Dear Parent/Carer

In these challenging times, it is so wonderful to walk around school and experience such a positive atmosphere!  Many congratulations to the wonderful staff and pupils for their outstanding contribution to our Catholic community.

As a reminder, the government advice is as follows:

• if you live with others and you or another member of the household have symptoms of coronavirus, then all household members must stay at home and not leave the house for 14 days. The 14-day period starts from the day when the first person in the house became ill. It is likely that people living within a household will infect each other or be infected already. Staying at home for 14 days will greatly reduce the overall amount of infection the household could pass on to others in the community

• for anyone in the household who starts displaying symptoms, they need to stay at home for 7 days from when the symptoms appeared, regardless of what day they are on in the original 14-day isolation period.

The symptoms are:

• A high temperature (37.8 degrees and above)

• A new, continuous cough

The full stay at home guidance can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-stay-at-home-guidance

As a reminder, the government is clear that, if a pupil/student or a member of staff is in self-isolation, they:

• must stay at home. 
• must not go to public areas, and must not use public transport or taxis.

If your child is in self-isolation due to a family member being ill, he/she should continue to work at home using Purple Mash, the Class Page on our website.

We continue to ask for your understanding if classes have to be merged or taught in larger groups in school due to staff being in self-isolation.

As a reminder, if the school does have to close, your child will need to be able to access the internet either via a Smartphone or a computer so they can be taught at home.  Please contact the school today if this is going to cause a problem and we will do what we can to help.

Please continue to remember the vulnerable in our society, all coronavirus sufferers and their families in your thoughts and prayers.

Yours sincerely

 

Mrs L Sassi

PRINCIPAL

Tuesday 17^th March 2020

 

 

Dear Parent/Carer

 

I must thank you for your wonderful response to our contingency planning process.  As our multi-academy motto states, we are ‘Better Together’.

In line with government advice, you or someone you live with are now asked to stay at home for 14 days if they have either a high temperature (37.8 degrees and above), breathing difficulties or a new, continuous cough. This will help to protect others in the community while they are infectious. The government has advised that, if a person has these symptoms, they should not go to a GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital. They do not need to contact NHS 111 as the NHS will not be testing people who are self-isolating with mild symptoms. The government is clear that, if a pupil/student or a member of staff is in self-isolation, they:

• must stay at home. 
• must not go to public areas, and must not use public transport or taxis.

We ask you to use your judgement and thank you, in advance, for your co-operation regarding the above.  Absences will not be authorised if a child is simply kept at home if they, or a person they live with, are not displaying any symptoms or is seen in public as this does not follow the government guidelines.

If your child is in self-isolation due to a family member being ill, he/she should continue to work at home using Purple Mash

We ask for your understanding if classes have to be merged or taught in larger groups in school due to staff being in self-isolation.

We have taken the following additional actions:

• Cancelled planned trips between now and the end of term.
• Cancelled events such as rewards assemblies with parents etc.
• Cancelled parents’ evenings and other events between now and the end of term.
• Restricted staff attending training etc during the day.
• Cancelled Mac Sporting Events.

I hope you recognise that the above actions are being taken in the best interests of your child, the staff and the whole community.

Once again, I thank you, in anticipation, for your support in these extraordinary times.

Please continue to remember the vulnerable in our society, all coronavirus sufferers and their families in your thoughts and prayers.

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

Mrs L Sassi

PRINCIPAL

16^th March 2020

 

Dear Parent/Carer

As you know, we are experiencing extraordinary times.  As a Catholic community, it is a time to truly demonstrate our Catholic values and virtues especially: compassion, love, selflessness, tolerance, wisdom, courage and self-control.  We need the whole community to pull together to support each other; I have no doubt we will do this.

The government is now advising that all foreign trips are cancelled The advice does not apply to trips planned within the UK but we will, of course, continue to respond to government advice and take appropriate risk assessments before embarking on any visit.

In line with government advice, pupils/students and staff are asked to stay at home for 7 days if they have either a high temperature (37.8 degrees and above) or a new, continuous cough. This will help to protect others in the community while they are infectious. The government has advised that, if a person has these symptoms, they should not go to a GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital. They do not need to contact NHS 111 as the NHS will not be testing people who are self-isolating with mild symptoms. The government is clear that, if a pupil/student or a member of staff is in self-isolation, they:

• must stay at home. 
• must not go to public areas, and must not use public transport or taxis.
• cannot go for a walk. 

We ask you to use your judgement and thank you, in advance, for your co-operation regarding the above.  Absences will not be authorised if a child is simply kept at home without displaying any symptoms or is seen in public as this does not follow the government guidelines.

The key advice remains as follows:

Do:

• wash your hands with soap and water often – do this for at least 20 seconds.
• always wash your hands when you get home or into work.
• use hand sanitiser gel if soap and water are not available.
• cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve (not your hands) when you cough or sneeze.
• put used tissues in the bin immediately and wash your hands afterwards.
• try to avoid close contact with people who are unwell.

