0114 2485009).

Having said that, we do understand that for certain critical workers, care might be needed at very short notice, so we will always open school for a time even if no one has booked in, just in case a critical worker has been called in to work and needs last minute child care. If it becomes apparent that no one needs us on a particular day then we will close school and I will send staff home, where they are safest.

INTERIM PUPIL REPORTS

Staff are in the process of preparing interim reports, based on the Assessment Point 2 outcomes and these will be posted out to you in due course. These are the reports that would have been shared at the pupil progress, achievement and target-setting meetings in normal times.

SEND PUPILS

Mrs Hadfield is also working with colleagues to collate information relating to the SJF pupils who have special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and this information will be sent out shortly too.

EMERGENCY CHILDCARE HUBS

You may have heard that in some areas of the city schools are grouping into hubs to provide emergency childcare jointly. This is being done for a variety of sound reasons e.g. low pupil numbers or a lack of available healthy staff.

At St John Fisher, however, we want to continue to offer our own emergency childcare for as long as possible, and hopefully for the duration of this crisis. Though numbers might be small on certain days, we believe that this is good, because it lessens the risks to both children and staff - which obviously remains a high priority for me. The local authority and Public Health Sheffield are supportive of this stance because it keeps numbers low and our children in familiar settings with familiar staff.

DEEP CLEAN

At St John Fisher we are taking the opportunity to clean all rooms and communal areas thoroughly. Our  cleaners are working slowly and methodically through all areas of school each day. Spaces are then being locked and sealed. At the end of the crisis we are also planning to bring in a team of specialist contract cleaners to go through school before the children return.

FREE SCHOOL MEALS

Our school caterers are now providing weekly hampers to cover sandwich lunches from Monday to Friday, for children entitled to free school meals. If your children are entitled to free school meals and you would like to use this service please contact us (enquiries@st-johnfisher.org and 0114 2485009).

HOME LEARNING TASKS

The next set of home learning tasks will be available via the 'Home Learning' portal from Monday 6th April. This is the link to the portal : https://www.st-johnfisher.org/home-learning/ and the password is 2020STJOHN. If you have any questions please email the relevant class:

• yearfs@st-johnfisher.org
• year1@st-johnfisher.org
• year2@st-johnfisher.org
• year3@st-johnfisher.org
• year4@st-johnfisher.org
• year5@st-johnfisher.org
• year6@st-johnfisher.org

Staff will aim to respond as quickly as they can, but never after 5.00pm or at weekends.

To comply with guidance, daily tasks will be set by teachers for term-time periods but not school holidays. For what would be the normal holiday period, teachers will set children the usual sorts of tasks and challenges that they would normally have over the Easter holiday period if we were operating normally. Typically the tasks will be things like learning spellings, sounds/blends (phonics), multiplication tables, reading etc.

In the event that a colleague becomes ill we will communicate the contingency plan directly to the parents/carers in the particular class along with a polite request for patience and understanding whilst we get things sorted.

CONTACT

As we are open to the eligible children of critical and key workers throughout the Easter holidays and bank holidays - and staff are working at home when not in school providing care, I have to ensure that they get a total break too. There are rules as to how this must be done. So if colleagues are unavailable because they are taking a break, or are poorly, or are caring for someone in their household who is poorly, then your emails will trigger an automatic response and you will be asked to re-send your emails to me instead via our enquiries@st-johnfisher.org email so that I can help you.

If you are anxious or worried, or you need help with something else, please call or email us (enquiries@st-johnfisher.org and 0114 2485009).

Thank you, and please keep as safe as you can.

Kind regards,

Mr F Barratt

Headteacher