September 11th 2020
Dear John Randall Family
Welcome back to school!
It has been so lovely to welcome you back through the gates during these strange times. Having the children back in the classrooms has been wonderful. They have loved seeing their teachers and friends once more.
I would like to talk about 4 changes to school – and work with you to ensure that you and your children feel Ready, Respectful and Safe at all times.
Firstly can I apologise for some mis-communication. I have not seen some parent emails and therefore not answered as I would usually do. Hopefully this email will answer your questions.
- Covid-19 Thank you all for being so careful and socially distanced when you are coming in and out of the school playground. Please feel free to wear face coverings in the play-ground. Nothing has changed for the children- we are keeping them in their bubbles at all times. They have special places on the playground to play and have lunch in their classrooms.
Our gates open at 8.30 am and 2.45 pm to allow you extra time to come in and out of school without queuing. The virus is still very dangerous and we are taking all precautions to keep you safe. If there is a positive case in school then we will be writing to that class bubble and explaining what to do. If someone in your family TESTS positive then the whole family must isolate for 2 weeks. If any child or adult has 1 of the 3 symptoms : dry continuous cough, High Temperature and lose of taste and smell – do not come to school but isolate at home and let us know.
- Uniform and curriculum – At the end of the the summer term I wrote on the newsletter that we were going to continue with our Covid uniform of jumper and polo shirt on top with joggers and trainers. For this reason: We are increasing the amount of outdoor activities for your children. They will be having the usual 2 PE sessions a week plus completing the mile track every day and they will be starting a new adventure – being a Nature Friendly School! We are developing our curriculum with a specialist teacher who will be teaching us all about the natural world how to take care of our environment. This is a great opportunity to teach our children about looking after the environment for the next generation. Its so important that we teach our children through ideas they can use all 5 senses to learn. I know that you haven’t been able to let your children play outside during the summer so this means that our children are spending active time outdoors in the fresh air – which is very important in these times. Wearing joggers and trainers also means that they are cheaper for you to buy, easier to wash and none of the children need to get undressed whilst in school. The classrooms are set up with front facing desks and we don’t have room for spare bags and clothes.
The teachers are unable to come into close contact with the children to support them changing.
We are also asking you to have school dinners where possible and minimise all the bags and lunch boxes into school.
We are keeping the cross contamination to a minimum. So no need for any bags to be brought into school at all. Thank you so much for your patience with this.
Early years children have been asked to bring a spare set of clothes if they need to.
- The School Menu- Firstly I am so sorry about the launch of the school menu. It has been really frustrating that the introduction of something so important to us all has not been able to be shared with you as I wanted to.
I know it all looks so different! I am listening very closely to parents in the playground and to our parent governors who are reporting back your thoughts and concerns. Before lockdown we have been working with our chefs to develop food linked to the topics in our curriculum. For example; when year 5 did the Egyptians we planned, prepped and cooked modern Egyptian food, the same in the 6 when we had a Greek banquet. All the food will link to learning in the school; bringing learning alive for our children. The children in Early Years picked, cooked and ate peas from their school garden! We live in the 21 Century and are so lucky to have international links with our staff and our curriculum. The plan was to invite you all into school to taste the different dishes that will complement our learning links. We are now rethinking how we can safely do this. The menu has been carefully planned in this first 2 weeks and I apologise for it not being on the website sooner.
In the 21st Century learning does not stop for lunch! The food offered through the day supports the children’s energy levels and their well-being. All food is local, fresh and high quality, we are including in the price of a dinner a selection of freshly made snacks. These are a variety of both savoury and sweet snacks. We will still be sharing the free fruit with early years and key stage 1.
We wanted to share this food vision with you in person and to invite you to taste and understand the ideas behind it – but Covid -19 got in the way!
Some parents have questioned the named dishes on the menu – we are using lunch times as another opportunity to broaden the experiences of the children and this includes food. In our curriculum we teach 11 different subjects. All these topics have special, ‘technical’ words and food is no different. On the menu we will be using the proper name for dishes and then explaining each dish underneath. This is teaching the children about world culture and they are then able to take this back into the classroom – learning more!
I have made a very conscious decision- with the governors – to offer your children the very best of everything. This includes the food quality that we are serving and the style in which it is cooked and served. No more canteen style – but family service- just as you do at home.
The food is very different from the previous lunch offer. But it is not intended to put you off – it is intended to support you in offering your children the very best.
