Latest News

Letter to Parents from Mrs McBeth 29.1.21

Fri 29 Jan 2021

Friday 29^th January 2021

Dear Parents/Carers,

Well here we are now at the end of our third week of Remote Learning. We were very pleased to hear the Government’s announcement this week, about the possible full reopening of school from March 8^th although we obviously wish it were earlier, it does at least give us a date to work towards.

This Friday is our first Feel Good Friday. I hope both you and the children enjoy the range of activities and it eases the pressure of home learning even just a little. As I have said on previous occasions, we fully understand the pressures families are under at the moment and as always our aim is to support you in the best way we can. The staff continue to be absolutely thrilled with the work which the children are completing and again thank you so much for your hard work and support.

Next week is Children’s Mental Health Week the theme is Express Yourself! More than ever at the moment looking after our children’s mental health is so important, therefore, next week’s afternoon activities will all be planned around supporting good mental health both at home and at school.

As school will be closed to all pupils during Feb half term all children who are eligible for benefits related Free School Meals will receive a voucher from school. Please note this includes children who are both attending school and accessing home learning. The voucher will be issued in the same way in which you received your voucher for the Christmas Holidays, i.e. a paper voucher and not an email from EDENRED. This is due to the fact that holiday vouchers are funded by the council not the Government.

Also regarding payments for daily milk if your child is currently attending school, and you pay for school milk simply pay for it in the usual manner. Could you please ensure all payments are made by Monday 22^nd February 2021.

Finally, as reading and listening to stories is a huge part of school life (and my personal favourite time of the day) from Monday to Thursday for the next few weeks there will be a 10 minute clip of myself reading a David Williams story uploaded onto the website each day. I hope the children will watch and enjoy. Also we would love to see video clips of the children reading their favourite stories out loud, just send them to school in the usual manner.

As always have a good weekend, take care and remember do not hesitate to get in touch if there is anything in which we can support you.

Mrs McBeth

Letter to Parents from Mrs McBeth 22.1.21

Fri 22 Jan 2021

Friday 22^nd January 2021

Dear Parents/Carers,

Well as another week draws to a close, I would like to thank you again for all of your support this week. The teachers continue to be thrilled and impressed with the quality of the work they are receiving.

Next week there will be a slight change, as we are introducing Feel Good Friday! Friday’s learning will now consist of a grid containing a variety of non screen activities, that the children can complete independently or with a member of the family eg build the tallest tower, draw a picture for someone, or even have a disco and dance to your favourite song! Each week the children can simply cross out the activities which they have competed and keep going until the grid is completely full of crosses. We are very aware of how hard yourselves and the children are working, so we hope this will not only ease the pressure a little, but most of all provide opportunities for a little fun! It also provides an opportunity if the children would rather to simply use the time to finish off activities from earlier in the week. We would love to see some photographs of you and the children simply having fun! Send your photographs in the usual manner to either Dojo or to the Distance Learning email and we will share them on our website.

Other news, Free School Meal Vouchers were issued this week. This process seems to have gone without a hitch, but if you do have any issues please get in touch.

Please remember the vouchers were only issued to those parents whose children are not attending school.

You may also have heard this week that primary schools have had a delivery of staff testing kits from the Government. The purpose of the kits are to identify adults who may be asymptomatic with Corona Virus symptoms. A positive result will mean a person has to isolate even if they are not displaying any symptoms. In our fight to control the virus and keep our community safe this is obviously an extremely important move forward. It is however inevitable this may lead to bubble closures. We are obviously hoping this is not the case, but we must be realistic and acknowledge this is a possibility.

As always thank you again, and I would just like to finish by congratulating Super Mums Cheryl Hudson and Rebecca Robinson for being nominated as South Shields Gazette’s Health Care Heroes. This is a truly deserved recognition of all of your hard work during this difficult time. Also a big shout out to Sam Proud and his Dad who just before Christmas took part in a fundraising event to raise money to support families. They raised over £600. Watch Sam at work in the Latest News Section of the website. A big Well Done from everyone at Jarrow Cross.

