Archive of Latest News
Latest news is now shared via our Head Teacher blog which is published in the Parents section of the website. Please also visit our Twitter feed for a window into our curriculum offer and to see the purposeful and memorable learning experiences in each year group. Our Twitter feed can be accessed on the Home page of our website or by clicking on the Twitter icon in the top left corner of this page.
Please find below an archive of the news stories that we published before we started to use Twitter.
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27th March Letter from Mrs Stuart
Fri 27 Mar 2020Dear Parents and Children
I thought I would write to check in with you all and give you an update on this week.
Myself and all of the staff and governors want to send you all our very best wishes and hope you are all keeping safe and well.
It has been a very eerie week in school with so few children and very sad to walk around the building, looking into empty classrooms and listening to the 'sound of silence'. We miss you all very much!
I just want to give you some further information on home learning:
There is no expectation on how much work should be done each day or each week. Every family's circumstances will be different and it is important we all try to remain as calm and happy as possible. For some, that might mean enjoying doing daily activities from school but for others, they might prefer to do a few pieces weekly instead. There is no right or wrong way but the main thing to prioritise is reading so, as much as possible, try to get your child reading books at home or from our online links.
I have seen a lot of videos on social media (some of which are very amusing!) of parents all over the country, teaching their children and helping them to complete work. Whilst it is great for parents to help support their child's continued education at home, please do not put any pressure on yourself or expectations of how much you should be doing. Encouraging your child to complete some of the set activities each week and sharing a story or book is more than enough. The last thing we want is for parents to feel any additional pressures or worries at this time.
To that end, the staff are currently putting together an Easter newsletter for each year group with fun activities for you to choose and complete at your leisure. Again, this is optional but might just give some ideas to keep your children busy and entertained. We will put this up on our website later next week.
As soon as I have any further information to update you with then I will be in contact but, in the meantime, I have had no further messages than you have about school closures and how long they will last. All I can say is that I hope we can all be back to school again very soon, filling our building with lots of children and lots of noise (I never thought I would say that!)
Take care of yourselves and your loved ones!
Mrs Stuart
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Stay at Home, Save Lives - only bring children to school childcare if there is no other option.
Sun 22 Mar 2020The latest advice from Gavin Willimason, Education Secretary and the National Association of Head Teachers is Stay at Home and Save Lives. Please only use school childcare as a last option when you have no other choice.
https://twitter.com/search?q=naht%20urgeht%20message&src=typed_query
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Government Guidance for schools about COVID-19
Fri 13 Mar 2020New guidance issued on 12th March 2020
What to do if you have symptoms
Stay at home for 7 days if you have either:
- a high temperature
- a new continuous cough
This will help to protect others in your community while you are infectious.
Do not go to a GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital.
You do not need to contact NHS 111 to tell them you’re staying at home.
We will not be testing people who are self-isolating with mild symptoms.
If your child is showing either of the symptoms listed above, please keep them at home and ring the school with the reason for absence. Please find information about self isolation in the link below.
Link to Guidance About Self Isolation at Home
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-stay-at-home-guidance
DfE Helpline for Parents/Carers
The Department for Education has launched a new helpline to answer questions about COVID-19 related to education. Staff, parents and young people can contact the helpline as follows:
Phone: 0800 046 8687 Email: DfE.coronavirushelpline@education.gov.uk
Opening hours: 8am to 6pm (Monday to Friday)
Department for Education (DFE) have advised that no school should close in response to a suspected (or confirmed) COVID-19 case unless advised to do so by Public Health England.
Link to Guidance for Travel/Returning from Travel
This advice is being regularly updated by Public Health and the Government, so please use this link for the most up to date information.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/travel-advice-novel-coronavirus
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Newcastle City Council Guidance for schools about COVID-19
Thu 12 Mar 2020Updated information: COVID-19: guidance for Educational Settings
This guidance will assist schools and other educational settings in providing advice for pupils, students, staff and parents or carers regarding:
- the novel coronavirus, COVID-19,
- how to help prevent spread of all respiratory infections including COVID-19,
- what to do if someone confirmed or suspected to have COVID-19 has been in a school or other educational setting, and
- what advice to give to individuals who have travelled from specified countries or areas within the last 14 days, including school trips
With regards to travel information for specified countries/areas for pupils or students resident or boarding in the UK, we recommend following the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) country advice pages.
1. Information about the virus
A coronavirus is a type of virus. As a group, coronaviruses are common across the world. COVID-19 is a new strain of coronavirus first identified in Wuhan City, China in January 2020.
The incubation period of COVID-19 is between 2 and 14 days. This means that if a person remains well 14 days after contact with someone with confirmed coronavirus, it is unlikely that they have been infected.
