Remote Learning
06 Jan 2021
Good Morning everyone.
We are all very disappointed to have not welcomed you all back to school on Tuesday as we had planned. The teachers have been very busy since the announcement on Monday and will be starting their remote learning lessons from today. Thank you for your patience in allowing the staff time to prepare new resources which can be delivered remotely.
As you are all aware, school is closed for the majority of children. We will of course support our families if you are a critical worker and are having to go out to work by providing a place at school. However, if parents are at home even as key workers, then the safest place for your children at the moment is at home.
Our key worker bubble is by definition a higher risk group because all parents of those children are out at work and have the potential of coming into contact with the virus. Only children who absolutely need to be in school should be at this time. In March, when we were in the exact same lockdown position, we had 6 children across the two schools. This time the numbers are much higher so we do need to put measures in place to ensure that we are only having children in school who can't be looked after at home because parents are out at work and there are no other child care options. For children who have been allocated a place, they are working as one bubble. They are following the exact same remote learning that the class teachers have planned each day for the children working at home. All learning in school will be facilitated by our teaching assistants.
We share your concerns that school is closed again. I completely agree that children being in school is better for their well-being and education. The Government have maintained that schools should stay open for those very reasons but unfortunately the pandemic is out of control and the risk to people's health has resulted in them closing schools. Over the coming weeks we will support you as much as we can with the lessons on the class pages of the website. The teachers will be following the spring term curriculum as planned. We have also introduced TEAMs to the children who should all have a log-in for their first call this week. Fingers crossed technology doesn't let us down. If you have any problems accessing these sessions then please do let us know. Teams will provide an opportunity for teachers and children to come together. Teachers may use it as an opportunity to deliver some input or feedback on the lessons planned or simply use it as an opportunity to talk to the children and make sure they are ok. Teachers will be specific about what work they expect to see each day. The class emails are now operational. Class teachers will include the email addresses on their class pages. If you have any problems or questions then please don't hesitate to get in touch. We do understand how difficult it is teaching your children at home and we will do all we can to support you.
My aim will be to contact all families by phone next week to ensure that everything on the website is working and to answer any questions you may have.
There will be a daily collective worship uploaded to the enrichment page and an activity or challenge linked to the theme. Any work completed can be sent to headteacher@gfschools.co.uk
On behalf of everyone at Grewelthorpe and Fountains, we thank you for your support. I know the teachers are very excited about seeing the children via TEAMs this week.
Stay safe x