Have a good weekend everyone and take care,

Mrs McBeth

Watch Sam in his amazing Charity work for Feeding Families!

Fri 22 Jan 2021

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvg_zahQgto

Letter to Parents from Mrs Mcbeth 15.1.21

Fri 15 Jan 2021

Friday 15^th January 2021

Dear Parents/Carers,

I hope you are well and have survived the first week of home learning. A big thank you for the work which you have sent through this week, the staff have been truly impressed by both the quantity and quality of the work which they have received. It goes without saying that there have been technical hitches, thank you for your patience and support when problems have occurred. As I said last week we fully appreciate the pressures home learning can place upon a family, especially for those of you who are also continuing to work from home. Please remember all anyone can do is their best in this difficult situation, we realise every family’s circumstances is different. Remember the aim is for purely at least one piece of work per day to be returned.

The staff have asked me to thank you so much for your kind words on Dojo and over the telephone this week. Your messages have certainly lifted their spirits.

We did receive more information this week about the Free School Meal Voucher system. The vouchers will be issued through Edenred via your email as in the Summer Term. We have not yet received an issue date, but could you please ensure if you are eligible that the office has an up to date email address for yourself. Please note that vouchers can only be issued for children who are not attending school and are eligible for Benefits Related Free School Meals.

The Department for Education (Government) have also introduced an offer to increase mobile data allowances for children and young people to allow them to access the internet to complete their remote learning. This scheme is open to children and young people who:

don’t have access to a fixed broadband connection
cannot afford the additional data needed to access educational resources or social care services
have access to a mobile device that uses a participating network
are facing disruption to their face-to-face education, or have been advised not to attend school
Account holders with monthly contracts need to be over the age of 18.

Further details and a link to apply is available in the Latest News section of our website.

On this note just a little reminder regarding internet safety. At this point in time it is to be expected that children will be using electronic devices to communicate, and clearly due to the circumstances probably much more so than usual. It is however of great importance that messages and all forms of communication over the Internet are monitored. As a school we place much emphasis upon Internet Safety, however these important messages can sometimes be forgotten when a child is in the safety of their own home. For more support with this go to E- Safety in the Parents section of the website. This area is filled with hints and tips regarding online safety at home.

Finally, don’t forget to watch our Weekly Celebration Assembly which is available in the Distance Learning Section of the website, to find out who has won Class Award of the Week both at home and at school. Well Done to all of last week’s winners!

Finally, can I as always thank you for your ongoing support. I have phoned and spoken to many families this week and your messages of good will are indeed humbling.

Take care,

Mrs McBeth

Information from Department of Education regarding mobile data offer

Thu 14 Jan 2021

Mobile Data Offer

The Department for Education (Government) have introduced an offer to increase mobile data allowances for children and young people to allow them to access the internet to complete their remote learning.

Who can get help?

This scheme is open to children and young people who:

don’t have access to a fixed broadband connection
cannot afford the additional data needed to access educational resources or social care services
have access to a mobile device that uses a participating network
are facing disruption to their face-to-face education, or have been advised not to attend school
Account holders with monthly contracts need to be over the age of 18.

What information will we need to collect?

To request extra mobile data, we will need the following information to forward to the DfE:

the account holder’s name
mobile number (a number beginning with ‘07’)
mobile network
whether you pay monthly or pay as you go

How do I apply?

If you are eligible to apply simply complete this form with your account details.

Application form.

South Tyneside LA will only collate this information in order to send to the DfE and will delete the information by 31st July 2021. The DfE are the data handler. The DfE will then pass on your details to the appropriate service provider.

The mobile network operator will use that information to increase the data available for the account holder’s mobile device, as long as you qualify for the offer. If you do not agree to your data being held by the DfE please do not complete the form.

More information about the DfE Privacy Policy

Then what happens?

You will be contacted by the service provider within the time stated to confirm that your data allowance has been updated. Please do not contact the school or the LA with queries on this scheme, get in touch with your provider directly if you have any questions.

Which networks are taking part in the scheme?

EE, Sky Mobile, Smarty, Tesco Mobile, Three, Virgin Mobile and O2.

Check out what each provider is offering here.