The following symptoms may develop in the 14 days after exposure to someone who has COVID-19 infection:
- cough
- difficulty in breathing
- fever
Generally, these infections can cause more severe symptoms in people with weakened immune systems, older people, and those with long-term conditions like diabetes, cancer and chronic lung disease. There is no evidence that children are more affected than other age groups – very few cases have been reported in children.
2. How COVID-19 is spread
From what we know about other coronaviruses, spread of COVID-19 is most likely to happen when there is close contact (within 2 metres) with an infected person. It is likely that the risk increases the longer someone has close contact with an infected person.
Droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes (termed respiratory secretions) containing the virus are most likely to be the most important means of transmission.
There are 2 routes by which people could become infected:
- secretions can be directly transferred into the mouths or noses of people who are nearby (within 2 metres) or could be inhaled into the lungs
- it is also possible that someone may become infected by touching a surface or object that has been contaminated with respiratory secretions and then touching their own mouth, nose, or eyes (such as touching a door knob or shaking hands then touching own face).
There is currently no good evidence that people who do not have symptoms are infectious to others.
3. Preventing spread of infection
There is currently no vaccine to prevent COVID-19. The best way to prevent infection is to avoid being exposed to the virus.
There are general principles anyone can follow to help prevent the spread of respiratory viruses, including:
- washing your hands often - with soap and water, or use alcohol sanitiser if handwashing facilities are not available. This is particularly important after taking public transport
- covering your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throwing the tissue in a bin. See Catch it, Bin it, Kill it
- people who feel unwell should stay at home and should not attend work or any education or childcare setting
- pupils, students, staff and visitors should wash their hands:
- before leaving home
- on arrival at school
- after using the toilet
- after breaks and sporting activities
- before food preparation
- before eating any food, including snacks
- before leaving school
- use an alcohol-based hand sanitiser that contains at least 60% alcohol if soap and water are not available
- avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands
- avoid close contact with people who are unwell
- clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces
- if you are worried about your symptoms or those of a child or colleague, please call NHS 111. Do not go directly to your GP or other healthcare environment
- see further information on the Public Health England Blog and the NHS UK website.
PHE has a suite of materials that contains public health advice about how you can help stop the spread of viruses, like those that cause COVID-19, by practicing good respiratory and hand hygiene. To access, download and share this information you will need to register for an account which only takes a couple of minutes.
Face masks for the general public, pupils or students, or staff are not recommended to protect from infection, as there is no evidence of benefit from their use outside healthcare environments.
People who have returned from Category 1 specified countries/areas in the last 14 days should self-isolate. This includes avoiding attending an educational setting or work until 14 days after they return.
People who have returned from Category 2 specified countries/areas in the last 14 days, are advised to stay at home if they develop symptoms. All other pupils or students and staff should continue to attend school or university, including their siblings attending the same or a different school (unless advised not to by public health officials).
4. What to do if children, pupils, students or staff become unwell and believe they have been exposed to COVID-19 (either through travel to a specified country or area or contact with a confirmed case)
Following the Government COBRA meeting if you have NEW symptoms (from today) of coronavirus infection (COVID-19), however mild, stay at home and do not leave your house for seven days from when your symptoms started.
Stay at home for seven days if you have either:
- a high temperature
- a new continuous cough
This will help to protect others in your community while you are infectious.
Do not go to a GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital.
You do not need to contact NHS 111 to tell them you’re staying at home.
We will not be testing those self-isolating with mild symptoms.
We continue to follow the advice of Public Health. The latest information can be found at www.gov.uk/coronavirus
Travelled to the UK from a Specified Country or area:
Call NHS 111, or 999 in an emergency (if they are seriously ill or injured or their life is at risk), and if appropriate, explain which country they have returned from in the last 14 days. You can do this on their behalf if this is easier. People who become unwell should be advised not to go to their GP, pharmacy, urgent care centre or a hospital.
Whilst you wait for advice from NHS 111 or an ambulance to arrive, try to find somewhere safe for the unwell person to sit which is at least 2 metres away from other people. If possible, find a room or area where they can be isolated behind a shut door, such as a staff office or meeting room. If it is possible to open a window, do so for ventilation. They should avoid touching people, surfaces and objects and be advised to cover their mouth and nose with a disposable tissue when they cough or sneeze and put the tissue in the bin. If no bin is available, put the tissue in a bag or pocket for disposing in a bin later. If you don’t have any tissues available, they should cough and sneeze into the crook of their elbow. The room will need to be cleaned once they leave.
If they need to go to the bathroom whilst waiting for medical assistance, they should use a separate bathroom if available.
Make sure that children and young people know to tell a member of staff if they feel unwell.
