Dear Parents,

Firstly, we hope that you and your families are safe and healthy as you read this letter.

We want you to know that we really appreciate all of the help and support that you continue to provide for your child whilst at home. We know that this can’t be easy and we want to say a huge thank you for all of your efforts.

Hopefully, you found the new home learning packs easier to manage last week as they were able to offer more structure and support. The attached weekly timetable is just a suggestion and you do not have to stick to it. Remember; please structure your child’s week in the way that works best for you and your family. We know that there are already so many pressures on families and we do not want to add anymore – we want to do as much as we can to help you.

As you are aware, each week we will provide a range of suggested activities that the children can work Some of the work set will be revision of facts that have previously been taught and this will enable the children to keep these facts ‘bubbling’. Therefore, you will notice that they can work on these tasks independently. However, there will also be opportunities for new learning to take place too. You may find that during these tasks, the children need some support or clarification when completing them. Please note - if you find your child is struggling with any of the content from Year 6, you can access work from the Year 5 class page that they may be more confident in completing.

We thought it would be a good idea to keep in touch more regularly, so starting this week, I will be phoning each family to see how you all are. It would be great if I could have a short chat with the children too as I am really missing them! Hopefully, I will be able to call each family either Monday or Tuesday. In addition, we are hoping to set up each class with their own email so that we can keep in touch with yourselves and the children throughout their time at home. This will allow us to offer even more support to you.

You should have all received an email about joining Epic! Reading. If you haven’t accepted the request to join, could you please do so? This is a fantastic online resource and I monitor how much the children have read during the week and I can also assign them certain books to read so it is important that they access their account.

We know how busy you all are at the moment but we would be extremely grateful if you could tweet any pictures of your children completing their home learning tasks if you are able to do so. These would be wonderful to see.

Finally, please remember that although it is important that your child continues with their learning whilst at home, their health and well-being (along with your own) is just as important. Therefore, please ensure that you all take time as a family to relax. If your child is struggling with their work one day, please factor in more breaks for them or direct them to some of the mindfulness activities that we have provided. You are all doing an amazing job and we can’t thank you enough.

Take care and stay safe.

I look forward to catching up with you over the phone this week.

Love Mrs McQuiggan  and Mrs Johnson xx