Tinkercad is a free, easy-to-use app for 3D design, electronics and coding.

 

Please remember, all pupils have access to following apps:

 

Times Tables Rockstars and NumBots

Espresso Discovery Learning

Bug Club

 

Pupils in Reception and Year 1 also have access to EducationCity.

 

Coming Soon

 

* Teachers will be updating book allocations and activities on Bug Club later this week.

* We are exploring home access for pupils who attended Lexia and Symphony.

* Whole school Purple Mash access.

 

Should you require support with logins and passwords, please email ITsupport@st-marysprittlewell.southend.sch.uk

 

 

With schools now closed in so many countries, a good way to keep Thinking Moves and P4C going is for parents and carers to do some at home with their children. 

 

Please visit Dialogue Works for more information.

Dear Parents,

 

If you are eligible for FSM you will, or may already have, receive  a text message from a company called WONDE asking which shop you would like to spend your voucher in.

 

After you have made a choice from the list provided, you will receive an email informing you that your vouchers will be with you in due course. (The delay is due to the company having to tally and then purchase the vouchers from the relevant stores.)

 

We will be providing 10 days of vouchers in this first instance. 

The school office is now closed until further notice. However, our lovely office ladies have volunteered to answer calls between 10am and 11am each day.

 

Please only phone during these hours.

For those requiring support or able to help others, please join the community Southend Mutual Aid Facebook Group.

 

Southend Mutual Aid Group

Dear Parent/Carer,

 

There has been some misinterpretation of the government's guidance about schools being open for keyworkers. We need to reinforce to to you all that schools are closed to the masses in order to slow the rate of infection. EVERYONE needs to be practising social distancing. Look at what is happening in Italy - we need to do whatever we can to protect ourselves, our children and our families. We need to take this seriously.

 

The basic premise is this: If you can keep your child at home, then do so.

“I’m a key worker but I’m working from home so I’ll send my child to school.” Regardless of being a key worker - if you are working from home then keep your child at home with you. Your company are protecting you, you need to protect your child. You don’t need the emergency childcare provision.

 

“My partner can’t work from home if the kids are there so I’m sending them to school so he/she can work in peace.” If your partner is at home, then your children should be too. Yes, it will be inconvenient for them, but people are dying. You don’t need the emergency childcare provision.

 

“My child will hate being cooped up in the house. I’m a stay at home parent but my partner is a key worker so I’m going to send the children to school.” Every extra child in school is another person capable of spreading the disease to the children whose parents have no choice but to send them in, and to the staff working. These children and staff will then take the disease home with them. If you are at home, keep your children home, even if it is hard work. You don’t need the emergency childcare provision.

 

You may not feel like this really impacts you because your family are fit and healthy and if you catch it, you may just have mild symptoms no different from a cold. But if your child is in school unnecessarily and spreads it to their teaching assistant who takes it home to their husband who has an underlying health condition and dies - could you live with that?

 

Mr Booth, under instruction from the Local Authority, will review our numbers tomorrow and decisions may have to be made about who continues to receive a place in our emergency provision. We may be told that we are not able to go above 70 children and the keyworker criteria may have to be reviewed.

 

These are unimaginable times. We all have a responsibility to do our bit, so please consider whether your child really NEEDS to be in school. Just because you can, does not mean you have to send them in.

 

Thank you for your support and understanding.

⚠️Important Information⚠️
The government have stated that they wish schools to have attendance figures of around 10% the usual number in order to effectively enable social-distancing and reduce the possible spread of the coronavirus. This is to reduce the risk to children, staff and family members.

 

Due to the nature of parental employment within our school community and the size of our grounds at Boston Avenue, Mr Booth has increased this percentage so that 100 children can attend each day - this is 30 more than expectation.

At the moment, we have nearly 100 children just from those who have completed the survey. This means that we may not be able to support some of our most vulnerable children during this time.

 

Therefore, places will be prioritised to:

✴ children with BOTH parents in keyworker employment and who do not have another adult who is able to care for them at home.

✴ children of single parents in keyworker employment who cannot source home childcare.

If there is an opportunity for your child to be cared for at home, this really is the best option.

Tonight's announcement is stressing the importance of social distancing in order to stop the velocity of the disease spreading.

 

Please follow guidance that being at home is the safest option for both your children and your family in order to minimise risk.

