Please note the additional documentation regarding lateral flow tests.

Click here to view

Happy New Year to you all and I firstly would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your ongoing patience and co-operation regarding the situation in our schools.

You will be aware of ongoing discussions at a national level between the government, local authorities and teaching unions about re-opening our schools in the safest way possible in order to protect pupils and staff.

We all agree that the health and wellbeing of the whole school community is paramount and discussions have been taking place this morning between CCBC and Head Teachers across the county borough to agree the best way forward.

We know that the increasing number of new cases, particularly the new variant of coronavirus, is causing significant concern. You may also be aware that new advice on shielding was issued before Christmas which is impacting staffing levels in our schools.

Welsh Government has today confirmed that all schools across Wales will adopt a ‘blended learning’ approach for the next two weeks, until Monday 18^th January. This means that most pupils will not physically attend school, but will be provided with learning.

However, schools will open for vulnerable learners and the children of eligible key/essential workers from Wednesday this week (6th January). Please apply via the following link:

https://www.caerphilly.gov.uk/Services/Coronavirus/Emergency-school-provision-for-keyworkers

We are committed to re-introducing face to face teaching in a phased approach for all pupils after the 18^th January, as soon as national and local risk assessments allow and we await further guidance in this respect.

I will continue to keep you updated about any new developments around this issue.

Regards

Keri Cole

Chief Education Officer

I thank you for your support during this challenging time as we manage the safety of learners in our community at a time when the virus is at its height across wales. 

If you or a family you know are struggling with the effects of the pandemic help is available through our See Hear Respond service on 0800 157 7015 or visit https://t.co/NMHTUcDU4h #nationalstressawarenessday  pic.twitter.com/wxEH7xUpd9

All google classroom codes can be found on the distance learning page

reception@stmartins.caerphilly.sch.uk

Please see the attached documents and feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Mr Richards

If a learner arrives without one we will happily provide one for them. 

This will operate alongside the detailed strategies that have been provided in our letters during the summer holidays. 

Dear Pupil/Parent/Carer,

This year, Careers Wales are developing a new strategic vision. The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic is probably going to be felt for some time to come, but it is clear that for both young people and adults, the need for an independent, all-age careers guidance service for Wales will be crucial to aid the economic recovery. To develop this vision we would be grateful if you could complete the survey at:

Pupils:

https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/O156L1EdCust/

Parents/Carers

https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/IMQ2MYParents/

• Football with Mr Faulds: cpoijis
• Netball with Mrs Griffiths: tlyfnya
• Fitness with Miss Williams: siy7s2y 
• Rugby with Mr Thomas: w6yhrkb
• Dance with Miss Harris: 3klje2z

CCBC confirms return to school arrangements

The Leader of Caerphilly county borough council has confirmed that schools across the area will reopen to pupils on Monday 29th June for a period of three weeks before the start of the main summer holidays on Friday 17th July.

Cllr Philippa Marsden said, “The original proposal was for pupils to return for a period of four weeks, however, after extended discussions we have concluded that our schools will now open for 3 weeks and close for the summer holidays on 17th July.”

“We are taking a consistent approach across Gwent and I very much welcome this opportunity for pupils to check in and catch up before the summer break. Our priority is to safeguard the health and wellbeing of pupils and staff, as well as ensuring learning can resume as quickly and safely as possible.”

Schools across the county borough will open their doors on Monday 29th June for pupils to return on a phased basis. Year groups will be split into cohorts with staggered starts, lessons and breaks. This means that, at most, around a third of pupils will be present in the classroom at any one time, although individual schools may need time to reach this level of operation.

CCBC has been successfully running a number of childcare hubs in many of its schools throughout the outbreak, so staff have significant experience of working within these new conditions and limitations and are well placed to provide safe, well managed learning environments.

Cllr Barbara Jones, CCBC Cabinet Member for Education added, “We would like to assure the whole community that all appropriate steps will be taken to safeguard pupils and this will remain our key priority.”

“Everyone involved in reopening schools has been working extremely hard and we are sure that the children attending school for the 3 weeks will have an enjoyable, productive and worthwhile experience that will help as many as possible to check in, catch up and prepare for September.”
 

For planning purposes, we need to know how many students require a space. We will assume that if you have not completed this form by Monday 15th, 3pm that you do not wish your child to have a place in one of our sessions before the summer.

Please see attached a letter from the Headteacher, Mr Jarvis following the announcement made by the Minister for Education in the Welsh Government today.