5. What to do if a case of COVID-19 (pupil, student or staff) is suspected in your childcare or educational setting
If anyone has been in contact with a suspected case in a childcare or educational setting, no restrictions or special control measures are required while laboratory test results for COVID-19 are awaited. There is no need to close the setting or send other learners or staff home. As a precautionary measure, the NHS are currently testing a very large number of people who have travelled back from affected countries, the vast majority of whom test negative. Therefore, until the outcome of test results is known there is no action that staff members need to take apart from cleaning specific areas (section 13) and disposing of waste (section 14).
Once the results arrive, those who test negative for COVID-19 will be advised individually about returning to education.
6. What to do if a case of COVID-19 (pupil, student or staff) is confirmed in your childcare or educational setting
The childcare or educational setting will be contacted by the local Public Health England Health Protection Team to discuss the case, identify people who have been in contact with them and advise on any actions or precautions that should be taken. An assessment of each childcare or educational setting will be undertaken by the Health Protection Team with relevant staff. Advice on the management of pupils or students and staff will be based on this assessment.
The Health Protection Team will also be in contact with the patient directly to advise on isolation and identifying other contacts, and will be in touch with any contacts of the patient to provide them with appropriate advice. Advice on cleaning of communal areas such as classrooms, changing rooms and toilets will be given by the Health Protection Team and is outlined later in this document.
If there is a confirmed case, a risk assessment will be undertaken by the educational establishment with advice from the local Health Protection Team. In most cases, closure of the childcare or educational setting will be unnecessary but this will be a local decision based on various factors such as establishment size and pupil mixing.
7. What to do if pupils, students or staff in your institution are contacts of a confirmed case of COVID-19 who was symptomatic while attending your childcare or educational setting
The definition of a contact includes:
- any pupil, student or staff member in close face-to-face or touching contact including those undertaking small group work (within 2 metres of the case for more than 15 minutes)
- talking with or being coughed on for any length of time while the individual is symptomatic
- anyone who has cleaned up any bodily fluids of the individual
- close friendship groups
- any pupil, student or staff member living in the same household as a confirmed case, or equivalent setting such as boarding school dormitory or other student accommodation
Contacts are not considered cases and if they are well, they are very unlikely to have spread the infection to others, however:
- they will be asked to self-isolate at home, or within their boarding school dormitory room, for 14 days from the last time they had contact with the confirmed case and follow the home isolation advice sheet
- they will be actively followed up by the Health Protection Team
- if they develop any symptoms within their 14-day observation period they should call NHS 111 for assessment
- if they become unwell with cough, fever or shortness of breath they will be tested for COVID-19
- if they require emergency medical attention, call 999 and tell the call handler or ambulance control that the person has a history of potential contact with COVID-19
- if they are unwell at any time within their 14-day observation period and they test positive for COVID-19 they will become a confirmed case and will be treated for the infection
Family and friends who have not had close contact (as listed above) with the original confirmed case do not need to take any precautions or make any changes to their own activities such as attending childcare or educational settings or work, unless they become unwell. If they become unwell, they should call NHS 111 and explain their symptoms and discuss any known contact with the case to consider if they need further assessment.
If a confirmed case occurs in an educational setting the local Health Protection Team will provide you with advice and will work with the headteacher, principal and or management team of that setting. Outside those that are defined as close contacts, the rest of the school does not need to take any precautions or make any changes to their own activities attending educational establishments or work as usual, unless they become unwell. If they become unwell they will be assessed as a suspected case depending on their symptoms. This advice applies to teaching staff and children in the rest of the class who are not in a close friendship group or children undertaking small group work. The decision as to whether pupils, students and staff fall into this contact group or the closer contact group will be made between the Health Protection Team, the educational setting and (if they are old enough) the student. Advice should be given as follows:
- if they become unwell with cough, fever or shortness of breath they will be asked to self-isolate and should seek medical advice from NHS 111
- if they are unwell at any time within the 14 days of contact and they are tested and are positive for COVID-19 they will become a confirmed case and will be treated as such.
8. What to do if pupils, students or staff in your childcare or educational setting have travelled from any Category 1 specified country/area in the past 14 days
If an individual falls into this category, contact NHS 111 for further advice:
- if they are currently well, they should self-isolate for 14 days and you should follow the advice as above for contacts of confirmed cases in the educational setting
- if they become unwell please call NHS 111 immediately for them to be assessed by an appropriate specialist. You should follow the advice as above for contacts of confirmed cases in the educational establishment. If they require emergency medical attention, call 999 and tell the call handler or ambulance control that the person has a history of recent travel to risk areas for COVID-19
9. What to do if a pupil, student or staff member has travelled from a Category 2 specified country/area in the last 14 days
If they are currently well:
- they are advised to self-isolate only if they develop symptoms
- they can continue to attend work or education
- they do not need to avoid contact with other people
- their family do not need to take any precautions or make any changes to their own activities
- testing people with no symptoms for COVID-19 is currently not recommended
- it is useful to always take a mobile phone with them when they go out so that they can contact others if they do become unwell
If they become unwell:
- they should stay indoors and avoid contact with other people as they would with other flu viruses (see this home isolation advice sheet).