In the coming months we will be inviting you to meet our team of chefs – in the mean time you can look on the website and find out about the new look menu. In the future you will be able to cook with our chefs in the school curriculum kitchen!
I will be in touch with invites for sharing our food next week.
A reminder – you will be able to pre book your child’s menu choice using parent pay log in. If you are eligible for free schools meals this still applies. Check the website for the menu.
- Building works- As you will have noticed we are having substantial building works to both our site and Haughton’s site. I will be keeping you up to date when the final plans have been released. We will be having another block of classrooms including a curriculum kitchen and sensory room as well as a pizza oven for family meals! I will keep you updated as always.
Can I thank you for the communications that you have with me and our governors / staff. I know that the school has changed in the last 3 years, but you can be assured that we are making sure we always bring the best to our children and that they will always be
Ready, Respectful and Safe.
Best wishes
Stephanie Dowley
Dear John Randall Family and Friends,
As part of our ongoing food project we would be eternally grateful if anyone with fruit trees and spare vegetables would be happy to donate any surplus to our school.
Dear John Randall Family,
Here we are at the last week of the summer holidays!
I hope this finds you all safe and well.
All information is on the school website – this is just a reminder…
We are looking forward to welcoming you all back to school on Friday 4th September – the gates will open at 8.30am. The registers will be taken at 8.55 sharp! It will be really help us to keep everyone safe by ensuring all children are in school by 8.55am.
The school gates will re-open at 2.45pm for the end of the school day. We are extending the opening and collection times to make sure there is plenty of room on the playground for all to move around safely.
Please wear a mask if you wish to do so.
A reminder of all the changes happening in school – it’s a bit different!
Uniform:
Children to wear school polo shirt and logo jumper on the top half. Navy or black Tracksuit trousers and black trainers on the bottom half. This is so that your child can take part in all outdoor activities/ PE without having to change. If you have dresses then please wear thick tights or legging underneath and a jumper on top.
- Make sure the children have a coat in school every day.
- Please do not bring PE kits into school, lunch boxes or ruck sacks.
We will be doing outdoor activities every day and not just PE days. The children will be doing the mile track and having Forest School sessions on a daily basis. We are doing this to make sure the children and adults are spending regular time out of doors and having lots of time to get to know each other again.
If your child is in early years and may need a change of under clothes – please bring a separate bag with a change of pants and tracksuit bottoms into school with your child’s name on it.
School lunches:
We are very excited to be able to announce that our chefs have started and we have our very own John Randall Food Team!
Ask your children about the wonderful meals chef Gareth has made already… The menus will be out next week and lunches will be £2.30 please pay by parent pay – we will not be accepting cash.
Please bring any sandwiches in a paper or plastic bag which can be thrown away. This includes drinks bottles. Please don’t bring lunch boxes or bags as we are trying to reduce the contamination risk of items going from home to school and back to home.
Car park:
The car park is completely off limits to parents, unless you have a disabled badge for your child!
We are very sorry for any congestion at the back of school – this is due to the building works and a new car park! I will be writing to you about this separately.
We are keeping up with government policy and the safety of your children and our staff is always my first priority. I know you will understand.
Please don’t hesitate to contact me or your parent governors if you need any further information. Parent governors are: Maz Ahmed and Belinda Ezeazu.
Please take care and keep safe.
Best wishes,
Stephaine Dowley
Head Teacher
OLD SCHOOL NEWS
June 26th 2020
Dear John Randall Family
Thank you all for supporting school in many ways since our change in Lockdown from March 2020. As you know school has never closed to all children and we have been changing and adapting our teaching and learning working together.
The virus has not gone away and we need to keep being READY, RESPECTFUL AND SAFE!
As we adapt and change with the virus; so will some of our staffing in September.
It is time to say a fond farewell to our wonderful year 6 and sadly to their teacher Mrs Wust.
Mrs Wust has been a brilliant teacher at John Randall and we will miss her wonderful productions, her piano playing and singing in assemblies and her enthusiasm for learning. Now it is time for her to support other children who need her. She will be greatly missed.
We are also saying a very fond farewell to Mrs Aguayo- Although she has not been in school this term – she is going to be missed in the Foundation stage. Mrs Aguayo has been the first teacher for many of our John Randall children and she has set them on the path for life-long learning. We wish her much happiness for the future.