COVID-19 KEY WORKERS LIST

(WWW.GOV.UK)

 

Parents whose work is critical to the COVID-19 response include those who work in health and social care and in other key sectors outlined below. Many parents working in these sectors may be able to ensure their child is kept at home. And every child who can be safely cared for at home should be.

 

Please, therefore, follow these key principles:

1. If it is at all possible for children to be at home, then they should be.

2. If a child needs specialist support, is vulnerable or has a parent who is a critical worker, then educational provision will be available for them.

3. Parents should not rely for childcare upon those who are advised to be in the stringent social distancing category such as grandparents, friends, or family members with underlying conditions.

4. Parents should also do everything they can to ensure children are not mixing socially in a way which can continue to spread the virus. They should observe the same social distancing principles as adults.

5. Residential special schools, boarding schools and special settings continue to care for children wherever possible.

 

If your work is critical to the COVID-19 response, or you work in one of the critical sectors listed below, and you cannot keep your child safe at home then your children will be prioritised for education provision:

 

Health and social care

This includes but is not limited to:

· doctors,

· nurses,

· midwives,

· paramedics,

· social workers,

· care workers,

· other frontline health and social care staff including volunteers;

· the support and specialist staff required to maintain the UK’s health and social care sector;

· those working as part of the health and social care supply chain,

· producers and distributers of medicines and medical and personal protective equipment.

 

Education and childcare

· nursery staff

· teaching staff,

· social workers

· specialist education professionals who must remain active during the COVID-19 response to deliver this approach.

 

Key public services

· those essential to the running of the justice system,

· religious staff,

· charities and workers delivering key frontline services,

· those responsible for the management of the deceased,

· journalists and broadcasters providing public service broadcasting.

 

Local and national government

This only includes those administrative occupations essential to the effective delivery of the COVID-19 response or delivering essential public services such as the payment of benefits, including in government agencies and arms length bodies.

 

Food and other necessary goods

· those involved in food production,

· processing,

· distribution,

· sale and delivery

· those essential to the provision of other key goods (for example hygienic and veterinary medicines).

 

Public safety and national security

· police and support staff,

· Ministry of Defence civilians,

· contractor and armed forces personnel (those critical to the delivery of key defence and national security outputs and essential to the response to the COVID-19 pandemic),

· fire and rescue service employees (including support staff),

· National Crime Agency staff, those maintaining border security,

· prison and probation staff

· other national security roles, including those overseas.

 

Transport

· those who will keep the air, water, road and rail passenger and freight transport modes operating during the COVID-19 response,

· those working on transport systems through which supply chains pass.

 

Utilities, communication and financial services

· staff needed for essential financial services provision (including but not limited to workers in banks, building societies and financial market infrastructure),

· the oil, gas, electricity and water sectors (including sewerage),

· information technology and data infrastructure sector and primary industry supplies to continue during the COVID-19 response,

· key staff working in the civil nuclear, chemicals,

· telecommunications (including but not limited to network operations, field engineering, call centre staff, IT and data infrastructure, 999 and 111 critical services),

· postal services

· delivery,

· payments providers

· waste disposal sectors.

 

If workers think they fall within the critical categories above they should confirm with their employer that, based on their business continuity arrangements, their specific role is necessary for the continuation of this essential public service.

*This post was delayed on the school website and ParentMail due to technical difficulties*

 

Dear Parents/Carers,

 

I am sure many of you are aware of the announcement made by the Prime Minister that schools across the nation will be closing on Monday in order to tackle the spread of the coronavirus.  I am currently working with other staff to determine our approach and strategy to supporting the children of key and essential workers, those children with EHCPs as well as those families who are currently receiving support from social workers. I meet with my team again tomorrow to review what I hope will be clarity from the government about what classifies as a key or essential worker.

 

To help in the preparations I will be most grateful if you could complete the survey (link below) that will inform the decisions made for the next foreseeable future.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/DZJZZSG

 

Please complete the survey by midday tomorrow

 

Thank you for your support during this increasingly difficult time for our community and the nation.

 

Kind Regards,

Mr Booth
Headteacher

Dear Parents/Carers,

 

Please be assured that we are planning our response to the Government announcements. As soon as we have information available to parents, we will be communicating it through the normal channels including Facebook, ParentMail and on our school website.

 

In the meantime, please do not contact the school with general queries. All our staff will be tied up in planning our response and in making sure that the children are happy, safe and calm during their remaining time in school.

 

We will therefore only have the capacity to respond to emergencies at the present time. Resources to support learning from home will be updated shortly.

 

Thanks again for your support.

Mr. Booth