Hello everyone - 

First of all, thank you for all that you are doing to Stay Safe, Protect the NHS and Save Lives. I have been overwhelmed by the brilliance of the children who have been coming into school over the last four weeks and, in turn, been so proud of the staff who have been on the rota to come in and support. I could not be prouder. I do hope that the way in which we value people who work for the NHS and other key workers continues onwards after this crisis. Keep clapping for them every Thursday. 

I appreciate fully the difficult position you are all in and the pressures we are all under. On behalf of everyone at the school let me say that we are thinking of you and can't wait to see you again. 

It is clear after the Secretary of State for Education's speech today (19th April) and despite relentless speculation, there is no clear date for a full return to school. Therefore, each teacher has provided some learning opportunities under the Class Pages of the website and I too will be continuing to add to the Illustration2Creation section. This will continue until we return. 

Can I also point you in the direction of the BBC Bitesize (https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize) website. This has had much press over the last few days and I believe it will be a very useful addition to home learning. On a weekly basis, brand new lessons will appear for children in a range of subjects. Children can create an account to suit their needs and create their own curriculum each day by choosing the subjects they wish to learn.

I also know Oak National Academy are providing 180 one hour lessons per week to be used from EYFS to Year 10 which may be useful. I will let you know my thoughts on this provision as soon as I can. 

For those families still awaiting the DfE's vouchers via Edenred, we are doing all we can to move things forward but you will be aware that the slow speed of this system is a national not just a regional problem. I know that doesn't help but I promise you we are in constant touch with the company to put this right. 

On a regular basis I will be posting a video message on our Instagram page for the children so please do keep an eye on that. 

Finally, keeping up with some learning at this time helps to provide structure to the day and reading everyday is the most useful activity. However, your time together at this time should not be dominated by the learning we set or that is provided on external sites. I don't want anyone feeling under pressure. When we return, we will do all we can to support each and every child with their learning and understanding of what is an unprecedented situation. 

Stay Safe everyone. We miss you. 

Mr Duke