We are welcoming new staff in September – the class teachers are not yet fully confirmed but we will be saying hello to Miss Lauren Hughes. We will also be introducing you to our new team of chefs! Watch this space!
I will be writing to you with more updates for September soon and to confirm the class lists.
Can I remind you that your children’s teachers are contacting you next week regarding your on line working- we are very keen to know what difficulties you are having and are here ready to support you with learning packs to take home if you need them.
With very best wishes for a peaceful weekend.
Stephanie Dowley
Head Teacher
Dear John Randall Family
Ready respectful and SAFE warning!
I was contacted on Friday by a concerned parent regarding the use of Snap Chat by some John Randall children.
The parent had full knowledge of her child’s account and was watching the conversations.
Unfortunately a stranger was let into the conversation and it very quickly turned very nasty.
However, I am very pleased to report that because of great messages about internet safety from home and school, our year 6 reported it immediately to her mum. It shocked the parent how quickly it tuned into potential child sexual harm.
School and the police were contacted and they will be investigating the sender of the inappropriate messages.
Parents – please do not let your children use any social media platform. They are illegal for under 13’s.
Please make sure you have sight of your child’s device and check it every day.
Please keep talking about on line safety to your child
See our safeguarding pages for good websites on safeguarding your children.
Best wishes
Stephanie Dowley
June 12th 2020
Dear John Randall Family
School is back! But for some not as we knew it!
We are welcoming more children back to school from Monday. Thank you to all those parents who replied wanting a place and I’m very sorry that some children will be disappointed they can’t start back.
Even though some children will not be at school we are now expecting everyone to sign up to the on line learning platforms and show their learning. The teachers have worked very hard over the last 12 weeks to make sure that all classes have learning activities.
We will not be opening our doors to any more children now unless the situation changes rapidly for the better. The governors have made a decision that class sizes should stay at a maximum of 12 children plus adults in each classroom. I’m sure you will agree that the safety of everyone in school is the the most important thing. With his number we can maintain social distancing measures. We will be following government guidelines.
From Monday we need to be especially Ready, Respectful and Safe:
Parents: Do not use the car park at any time.
We open our doors at 8.30- 8.45 am This Is to support our working parents and so we don’t have too many parents and children trying to get into school at one time. There will be signs outside the classrooms directing you to social distance.
Home time – will be from 2.45 – 3.00 pm Again this is so parents can socially distance when collecting children.
We are all part of the John Randall Family and your child’s learning journey is very important. Working together we need to make sure that our children still keep making progress. Reading success is the key! Keep reading with your children! Early years have lots of phonic videos to join in with or there is BBC bitesize. All links are on the website.
We have made sure that we have email and text contacts for you – if they change please let us know.
Teachers have set up lots of learning opportunities on the school website – see your child’s class pages. The foundation stage and year 1 have Tapestry and all other years groups have See-Saw. We ask that you upload photos of your children’s leaning onto these platforms. If on-line learning is tricky for families then we have work packs that can be used instead. Your child’s teacher will be in touch. Please check the website Facebook and twitter for our news.
The learning in the classroom will mirror the online learning – so you can be sure your child is not missing out!
Doing nothing is not an option! Even though we are not seeing many of you on a daily basis we are here.. If you need any help please contact myself, Mrs Pugh or your child class teacher – we are here to support you.
Your class teacher will be in touch with you regarding your access to the learning platforms.
Thank you all again for such positive support for school during this terrible pandemic. Our children’s safety is the most important thing and you can be sure that we are doing everything we can to keep everyone safe.
With best wishes
Stephaine Dowley
Head Teacher
Update 09.06.2020
Dear John Randall Family,
I hope this finds you safe and well!
We are looking to extend our welcome to more children from Monday 15th June whilst still working within government guidelines on limited numbers in school. Please contact school by phone or email by midday tomorrow (Wednesday, 10th June) if you would like your child to be considered for one of these full time places. We will then contact you by midday Thursday (11th June) to confirm any places offered. Please do not send your child if you do not receive this confirmation.
Best wishes in these troubling times,
Stephanie Dowley
Head Teacher
Update 27.05.2020
Dear Parents,
I hope that you all had a wonderful bank holiday weekend – what fantastic weather! In the last few days – in line with the government’s drive to have some year groups back at school – we contacted you and asked if you wanted a school place for your child.
Based on the responses, we have offered a small number of places in addition to the children that are already in school. We have emailed those parents to confirm the place. If you have not received a confirmation email then do not send your child to school on 1st June.