Do not:

• touch your eyes, nose or mouth if your hands are not clean.

 

We have, and will continue to, teach pupils/students how to wash their hands correctly.  Soap and sanitisers are available throughout the school and staff are being proactive in ensuring that children are protected.

You will be aware that schools in many countries have been closed.  The UK government has not taken this action.  Indeed, media reports indicate that schools may be forced to stay open even when Principals think there is good reason to close.  However, this could change and we are developing contingency plans to deal with such a situation.  The following is planned in the event of forced closures:

Subject to IT availability and performance, Year 6 will be expected to login to live streaming of lessons.  They will be trained on how to do this in the coming days/weeks.  Staff will take registers and contact will be made with parents if a child is not in the streaming session.  This may be extended to other Years if we have more time to plan for forced closures; we will keep you informed.

Work for all Year groups/classes will be set on Purple Mash, the pupils have log ins for this.  This MUST be completed and emailed to the teacher.  Email addresses will be sent to parents and pupils/students.  Obviously, the work will be age appropriate.  Any links to videos etc will be on the platform.

Teachers will mark work and return the work via email within 7 days.  Some staff will use voice technology rather than written comments.  Pupils/students will be expected to respond to the marking as normal.  Younger children especially may need further help from parents but we will be mindful of this.

If you do not have access to a computer/smartphone or internet availability, please contact school by 20^th March and we will try to support you.  If you have more than 1 child in Year 6 and they do not have their own computer or smartphone, again, please contact school and we will try to assist.

It is very important to stress that, even in the event of a forced closure, your child will need to continue to work as if they are in school.  If your child is unwell, please telephone school in order for us to record the absence on the first day of being ill.  They will then be exempt from the above work.  We will notify you of any change to school telephone numbers if the need arises.

I hope you recognise that the above actions are being taken in the best interests of your child.  We would not want them to be disadvantaged by this awful situation and will try our hardest to ensure this is the case.  This is a very different scenario to one-off closures (such as snow days) as every indication is that, if schools do have to close, it will be for weeks if not months.  We hope this will not be the case.

Once again, I thank you, in anticipation, for your support in these extraordinary times.

Please continue to remember all coronavirus sufferers and their families in your thoughts and prayers.

Yours sincerely

L.Sassi

PRINCIPAL

Coronavirus: latest Information from Public Health England 

Posted by school: 28^th February, 2020

What are the signs and symptoms of this new virus?

The symptoms of this new coronavirus (now known as COVID-19) include fever and respiratory symptoms including coughing, sneezing, and shortness of breath. The current evidence is that most cases appear to be mild.

If you have returned from these specific areas since February 19, you should call NHS 111 and stay indoors and avoid contact with other people even if you do not have symptoms:

• Iran
• Specific lockdown areas in the Lombardy and Veneto regions of Northern Italy as designated by the Government of Italy
• Daegu or Cheongdo in South Korea
• Hubei province (returned in the past 14 days)

If you have returned from these areas since February 19th and develop symptoms, however mild, you should stay indoors at home and avoid contact with other people immediately and call NHS 111:

• Northern Italy (defined as North of Pisa but not including Pisa, Florence and Rimini)
• Vietnam
• Cambodia
• Laos
• Myanmar

If you have a cough, or fever or shortness of breath and have visited any of the following areas in the last 14 days

• China
• Thailand
• Japan
• Republic of Korea
• Hong Kong
• Taiwan
• Singapore
• Malaysia
• Macau

Stay indoors and call NHS 111 informing them of your recent travel to the city.

What does self-isolation mean for people who don’t have symptoms?

Just like when you have the flu, individuals should remain at home and should not go to work, school or public areas. Where possible, individuals should avoid having visitors to their home but it is ok for friends, family or delivery drivers to drop off food. Individuals should not use public transport or taxis until 14 days after their return from Wuhan.

Individuals should monitor their symptoms and call NHS 111 (or your national alternative) if they develop any of the following symptoms – fever, cough, and difficulty breathing.

How does this new coronavirus spread – I’m concerned I could catch it?

Because it's a new illness, we do not know exactly how it spreads from person to person, but similar viruses spread by cough droplets or sneeze droplets. These droplets fall on people in the vicinity and can be directly inhaled or picked up on the hands and transferred when someone touches their face.

How long any respiratory virus survives will depend on a number of factors; for example:

• what surface the virus is on
• whether it is exposed to sunlight
• differences in temperature and humidity
• exposure to cleaning products

Under most circumstances, the amount of infectious virus on any contaminated surfaces is likely to have decreased significantly by 24 hours, and even more so by 48 hours.

