Follow link:

 

https://youtu.be/jdgy65cLCUQ

Dear parent / carer,

 

Please note the following:

 

• We have had several cases of Covid in the school recently in both staff and pupils.  I am not sending out Track and Trace advice any more, but I thought that it would be useful to let you know that Covid is still circulating in the community and we have noticed an upswing in the last few days, particularly in Year 5 and 2.  Please check for the symptoms!  We have also had several cases of Chicken Pox – clearly this is a an issue for those who are pregnant, so take extra care.
• The governors are meeting with staff on Wed 25^th May to discuss the school improvement plan for 2022 / 2023 – the draft priorities are principally around catching up academically (particularly with reading), the new curriculum, additional needs reform and the use of the outdoors for learning.  However, we are meeting to set the priorities in line with both national and local needs and would, as ever, happily feed your observations and ideas into the debate.  Please fill in the following form to help us evaluate our performance and offer your suggestions:

 

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSci4NGozAHW2EBQ9f8AH3RgODV0hEj3GlhaZah_dbLUY4EN_A/viewform?usp=sf_link

 

Many thanks.

 

All the best,

 

Simon Bates

 

Dear parent / carer,

 

Please note the following:

 

• Next week is ‘Mental Health Awareness Week’ ( https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/campaigns/mental-health-awareness-week ) and we will be doing some activities / sessions in school to support this.  On Friday (13^th May), we would like the children to wear green to help raise awareness of issues relating to this.

 

 

 

• We will be celebrating the Queen’s Jubilee in school on Thursday 9^th June (the actual date is during half term).  We will have a special menu for this day (attached – royal

pizza / chicken nuggets / sausages!!) and we will be running various fun activities during the day.  The children, if they choose to, can come in something patriotic looking (Union Jack shorts etc!?) or you may want to opt for a 1950s look to echo when the Queen first took the reigns – your call!  

• Parent consultations – parents / carers of junior children  to go straight up the main path and those of the infants to enter via the Nursery gate and then either into the Year 1 building or across the playground and into the rear entrance.  We will have signs up!
• Class photos will be on the previous day, Wed 8^th June.  We are trying a different photographer (Tempest) – feedback welcome.
• Sports Days – we will be running these in the coming weeks but staff do not feel quite ready to open this up to parents as yet as we haven’t had long to prepare and some of the children are not yet ready for mass participation events – we will open up assemblies first (after half-term) and then take it from there.
• Pupil absence – please contact the office (01633 624114 or Katherine.rowlands@torfaen.gov.uk or kirsty.hughes@torfaen.gov.uk  ) if you child is going to be absent or they are leaving school during the day for any reason – Dojo messages do not always get through and we need an up to date record of who is not in, and why – many thanks.  Holiday requests to me on the email address below.

 

Enjoy the weekend!

 

SB

Simon Bates

 

Head Teacher, Croesyceiliog Primary School (simon.bates@torfaen.gov.uk 01633 624114)

www.croesyceiliogprimary.co.uk

 

 

Dear parent / carer,

 

Just a quick message before Easter looking forward to the Summer term.  I hope that this isn’t too early to say but, whilst the Covid case rates are still high (we’ve had over 140 confirmed cases in the children since September), I get a sense that the world is moving on from the worst of the pandemic.  As Summer approaches and the windows are naturally opened and life moves increasingly outside, the spread of the bugs should decrease.  This, along with the fact that pretty much all the staff here have had Covid at least once (many twice, and, quite a few, 3 times!), means that we have taken the decision to return to some kind of normality after Easter.  As such, we will be running in person parent consultations (telephone will be an alternative for you) in the weeks beginning 9th and 16th May and, all being well (and should guidance allow), we will be running full on Sports Days, trips and assemblies etc.

 

The past two years have been a massive challenge for us in terms of staffing and managing a mix of lockdown and in house control measures.  I have to say that the support of the parent / carer group over this period has been exceptional – I have never had so many positive and grateful communications from you and this has helped massively, as it has been a real struggle on occasions to keep the school open.

 

Fingers crossed that Summer pans out the way we all want it to and that normal service is resumed.

 

All the very best.  Have a great Easter break.