- they (or a family member, colleague or member of staff) should call NHS 111 immediately for them to be assessed by an appropriate specialist, as quickly as possible
- they should stay at home and should not attend work or education
- they should not go directly to their GP or other healthcare environment
- if they require emergency medical attention, call 999 and tell the call handler or ambulance control that the person has a history of recent travel to risk areas for COVID-19
- see further information and the Public Health England Blog
10. What to do if pupils, students or staff return from travel anywhere else in the world within the last 14 days
Currently there are minimal cases outside the risk areas and therefore the likelihood of an individual coming into contact with a confirmed case is low.
There is no need to advise any of these pupils, student or staff to avoid normal activities or educational settings unless they have had contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19.
If individuals are aware that they have had close contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19 they should contact NHS 111 for further advice.
For the latest country specific information please visit NaTHNac Travel Pro.
11. What to do with post, packages or food sent from specified countries/areas within the last 14 days
There is no need to change how you handle post, packages or food received from the affected regions. The virus does not survive well for long periods outside the body and so it is highly unlikely that COVID-19 can be spread through post or packages. It is highly unlikely that COVID-19 can be spread through food.
12. How to clean educational establishments where there were children, students or staff with suspected cases of COVID-19
Coronavirus symptoms are similar to a flu-like illness and include cough, fever, or shortness of breath. Once symptomatic, all surfaces that the suspected case has come into contact with must be cleaned using disposable cloths and household detergents, according to current recommended workplace legislation and practice.
These include:
- all surfaces and objects which are visibly contaminated with body fluids
- all potentially contaminated high-contact areas such as toilets, door handles, telephones
Public areas where a symptomatic individual has passed through and spent minimal time in (such as corridors) but which are not visibly contaminated with body fluids do not need to be specially cleaned and disinfected. If a person becomes ill in a shared space, these should be cleaned as detailed above.
13. What to do with rubbish in the educational establishment, including tissues, if children, students or staff become unwell with suspected COVID-19
All waste that has been in contact with the individual, including used tissues, and masks if used, should be put in a plastic rubbish bag and tied when full. The plastic bag should then be placed in a second bin bag and tied. It should be put in a safe place and marked for storage until the result is available. If the individual tests negative, this can be put in the normal waste.
Should the individual test positive, you will be instructed what to do with the waste.
14. Tools for use in childcare and educational settings
Use e-Bug resources recommended by the National Institute of Clinical Excellence to teach pupils about hygiene. Key sections that may be useful are:
14.1 KS1: Horrid Hands and Super Sneezes
14.2 KS2: Hand Hygiene and Respiratory Hygiene
14.3 KS3: Hand Hygiene and Respiratory Hygiene
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World Book Day 2020
Fri 06 Mar 2020We had a magical day in school on Thursday for World Book Day! The day began with a whole school assembly where the children loved listening to ‘The Word Collector’ by Peter H. Reynolds. The children then spent time being word collectors themselves. Our corridors in school were adorned with pupils’ favourite words and they looked spectacular! Children wrote amazing poems and shared with each other some wonderful work! We all enjoyed the reading tent again this year, where our younger and older children read their favourite stories together. What a treat! Finally, the day was topped off with surprise stories. Lots of staff members popped up in unusual places for a spot of spontaneous storytelling with children. A fantastic day was had by all. Thank you once again for your support with costumes and ideas. What a wonderful day! -
Reception Visit to Broxfield Farm
Fri 06 Mar 2020Reception visited a working beef farm called Broxfield in Alnwick. We thoroughly enjoyed our day giving the cows their breakfast, meeting the bulls and looking for signs of health including their jazzy haircuts, bright eyes, long eyelashes and black tongues. We explored different seeds grown on the farm and even used a mill to turn some of the wheat into flour. We then helped Mr Thompson make scarecrows to stop the birds f -
Year 5 at Centre for Life
Fri 06 Mar 2020Year 5 visited the Centre for Life to take part in a number of hands-on, exciting activities all about Earth and Space. To help with their current science topic, children experienced an hour in the fascinating planetarium where they were solar system explorers and learnt lots about stars, planets and the International Space Station. As well as this, Year 5 had the chance to look around the current exhibition in the centre, which is ‘Space zone’. In the Making Studio, the children made rockets that they aimed and shot at targets. At the destination space theatre show, they learnt all about satellites. What an amazing trip full of an abundance of knowledge that we can use in our future science lessons!