We will continue to update you as necessary and thank you for your co-operation.  For full information, please click on the following link:

 

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-specified-countries-and-areas/covid-19-specified-countries-and-areas-with-implications-for-returning-travellers-or-visitors-arriving-in-the-uk

 

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-educational-settings-about-covid-19/guidance-to-educational-settings-about-covid-19

 

https://publichealthmatters.blog.gov.uk/2020/01/23/wuhan-novel-coronavirus-what-you-need-to-know/

 

 

The North Midlands Specialist Maths Hub, based at Painsley Catholic College, is offering an opportunity for primary school teachers to see a ‘Mastery’ lesson being delivered by two Mastery Specialist teachers at Meir Heath Academy, Stoke-on-Trent on 11th and 12th March.  The two teachers, one from Meir Heath Academy, Stoke-on-Trent and one from The Priory in Walsall were selected last year to take part in a prestigious teacher exchange, focusing on mathematics, with a partner school in Shanghai.

Mrs. Andrea Turkmen and Mr. Lewis McGee are among around 100 expert mathematics teachers from schools across England taking part in the exchange programme as part of the Maths Hub Mastery Programme.

The purpose of the programme is to further develop the understanding and implementation of mastery approaches to teaching maths in Meir Heath Academy and The Priory School, and in local partner schools, they will be working with during the school year 2019/20.

The Mastery lesson will give colleagues from across the region the chance to see a demonstration of excellent classroom practice and to find out more about the wider Teaching for Mastery programme.  Places are free but interested parties do need to sign up in advance, to find out more contact the local Maths hub by emailing mathshub@painsley.staffs.sch.uk.

This is one part of the Teaching for Mastery Programme, run by the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics (NCETM) in conjunction with the Maths Hubs Programme, and funded by the DfE. Funding for the four-year programme, initially amounting to £41m, was launched in July 2016 and over 200 schools have worked with the North Mids Maths Hub on the mastery programme since 2016.

There are 37 Maths Hubs, spread across England, each led by a school with a record of high achievement in maths, and of supporting, improvements in maths teaching and learning in neighbouring schools.

Coronavirus - information for parents:

 

Based on the scientific advice of SAGE, the UK Chief Medical Officers are advising anyone who has travelled to the UK from mainland China, Thailand, Japan, Republic of Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia or Macau in the last 14 days and is experiencing cough or fever or shortness of breath, to stay indoors and call NHS 111, even if symptoms are mild.

The Painsley Catholic Academy has raised just over £50,000 for Mary’s Meals at the halfway point in the school year.

 In September, all fifteen schools within the academy decided to take part in a campaign that they have called ‘20:20 for Mary’.  This campaign aims to motivate each child and staff member to try to raise a target of £20 for the Mary’s Meals charity by February half term, and another £20 by the end of July during 2020.   The overall aim is to raise an ambitious target of £100,000 in just one school year.

“The concept of Mary’s Meals is so very simple and yet effective, it really appeals to our students,” commented Mr. Steve Bell, C.E.O of The Painsley Catholic Academy. “Mary’s Meals is about providing children with a daily meal at a place of education something that our students of all ages can really relate to.  The efforts of each and every one of our students, from age just 4 or 5 years to 18 years, are very much appreciated. I am proud and delighted that at the halfway point in the year, we are just over halfway to our target.  Well done and thank you to everyone who has supported this worthy cause.” 

The 20:20 campaign began in September with both secondary and primary school children busy running cake sales, fashion shows, raffles, Christmas gifts and craft sales, art shows and sponsored sports events.  The schools have not lost momentum and have more events planned for the next few months including a sponsored skydive, a marathon run, and a sponsored row.

Mary’s Meals was founded in 2002 and has grown from its first feeding operation of 200 children in Malawi to a worldwide campaign, providing free school meals in hundreds of schools and feeding more than one and a half million children daily. Mary's Meals is named after Mary, the mother of Jesus, by its founders, who were inspired by their Catholic faith.  The charity claims that just £15.90 is enough to feed one child for an entire school year.  If The Painsley Catholic Academy can reach its target, this will feed over 6,000 children for a year.

Congratulations to all the children that took part in the CADSSA Gymnastics competition today.  Special mention to Charlotte who came first and Eleanor who came third in the Year 5/6 group and Zuzanna who came third in the year 3/4 age category.  We hope you all enjoyed it.

Dear parents

As part of our Eco-Warriors project, Year 5 are organising a clothes swap event. This will take place during the Christmas Fair (Friday 13^th December).

To take part, children are invited to bring in up to two items of clean children’s clothing, which is in good condition (not school uniform), that they don’t mind swapping (for example, they may have grown out of them).

These need to be brought into school before the Christmas Fair. They will then be given ‘vouchers’ (one for each item of clothing) by Year 5. The vouchers can be used at the Christmas fair. One voucher will entitle a child to one piece of clothing from our clothes swap stall.

Remember - Re-use, Recycle and Reduce!

Many thanks for your support!

Year 5

We are delighted to announce our 'Outstanding' Inspection in June 2019 fro the Birmingham Diocese. We have been graded 'outstanding' in all 9 areas.  If you would like to read the report please click on the link below.

https://www.st-josephs-uttoxeter.staffs.sch.uk/spiritual-life/