St William's Catholic Primary School

See our latest newsletter for important information for parents/carers.

Remote Learning on Class Dojo

Schools must provide daily remote learning for all pupils during this school closure time. However, the staff and I are fully aware that this is not at all like the learning experience pupils usually have in their class, with their peers and the adults who teach them. We also understand that this can be a significant pressure on parents/carers, particularly if you have more than one child in different year groups or school phases. Class teachers, here, continue to telephone you and your child weekly about remote learning. If you struggle to access this work in any way or have any questions about this learning, please contact your child’s class teacher and arrange a time when they can show you (when you are able to visit school) or talk you through this on the telephone. Remember you can directly message the teacher via Class Dojo and there is also a translation service to help those parents/carers that may need this.

Feedback to pupils

Completed work must be uploaded on to Portfolio on Class Dojo so the teacher can feedback to the pupil. Please be aware that teachers will offer feedback during the school working hours and any work that is uploaded onto ClassDojo after these hours will be marked on the next working day - it is part of our safety measures to reduce the risk of transmission of covid-19 not to use books/papers. Where there are misunderstandings and errors these will be recorded by the class teacher, and the teacher will plan future work to address these when there is an opportunity for face-to-face teaching. The Dojo points awarded to your child for their effort and work will help you and your child to know how well they are doing. The teachers will be assessing using the learning objectives for each lesson and updating the school assessment tool.

What your day might look like:

Teachers are keeping to their usual timetables and putting the work on for children to complete during the time they would normally have those lessons in school and it is essential that your child completes it in the order that it is put on. They must also complete ALL the work and not just one subject or part of the work. All work is on Class Story and the completed work must be uploaded on to Portfolio of Class Dojo.

Special Educational Needs and Disability:

Children with Educational Health Care Plans will be offered a place in school during school closure, and all pupils with SEND and have an Individual Educational Plan will receive work that is planned by their class teacher specific to their needs.

How can you help?
Your child must complete home learning every day, Monday to Friday. Children need routine, more than ever and regular & fixed bedtimes (they should be getting up, ready for the start of the usual school day; it is not good for them to be staying up late and then sleeping until mid-morning!) during the school week. You must ensure they take some daily exercise (and have time to play outdoors) & keep hydrated as this is essential for their own health and wellbeing. Discuss and set the length of time and when they will access electronic devices for games and please monitor what they are accessing to keep them safe online.

A typical day during remote learning may look like this:

8.30am - get up, have breakfast and get ready to log onto Class Dojo

9am - your first lesson will be posted, take some time to read through what is expected of you and have a go.

9.45am - your English lesson will be online.

10.40am - have a break, get some fresh air, read a book, watch a cartoon, do something that relaxes you.

11am - maths will be available on your class story.

12pm - it's lunchtime, why don't you help an adult make lunch? 

1pm - your afternoon activities will appear on here - remember to take regular breaks, play outside, do some art work.

Expected learning during school closure

It is important to remember the Department of Education has stated that children in EYFS/KS1 complete a minimum of 3 hours of home learning per day and children in KS2 complete a minimum of 4 hours. Your day might look different to this. It is vitally important your child completes all of their home learning to prevent having gaps in their education. The learning provided is what the children will have been doing in the classroom. If you have any issues/queries please contact your child's class teacher on Dojo or telephone the school office.

 The Department of Education recommends that any child not completing their home learning will be offered the opportunity to come into school to complete this.  

Support for families with food during this closure

Parents/carers wanting a food parcel for their child/family can come to school to collect a food bag from the Catholic Care Community Market every Monday after 10.30am. The government announced Wednesday, 13th Jan that FSM Vouchers will be introduced again, from the 18th January. We will need an email address and your permission to share these with Edenred for the purpose of supplying vouchers and you will be able to specify the supermarket of your choice to spend these food vouchers. Fortunately, Mrs Fagan, our School Business Manager, works extremely hard to ensure all parents/carers receive all they are entitled to and she accesses a range of services to support our families. Parents whose circumstances have changed and now wish to apply for free meals should do so online: https://www.bradford.gov.uk/benefits/applying-for-benefits/free-school-meals/ 

Parents guide for Edenred Free School Meal voucher scheme can be downloaded - here

Hunger Funding - school received £1007 on 15 December 2020 and a further £504 on 12 January 2021 - we have allocated £960, to supply £20 shopping vouchers to 48 families who have made us aware they are in need of support to provide food for them. Further vouchers of £15 will be allocated after February half-term.

Catch up Funding - in the autumn term, October, school received £3100 funding, which allowed class teachers to have 4 mornings, working with small groups or individual children targeting specific objectives from the previous years learning and supporting with the current year learning.

As a school we believe this was the most effective use of these funds as class teachers have the relationship and understand our children's specific needs and what needs to happen for their future progress.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions/concerns regarding these matters.

There are links to a range of services and contact details, on the school website, that may be helpful to families at this time. 

Only one adult to come on the playground with their child/children at the start and end of the day. Please wear a face covering to protect all pupils, parents/carers and staff. Thank you for your co-operation TO KEEP EVERYONE SAFE.

Our virtues - LOVE, RESPECT and KINDNESS.

We all need to be aware of these and model them for our children, helping them to make the right choices as they move around our community.