 

Simon Bates

 

Upcoming dates

Summer Term 2022

 

April

25^th           Teacher Training Day #5

26^th           Children return to school

 

May         

Mon 2^nd   May Bank Holiday

WB 9^th      Parent consultations

WB 16^th    Parent consultations

TBA           Class Photographs

Tue 24^th   1.30 Foundation Phase (R,1,2) Sports Day

Wed 25^th 1.30 KS2 (3,4,5,6) Sports Day

27^th           Break up for half term

                 

June

6^th             Children return to school       

Fri 10^th  Teacher Training Day #6

Fri 24^th     (School closure in lieu of bank holiday 3^rd June for Queen’s Platinum Jubilee)

July          

6^th             ‘Move up’ day

8^th             School reports sent out          

22^nd          Break up for Summer

 

 

Simon Bates

 

Head Teacher, Croesyceiliog Primary School (simon.bates@torfaen.gov.uk 01633 624114)

www.croesyceiliogprimary.co.uk

 

 

Dear parent / carer,

 

Please see the communication below from Torfaen Catering, which is self-explanatory:

 

 

Welsh Government has recently announced the ‘Universal Primary Free School Meals’ programme, which will support educational attainment and child nutrition, alongside local food production and distribution, benefiting local economies.

 

From September 2022 the rollout of this programme will commence, starting within the infant year groups initially before moving onto Junior pupils. Although all the dates are not yet known we are already reviewing our service to ensure we are prepared to provide the best possible service to your child/ren.

 

To assist us in this preparation we would be grateful if you could complete this short survey.

 

https://forms.gle/1sX4KbecbtQ5TsDk8 - English

 

https://forms.gle/tTsziUM9puivSqmg8 - Welsh

 

Many Thanks,

 

The Torfaen Schools Catering Team

Dear parent / carer,

 

Please note the following:

 

• We have had a surge in Covid cases just recently and this has had an impact on our staffing.  As it stands, we are managing with the remaining staff, but don’t be surprised if your child is taught by somebody else in the coming days – I fear that things may become worse in the run up to Easter.  Please stay vigilant – isolation periods remain the same in schools.
• On a similar theme, please find attached a letter from the Office of the Chief Medical Officer regarding Covid-19 vaccination for children aged 5-11. This letter provides further information about how the vaccination for these age groups will be rolled out as well as links to sources of trusted information to help you and your children make an informed decision on vaccination.
• Chicken Pox – just to add to the mix, we have chicken pox circulating in the school – just a couple of cases, but I wanted to make you aware due to the implications for those of you who may be pregnant.
• I will write shortly with details of parents evenings which we will run (in person) after Easter.

 

Upcoming dates:

 

April

8^th              Break up for Easter

                 

Summer Term 2022

 

April

25^th           Teacher Training Day #5

26^th           Children return to school

 

May         

Mon 2^nd   May Bank Holiday

TBA           Class Photographs

Tue 24^th   1.30 Foundation Phase (R,1,2) Sports Day

Wed 25^th 1.30 KS2 (3,4,5,6) Sports Day

27^th           Break up for half term

                 

June

6^th             Children return to school       

Fri 10^th     Teacher Training Day #6

Fri 24^th     (School closure in lieu of bank holiday 3^rd June for Queen’s Platinum Jubilee)

July          

6^th             ‘Move up’ day

8^th             School reports sent out          

22^nd          Break up for Summer

 

All the very best,

 

SB

Simon Bates

 

 

10/03/2022

 

Dear Parent/Carer,

 

As part of the Welsh Government’s new Curriculum for Wales initiative linked to ‘Successful Futures’, there is now a requirement for maintained schools to deliver relationships and sexuality education (RSE) lessons to the children across the whole school. The purpose of this letter is to provide you with further information regarding this.

 

The statutory guidance relating to relationships and sexuality has been recently finalised and can be found here:

 

https://hwb.gov.wales/curriculum-for-wales/designing-your-curriculum/cross-cutting-themes-for-designing-your-curriculum/#relationships-and-sexuality-education

 

The mandatory elements of this guidance (Relationships and Sexuality Education Code) sit within the above but, for ease of access, can be found here:

 

curriculum-for-wales-relationships-sexuality-education-code.pdf (gov.wales)

 

As the guidance and code are both statutory, you do not have the right to withdraw your child from these elements of the curriculum.  However, clearly, we want to make sure that you are aware of what we are teaching / discussing in order that you have an understanding of what your child is covering and may talk to you about.  This approach helps massively with safeguarding the children, for example in talking about appropriate / inappropriate touch, but also means that children receive an informed and unbiased understanding of a range of sensitive issues rather than picking up often misguided ideas from friends or off the internet.