How to keep children healthy, happy learning and entertained at home

Tue 12 Jan 2021

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Here is your free e-copy of Family First magazine, packed full of information to help keep children happy, learning & entertained at home during lockdown- We hope it helps in some way.

Please click on the link below:

https://issuu.com/sevenstarmedia/docs/ff_issue_7_digital211220

Like & follow us on Facebook

Stay safe,
The Family First Team

Letter to Parents of Key Worker children 10.1.21

Sun 10 Jan 2021

January 10^th

Dear Parents/Carers,

I am writing to inform you of an update the Department for Education have made over the last 24 hours to their Guidance regarding keyworkers.

Now we have our first very challenging week of the Spring Term over we are hoping to settle into our new routine of offering, as you are aware, in school provision for our vulnerable pupils and those from our key worker families whilst providing online remote learning to all our pupils at home.

What is clear from this week, however, is that the number of pupils eligible to attend school under the critical worker provision is much higher than during the first lockdown. We therefore need to ensure we can accommodate those most in need whilst recognising that we must continue to do everything we can to keep staff and pupils as safe as possible in school in light of recent Coronavirus developments. The extremely rapid rate of transmission of the virus at the moment means that we must do everything we can to protect our school community: pupils, parents and staff alike.

I must inform you that the new updated guidance from the Department for Education whist reiterating that children with at least one parent or carer who is a critical worker can attend school if required is that, parents and carers who are critical workers should keep their children at home if they can.

For our part, we must stress that as places in school for critical worker children are now at their maximum that you only take up a place if absolutely necessary. As a community we must ensure that there is space for our healthcare workers’ children and other vital roles that are actively helping to fight the pandemic. Many of our critical workers, particularly hospital and frontline medical staff, will be working additional hours and covering multiple shifts and we want to ensure we prioritise those with the most urgent need.

Accordingly, we are now asking you to review your need and consider only sending your child to school if it is absolutely necessary in order for you to carry out a critical worker role. We may need to ask parents/carers to provide further individual evidence of their critical worker status using published guidance. Parents should discuss any continuing difficulties with their own employer’s HR department.

It is our absolute desire to accommodate and support parents needs as far as possible whilst keeping children and staff in school safe, but just like other schools we are balancing very difficult priorities. While we have carried out all the relevant risk assessments and put the relevant procedures in place to keep children safe, clearly there can be little argument, that reducing the amount of children in school would reduce the risk of spreading infection.

Please take some time to review your own situation by considering your child’s attendance at school. Please send any updates as soon as possible to the school email account info@jarrowcross-pri.s-tyneside.sch.uk or ring school on 01914898354. On this occasion please do not use Class Dojo, as it is important all notifications regarding attendance go through the school office.

Thank you in advance for your support with this very difficult matter, I am sure you will all agree and appreciate that the act of supporting yourselves, which is always a priority, and keeping our school community safe is indeed a very fine balancing act at this current time.

Mrs McBeth

Head Teacher

South Tyneside Libraries

Fri 08 Jan 2021

South Tyneside Libraries are continuing to operate during the national lockdown.

To support children with their reading they can access books either by the online library services or by the order and collect service operating from The Word in South Shields and from Jarrow Focus only. For further information click on the link https://www.southtyneside.gov.uk/article/69952/Limited-services-at-The-Word-and-Jarrow-Focus-libraries

Letter to Parents from Mrs McBeth 8.1.2021

Fri 08 Jan 2021

Friday 8^th January 2021

Dear Parents/Carers,

I hope you are all well and have managed to adapt to this week’s very quickly changing situation. The fact that we now find ourselves in the same situation as Spring time last year is indeed extremely sad and makes for an anxious time for everyone.

