Welcome to St Bridget's C of E Primary School

Free School Meals Update
We are mindful that a lot of people will be experiencing a change in financial circumstances at this difficult time. Support for children who are eligible for Free School Meals continues and we continue to provide and deliver free school meals over the Easter period through to the end of the Spring break.
From Monday 20th April we will issue weekly supermarket vouchers of £15 per week as part of a Government funded scheme and this will apply for all eligible pupils.
You may not have claimed for Free School Meals before, however it is really easy to check your eligibility online. The School will receive the information securely and we can then administer your payments. Please find a link below:
Apply for Free School Meals… it's quick and easy using the online form at:
https://www.cloudforedu.org.uk/ofsm/sims-wirral
Wirral Council Support
Wirral Council have a centralised response team to support with Emergency Food Support for any residents who are struggling at the moment - details are below:
https://www.wirral.gov.uk/health-and-social-care/coronavirus-updates/emergency-food
If you have any questions please contact the school office (9-3.30pm). We are open throughout the Easter break.

Most recent updates for Home Learning from St Bridget's C of E Primary School

22-5-2020

Dear Parents / Carers,

Message from the Chair of Governors

Thank you for your patience and understanding during this confusing and worrying time. Firstly, all of the Governors and I want to express our sincere thanks to Mr Le Feuvre and his staff for the way they have all responded at such a difficult time to ensure the wellbeing of our school community. Every member of staff has gone above and beyond to care for all of our children. The school has remained open every weekday, including Bank Holidays, for the last eight weeks for key workers’ children and vulnerable children. The teachers have worked in online teams to ensure home learning has been set, messages have been answered and phone calls have been made every three weeks to families and children. The teachers have needed to complete updated online training for safeguarding, child protection, GDPR, first aid and paediatric first aid. In addition, they have started to review plans for the end of term and next term. All of this has taken place, whilst at the same time teachers and staff have needed to take care of their own children, families and wellbeing. The Governing Board are incredibly thankful to every member of staff at St Bridget’s school for their ongoing commitment to the school community.

With respect to the reopening of school, at the moment the guidance states that the Government will make a final decision on May 28^th 2020 as to whether schools will be allowed to open from June 1^st2020, however they have passed the responsibility to the Governing Board and the Headteacher to make a decision about when and how this happens. In addition to the overall guidance, the Local Authority here on Wirral have stated that they are not encouraging parents to send their children back to school until it is considered safe to do so and schools will only reopen if they can meet the 5 conditions for safety as set out by the Government on May 10th. Therefore, we wanted to write to update you in regard to the plans developed by the Governing Board and the Headteacher in response to this difficult situation. This plan involves two key developments:

Enhanced provision for online learning

As of June 1st 2020 we will be working to develop the online learning experiences for all children at St Bridget’s. This will include the recording of daily classes that you will be able to access at a time to suit you. These classes will complement the online work that your child is already being set. We will also be increasing our feedback on work to all children to further support their learning. We know that this is an extremely difficult time and learning at home can sometimes be a struggle. These additional online learning experiences should not add pressure or stress to family life – your wellbeing and the wellbeing of your children is paramount - but they will be there if you chose to engage with them. Your child’s teacher will be in touch with more details about how to access these learning resources and, if access to an electronic device is an issue, please let your teacher know at your earliest convenience. We have very much enjoyed speaking with you and your children on the phone over the last few weeks. These calls will continue so that you and your child can talk to us about your experiences of online learning and your child’s wellbeing at this difficult time.

Reopening the School

Each school has been instructed to make the decision on if and when they are ready to reopen in line with Government and Local Authority guidance. Having reviewed the options, and in order to give certainty to parents for the next month, the Governors have agreed a step-by-step phased approach, which will be reviewed each week.

The initial focus will be on increasing capacity for children of key workers returning to work, vulnerable children and children with EHCPs. The further return of children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 will depend on a number of factors; the 5 conditions set out by the Government, appropriate staffing levels, safe classroom and playground layout and safe class sizes. It is only when we can ensure the safety of our children and our staff by creating safe learning environments that we will be able to welcome children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 back safely.

The following table details our planning at this point to ensure the safety of our children and our staff:

Ongoing Risk Assessment
	Half term	w/c 1^st June	w/c 8th June	w/c 15^th June	w/c 22^nd June	w/c 29^th June	w/c 6^th July	w/c 13^th July
Key workers	Emergency childcare in school	Emergency childcare in school	Emergency childcare in school	Emergency childcare in school	Emergency childcare in school	Emergency childcare in school	Emergency childcare in school	Emergency childcare in school
Vulnerable children		Emergency childcare in school	Emergency childcare in school	Emergency childcare in school	Emergency childcare in school	Emergency childcare in school	Emergency childcare in school	Emergency childcare in school
Enhanced online work for all children		Online learning set up and delivery	Online learning	Online learning	Online learning	Online learning	Online learning	Online learning
Year 6				Subject to review	Subject to review	Subject to review	Subject to review	Subject to review
Reception					Subject to review	Subject to review	Subject to review	Subject to review
Year 1						Subject to review	Subject to review	Subject to review
Subject to a thorough review and risk assessment by the governing body in line with the five conditions to be met before a school can reopen - taking into account latest government, local authority and scientific guidance.

Key worker emergency childcare

At the start of lockdown emergency childcare provision was open to children with both parents defined as key workers. We are now able to offer some additional childcare places, if one or both parents are key workers and have no alternative provision for childcare. However, we must stress that the safest place for your child is at home. If you are a key worker family and believe you will need emergency childcare (and haven’t yet registered with us), please email emergencycontact@stbridgets.wirral.sch.uk using the emergency childcare request form (front of school website) and we will be in touch. Once again we will prioritise and provide as much support as we can.

Unfortunately, St. Bridget’s Buddies cannot open at the current time and will be subject to an on-going risk assessment in line with the rest of the school.

The Governors and Headteacher are aware this plan might cause some parents difficulty with childcare, however the health, safety and wellbeing of our whole school community is of paramount importance in the decisions we have to make.

Whilst all the staff want nothing more than to welcome back our whole St. Bridget’s family as soon as possible, it is simply not safe or feasible to welcome all year groups back yet. This is primarily due to a lack of space to maintain social distancing and staffing numbers to meet our thorough risk assessment. We will continue to monitor guidance from Government and the Local Authority and will review our own risk assessments weekly. We will continue to keep you informed on a regular basis.

Yours sincerely,

Neil Le Feuvre Dr Alex Owen

Headteacher Chair of Governors

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