 

To help us to develop our approach, we have decided to use a scheme designed specifically to address issues in a structured and age-appropriate way.  The scheme is called ‘Jigsaw’ and you can find more detail about it in the attached document and here:

 

Jigsaw-Curriculum-for-Wales.pdf (jigsawpshe.com)

 

Hopefully this helps to clarify how we aim to deliver this important aspect of the New Curriculum for Wales. The planning for this element of the curriculum will be shared with you in the normal way on the topic planners. If you have any questions or would like to discuss this further, please feel to contact me.

 

Regards,

 

 

Simon Bates

 

Dear parent / carer,

 

Please note the following:

 

• Parent consultations were due next week but we have decided to push these back – we are hoping that in a month or so we may be able to meet you in person, and we feel the benefits of this outweigh the delay.  If this proves to be impossible we will, of course, rearrange virtual / phone consultations.
• Class Dojo – please do not use this as a way of communicating your child’s absence as these accounts are not always monitored or managed, for example if the member of staff is off sick.  Please contact the school office either by phone (01633 624114) or email (katherine.rowlands@torfaen.gov.uk or kirsty.hughes@torfaen.gov.uk) with this information.
• The menu for the first day back (Tue 1^st March) has been altered to mark St David’s Day.  It is pork and leek sausage served with Welsh rarebit, mash and vegetables followed by a Welsh Cake! (not as advertised).
• Due to the high numbers of Covid cases in school, we are going to suspend choir until after half term.  We will keep you posted (no choir tomorrow or a week tomorrow).
• The closing date for votes for the parent governor election is midday this coming Friday 11^th Feb – please return ballots to the school office.
• We have updated the school website (address below) – I haven’t had chance to add all the content as yet but I am chipping away at this in my spare moments!  However, most of the basic information is on there such as the dates for the year, lunch menus etc.

 

We’ve had a bad run of Covid with staff and pupils since Christmas (nearly 80 pupils and several staff) but only 1 case today – let’s hope we are past the worst of it.  Thanks for your support with testing, isolating etc.

04/02/2022

 

Dear parent / carer,

 

I am writing to let you know that Miss DiNunzio is now off work for health reasons and won’t be returning until after Easter.  In the meantime, the class will be covered by agency staff and, at the moment, we have secured the services of Ms Henry as their long term teacher.  Mrs Roynon will remain in the class and help to provide consistency going forward.

 

I am sure that you would join with me in wishing Miss DiNunzio a speedy recovery.  Please feel free to contact me if you would like to discuss this further.

 

Regards,

 

Simon Bates

      

 

 

05/01/2022

 

Dear parent / carer,

 

I hope that you had a good Christmas break – happy New Year!

 

Regards the return to school arrangements, please note the following:

 

• Drop off and pick up arrangements will remain the same as before Christmas.  Likewise, Breakfast Club and After School childcare will resume tomorrow (Thursday) as normal.
• Isolation rules have changed:
  • If a child is symptomatic, isolate and get a PCR (under 5s isolate, no requirement for PCR).  Isolate for 7 days minimum and only return after a negative LFT on days 6 and 7 – otherwise, isolate for 10 days.
  • If your child is a close contact of a positive case, they should take a daily LFT for 7 days and, assuming it is negative, they are clear to come to school.
  • Detailed isolation rules can be found here: Self-isolation | GOV.WALES
• Regards the symptoms, it appears that the new ‘Omicron’ variant can be similar (cough, high temperature, loss of taste and smell) but may also present as more like a common cold (runny nose, sore throat, nausea etc) – please be extra vigilant and careful as it spreads more readily than previous variants and, if unsure, isolate and take a test.
• We may be forced to close classes or year groups at short notice if the numbers of staff and / or pupils infected becomes unmanageable – we will try to keep you well informed and give you as much notice as possible.  Should this happen, we will look to reinstate home learning for these classes and try to maintain care for blue light workers and other critical staff.

Let’s hope that this latest variant is short lived and that 2022 sees a return to 2019 levels of normality!

 

I look forward to seeing you all tomorrow (Thur 6^th).

 

All the best,

 

Simon Bates