Please can you complete the following survey to help NHS Wales find out more about your views and thoughts about period health to help create a new website and resources to help you find out more and get the information and support you might need.  

The survey will take 10 – 15 minutes and should be done as part of your set work this week. You should do the survey only once and can choose to do it in English or Welsh (please chose one of the two links below). You therefore only need to complete one of the survey links, not both:

English language survey: https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/WalesSchoolsEnglish/

Welsh language survey: https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/WalesSchoolWelsh/

We are launching the survey from today, Monday 18^th May – 5pm Monday 8^th June (for 3 weeks). Please do support us with this work if you are able to, we would really appreciate your assistance! If you have any questions on the above, or would like further information about the project overall, please contact Eloise Pinchera: eloise@social-change.co.uk (0207 186 1980). 

Senior High School students have continued to work on their AS and AL courses using distance and online learning for the last 10 weeks. Teachers have worked hard to ensure the disruption to learning has been minimal, showing their professionalism and care for the students at DRS.

Academic Principal May received a request from a school in her hometown in the UK to lead a discussion session with the Senior Leadership team of St Martins School. Headteacher, Lee Jarvis, led the questioning, with the whole team asking Principal May about her experiences in China and how teachers and students were managing.

Principal May shared the school’s journey to online teaching, the training received by teachers and the involvement of parents and students in the organisation of the schools structure. The UK team found the approach fascinating and compared it very openly to their current experiences. Live teaching, training teachers in the use of technology, attendance of students, engagement and wellbeing were all areas discussed.

Mr Jarvis, who will be responsible for the schools re-opening plan was interested in the work that the Education Bureau and school teams were undertaking to ensure the safety of teachers and students.

On Wednesday and Thursday, Ms Claire Manson, St Martins Assistant Headteacher in charge of learning and teaching, joined some of the online classes the gain an experience of life for our students and teachers. Firstly, Ms Manson joined the AS Grade 11 Economics class with Jennifer Yuan, where the students explained in depth how to develop essay writing and the use of diagrams within AS level. Ms Manson was impressed with their English fluency, their knowledge and ability to explain and apply their Economics learning.

Ms Manson then visited a Psychology class with G10 students and teacher Mark Roberts. Students were considering Learning Theory as an explanation of addition. The group were fully engaged in a discussion about conditioning. Students debated around different types of addiction and why these occurs. They used subject specific terminology well, showing their knowledge and understanding. Through Mark’s guidance, students were able to apply these to theories to practical and real life examples, which supported the students in mastering the knowledge and making it stick.

In a Biology lesson with John Hamhill, Ms Manson saw students engaged in discussions on their research topics, with John using a ‘critical friend’ approach in breakout rooms, allowing students to learn from each other. She also observed one to one sessions where John gave feedback and advice to students.

Following the lesson, Principal May and ESC led Yolanda Zhao  met with Ms Manson to discuss her learning. She was very impressed with the students knowledge and the questioning used by teachers to make students think deeper. She also liked the way sessions were structured and commented on the positive engagement of students in their own learning and their willingness to learn from each other. The schools discussed the possibility of further connections, with the opportunity to join ‘Teach Meets’ used for professional learning of teachers.

However, uniform can be purchased at YC Sports, 5 Penlline Road, Whitchurch, Cardiff CF14 2AA

https://hwb.gov.wales/zones/online-safety/news/articles/42ae160b-7ab4-4510-8792-c70ef861c6d5

In addition to this you may find other online safety links useful on the Gwent Safeguarding website:

·        Children and Young People online safety page

·        Parents and Carers online safety page

Stay safe 

Stay safe 

Due to the volume of calls and emails we are receiving please see additional telephone numbers below for free school meals applications and enquiries.

• 07717803962
• 07701020128
• 07920152568
• 07754746779
• 07789938346
• 07720948033
• 07769718308
• 07770923598
• 07920152579
• 07810200290
• 07754746786

Please note: If you made your request for meals to Bridges into Work after the 31^st March you will not receive any meals until either Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday next week. Full details on our website https://bit.ly/2WUkn6U

As we begin another week of work in these unprecedented times, please see below a suggested daily timetable to support you.

Stay safe,

I understand that this is a difficult time for our learners, whilst we are awaiting specific instructions from qualifications Wales.We will update you once we have any further information. 

Stay safe 

Mr Jarvis 

Click here to visit our safeguarding page.