Can I just say a big thank you to for all of the wonderful work you have submitted on behalf of the children this week. The way in which you have adapted and supported with home learning is absolute testament to the value you place on your child’s education. Obviously, as with all things our home learning has moved on since March and the staff are trying very hard to make lessons even more interactive and engaging. As expected there has been teething problems, no more so than with staff recording themselves and discarding many takes! And then obviously from your point of view with log ins and returning work. This is only to be expected given the short notice we were all given on Monday night. As I stated in my previous letter Home Learning is now statutory and the expectation is for schools to set lessons for at least three hours per day. Very importantly, however, this does not mean that we expect adults to be sitting with children for three hours each day, the majority of the work set can be accessed independently by your child, all we ask is you support your child when needed and by daily returning at least one piece of work to school by DOJO or email for feedback. Please do not stress if you explain something incorrectly, it will certainly not affect them for ever! All any family can do is their best for their particular situation. We need the children back with us with well parents, when we get out of this situation. When we are all back together again physically, we will work with your children to catch them up. We are very aware that parents are not teachers and also that many of you will also be continuing to work from home yourselves. Rest assured the teachers will be making regular phone calls to offer any support that is needed. Please do not let them simply play X Box etc for six weeks as this will undoubtedly have a negative impact on their return to school. It may be helpful to remind the children at home that those children at school are completing lessons around the same themes and objectives as it is important that all of the children gain the same understanding for their return to school. It is important that the children at school are reminded that children at home are doing the same as them too.

Also, I have added our whole school assemblies to our website. It is very important that we stay together as a school community, therefore each assembly delivered at school will be recorded for children at home to access. This includes Celebration Assembly each Friday which will include awards for children both at school and at home. The assemblies can be found by going to the Parents Section of the website and then selecting Distance Learning, you will then see the Assembly icon. There will also be a topical assembly placed in this section each week from Picture News which is a video clip for the children to watch and discuss. This week’s assembly discusses “Should everyone be allowed pets?”

A suggestion for a typical day’s timetable (depending upon the age of child) could be:

9 am Literacy Activity

10am Watch assembly or BBC programme (the BBC have available from Monday three hours of programmes for primary aged children)

10.30 Break

11am Numeracy Activities

12 noon Lunch

1pm Topic/Science

The day’s activities could also be broken up by PE activities, either those set by school or others available such as Joe Wick’s.

Moving on to other information, we have been notified that the school’s meal voucher scheme for children in receipt of Free School Meals who are not attending school will again be implemented. We do not as yet have a starting date but will keep you informed. Until the scheme begins packed lunches will be available to be collected from school. If you require a packed lunch, please inform the office ASAP.

Can I just finish as always by thanking you for your support. As I stated earlier this week I could not and did not want to ever envisage school closing for the majority of pupils again. However, unfortunately we find ourselves here. I know as last time we will support each other through this very difficult period. Please take care of each other and remember we are here to support not just the children but the whole family.

Mrs McBeth

Head Teacher

Latest information regarding School opening and remote learning.

Tue 05 Jan 2021

Tuesday 5^th January 2021

Dear Parents/Carers,

As promised I am writing to you to give you further information for children both who will be attending school and those completing remote learning at home.

For children attending school from tomorrow:

Breakfast Club will run as normal
the usual staggered opening and closing times will apply
children must wear school uniform
children must attend school each day
PE will continue as normal
arrangements for school lunch will be as normal

Remote Learning for children in Reception and KS1 will be delivered through Class Dojo and for KS2 through the website. At the start of each week, but obviously in the case of this week tomorrow, an overview of the weekly activities will be uploaded onto the appropriate platform by 9am and then activities added each day. Remote Learning on the website will be found in the Distance Learning section accessed through the Parents Section of the school website. It must be noted that Remote Learning is now statutory and therefore all children must take part in home learning activities. DFE have stated that 3 hours of school work must be set for each day. The expectation is that completed work will be uploaded daily onto Dojo for Reception and Years 1 and 2 and to our Distance Learning email distancelearning@jarrowcross-pri.s-tyneside.sch.uk for children in KS2.

Work that is submitted during the school day will be marked and responded to during normal school hours. Phone calls will also be made by teachers throughout the week. Tomorrow all children who are remaining at home will be supplied with an exercise book and stationary. Watch out for the home delivery!

Obviously I will be in touch with more information and soon as it is available.

Any questions please do not hesitate to get in touch. As always please take care.

Mrs McBeth

Head Teacher

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