Newsletter 2020-2021
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Brackenfield SEND School Newsletter 2020-2021 ➢ Message from the Headteacher ➢ Important Dates ➢ School News ➢ School Community update ➢ External events and projects At Brackenfield we build: Brackenfield SEND School Newsletter 2020-2021 Dear parents/carers and families, After the most bizarre few months of my career and most of our lives it has been wonderful welcoming so many of the children back to school. It has also been so brilliant meeting our new starter pupils and families who are joining us in September and seeing current pupils who have been in for visits. The staff and I are looking forward to all the children coming back on 3rd September after the summer break. This newsletter contains some activities to support you over the holiday period. We will be having a real focus on school uniform in the Autumn term so please familiarise yourself with the school uniform requirements and if you have any questions please contact us on the parents@ email address. Thank you for your responses to our consultation about the school day, we have also consulted staff and governors and as a result are changing the school day to enable staff to stay with the children over lunchtimes. The new school times from September 3rd are: 9.00am-14.30pm. Transport have been informed and will inform the taxi operators. COVID-19 Guidelines for September: In September, we will be following Government guidelines to ensure all pupils and staff are safe. These are likely to change before September, so we will send an update closer to the return to school. Please be aware of the following: • Pupil bubbles will be pathway based. The Communicate bubble is Acorns, Elm, Willow and Maple. The Comprehend bubble is Rowan, Sycamore, Beech and Conkers. The Decode bubble is Hazel, Ash, Oak and Poplar. • We will continue to facilitate regular handwashing throughout the school day. We also request you do not send in any unnecessary items for pupils. • Please do not send any soft or fluffy items into school with your child. School Dinner Prices: From September, school dinners are going up slightly and will be: Primary paid Meal: £2.20 Secondary paid Meal: £2.50 I wish you all a restful break over the summer. Please do continue to send in photos of the children’s activities and adventures so we are able to talk to them about these in September. Trish Turner Headteacher Wed 2nd Sept Thurs 3rd Sept Fri 23nd Oct Mon 5th Nov INSET day First day back for INSET day Return to school Closed to pupils pupils Closed to pupils for pupils At Brackenfield we build: www Brackenfield SEND School Newsletter 2020-2021 We are pleased to announce we have a new website. There is lots of content for you to access and the site works best on smartphones. We are keen to know what you think. Please send your feedback to [email protected] www.brackenfield.derbyshire.sch.uk Click here for the school Click here for the training hub website website This is the home page At Brackenfield we build: Brackenfield SEND School Newsletter 2020-2021 Brackenfield School’s new PTA are looking for more people to join us in some key roles to help fundraise for new equipment and opportunities for the school: Treasurer– This vital role involves a few meetings a year, keeping financial records and bank accounts, collating totals from events and completing annual returns. To help us in this role, you will need a basic understanding of bookkeeping, an eye for detail and be willing to be part of a friendly PTA team. We are also looking for more parents who are interested in helping and getting involved in events and meetings. It’s a great way to meet fellow parents and help make our school even bigger and better. Please contact Mrs Page for more information on [email protected] At Brackenfield we build: Brackenfield SEND School Newsletter 2020-2021 This is what the page looks like on the website Emotional Support Check-in During lockdown we have had an emotional check in for pupils on our website. This has helped pupils let us know how they are feeling and enabled us to support them with ideas/suggestion of things that might help. As this summer is a little unusual, the emotional check in will be available to any pupils who wish to use it; simply log onto the school website, click pupils, then virtual check in and you will be able to fill it in. When you submit your response, it will be sent to staff on call through the holiday and they will be able to get in touch with you. https://www.brackenfield.derbyshire.sch.uk/pupils We are also sending home some little books of summer for your child to have a go at filling in if they wish. When we come back to school in September, if they bring the booklet to Fiona Ross, she will exchange it for a certificate, and a chat about the summer. We hope the weather is kind and everyone stays safe this summer. Carli Feasey, Fiona Ross, and Lee-Ann Burrows The Children Services Team At Brackenfield we build: Brackenfield SEND School Newsletter 2020-2021 Parents and Carers Virtual Support Group During Lockdown we started Virtual Parent and Carers Support Group. The purpose of the group is to provide a connection to other parents, during this difficult period, to share ideas and knowledge, and have a good old chat. Parents and carers can ask questions, and as a group we try to support. Parents and Carers who have attended, have been enjoying it so much they would like it to continue through the summer holiday. The group meets every other Wednesday night from 7:45pm to 8:45pm. The dates for the groups next meetings are: • 15th July • 29th July • 19th August • 9th September If you would like to attend any of these please email [email protected]. Fiona will send you a joining invite and details of how to log on. If you don’t feel brave enough to have your camera and mic on at first that is fine, you can come along to listen, there is no pressure for anyone to talk if they don’t want to. The group is really friendly and supportive, there are parents with children in different classes, some of our parents have even met up with their children to have socially distance walks/playdates, so it’s a great way to build connections. If the time/ day is not suitable, we are always looking at how we can build social connections for our parents/carers, so if the day or time is not ideal, please let us know your thoughts so we can look at what works best for most parents/carers. Hope to see you over the summer At Brackenfield we build: Brackenfield SEND School Newsletter 2020-2021 Here are some photos of our classrooms to familiarise your children before we come back. Due to pupil numbers, 2 of our classes have swapped pathways. Elm is now in Communicate and their pathway lead is Eleanor Hodgkin. Sycamore is now in Comprehend and their pathway lead is Chloe Lawrence. Acorns Willow Maple Elm At Brackenfield we build: Brackenfield SEND School Newsletter 2020-2021 Rowan Beech Conkers Sycamore If you have any queries, please email: [email protected] At Brackenfield we build: Brackenfield SEND School Newsletter 2020-2021 Poplar Oak Ash Hazel Please note: These classrooms are set up to support social distancing of our older pupils. They may look different in September when guidance changes. At Brackenfield we build: Brackenfield SEND School Newsletter 2020-2021 Forest Schools Brack Track Sensory Park At Brackenfield we build: Brackenfield SEND School Newsletter 2020-2021 At Brackenfield we build: Brackenfield SEND School Newsletter 2020-2021 Your summer home learning packs have been created to support maintaining routine and structure for you and your families over the Easter break. If you have any queries, please email: [email protected] Classes: Acorns Willow Elm Maple Classes: Sycamore Rowan Beech Conkers Classes: Poplar Ash Hazel Oak At the end of the newsletter you will find: External Provider Advice and Guidance At Brackenfield we build: Literacy How many nursery rhymes can you think of? Sing some with your family. Search “singing hands” in YouTube and learn some new signs. Look at some books together. You can look at magazines, comics, photo albums or catalogues too. Numeracy Can you build a tower of blocks? How many blocks high can you make it? Try making some playdough. You can use Google to find a recipe and then mix all the ingredients together Use your playdough to make different shapes. If you add food colouring or paint, you can make different colours too! Sing counting songs and hold up your fingers to help you count. If you can find some props or pictures to go with the song then even better. Expressive Art Use your playdough to make some models. Mix some colours together and see what happens. If the weather is nice you can use water to “paint” on walls or fences. Grab some chalk and make some marks on the pavement, patio or path. Collage a self-portrait. Look in the mirror and discuss what you can see. What colour hair have you got? Eyes? Cut and stick onto a paper plate to create a face. Collect flowers when you are out and about. Do some still life painting and copy the flowers you have found.