For the care and protection of the children and staff in school we will review the situation in 2 weeks’ time. If we feel it is safe to do so then we will contact you again.
Can I thank you all for your support in these very difficult times. Please rest assured that we are doing everything in line with government guidelines to keep you and your children safe. Do not hesitate to contact myself or the two parent Governors: Maz Ahmed and Belinda Ezeazu if you have any further concerns or questions.
As always keep checking the school website class pages for new home learning ideas! The teachers love hearing from the children.
Keep safe and well,
Stephaine Dowley
Head Teacher
Update 26th May 2020
Dear Parents,
I hope that you all had a wonderful bank holiday weekend- what fantastic weather !
In the last few days – in line with the governments drive to have some year groups back at school – we contacted you and asked if you wanted a school place for your child.
Based on the responses, we have offered a small number of places in addition to the children that are already in school. We have emailed those parents to confirm the place.
If you have not received an confirmation email then do not send your child to school on 1st June.
For the care and protection of the children and staff in school we will review the situation in 2 weeks time. If we feel it is safe to do so then we will contact you again.
Can I thank you all for your support in these very difficult times. Please rest assured that we are doing everything in line with government guidelines to keep you and your children safe. Do not hesitate to contact myself or the 2 parent Governor; Maz Khanam and Belinda Ezeazu if you have any further concerns or questions.
As always keep checking the school website class pages for new home learning ideas ! the teachers love hearing from the children
Keep safe and well,
Stephanie Dowley
Head Teacher
UPDATE 20-5-2020
Dear children, parents, carers and our Madeley community
Can I thank you all for your support at one of the most difficult times in world history. We are all living through very uncertain times and conditions and our first priority is for our families and friends. This is true of you as parents, and for all the staff at school too. It is a very sad fact, but we all know someone who has died, been ill or is anxious for their health and the well-being of themselves and precious family.
As you know we are only open at the moment for a small number of families. I can assure you that I will not be opening John Randall to any more children unless the governors and myself think it is absolutely safe to do so. I am making this decision based on the care I have for the children, our families, and the care and well-being of the staff. You trust your most precious children to us and I will not be putting them at unnecessary risk.
But if we do open for more children, please be assured that it will only be when all risks have been assessed and in agreement with Government guidelines.
In the mean- time please, please answer the emails from your class teachers, asking you to sign up to our online learning platforms. Either Tapestry in the Early years and SeeSaw for the older children. You will find the links on our school website – class pages. If for any reason you cannot access those pages – PLEASE CONTACT SCHOOL! We have lots of home learning packs available and ready to go!
Your children’s teachers are making contact with everyone – we are loving seeing all the work you are sharing.
I will keep in touch when I have further information.
Please take care and keep safe.
Best wishes,
Stephanie Dowley
Head Teacher
14-5-2020
Returning to School
As you will have seen on the news, the Government is keen for schools to start re-opening whilst maintaining the social distancing rules.
This will therefore be a gradual opening, with some classes attending and some still Home Learning. We would really value your opinions on this, as to whether you would send your child back to school in June or not. Please email school on a2176@taw.org.uk with yes or no
As part of the new procedures we will be putting in place, to avoid handling cash, we have signed up for ParentPay which is a secure online portal for you to make payments for dinner money, breakfast club, uniform, trips etc online. We will be using this in the future as a main preferred method of communication between school and parents for trip permissions.
If we have got an email address for you in school, you will receive your login details via email in the coming days, otherwise it will be a posted letter. If you have received neither by the end of next week, please get in touch with us. If you have children in other schools that use ParentPay, you can just add your John Randall pupils to that account. Similarly, for children going to secondary schools that use ParentPay, their account will just transfer.
Thank you,
Stephanie Dowley
Head Teacher
⚠️ TIKTOK WARNING FOR PARENTS ⚠️
Trigger warning: mental health & suicide
We have been informed that there is a graphic video circulating on social media app TikTok of an individual taking their own life.
We would advise users of the app not to use it for a period of 48 hours.
This is a potential trigger for so many people, especially children. Please have a conversation about internet safety with your children 👇
Stay safe online.
PIPS – 028 9080 5850
Lifeline – 0808 808 8000
Samaritans – 116 123
John Randall Primary School
Queen Street, Madeley
Telford, Shropshire, TF7 4DS
01952 388390
a2176@taw.org.uk