Askern Littlemoor Infant Academy
Letter to Parents 12th May 2020
We hope that you are all safe and well. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and school closures, we have attempted to keep parents, students, staff and governors up to date with what is happening in our Trust and our Academies and ensure that we support our community. In order to do this as accurately as possible we must act on the most up to date information from the Government and therefore we wanted to hear the plan from our Prime Minister on Sunday before we responded in a letter to yourselves. We now have this, as well as the follow up document from the Department for Education published last night.
As you will be very aware, the message on Sunday was that primary schools will be asked to welcome back children in nursery, reception, year 1 and year 6 from the 1st June 2020. In the more detailed document this was extended to an ambition to bring all primary year groups back to school for a month before the summer holidays (this means a date around 19th June 2020). Also, secondary schools will be asked to offer some face to face support to supplement the remote learning of year 10 and year 12 students who are due to take exams next year. It is important to point out that the guidance clearly states that this will kept under review and only welcome back students if the up to date risk assessment allows this. Also the DfE emphasise the safety of our children and staff is of the utmost priority.
As a result, leaders across the Trust have been setting out plans which would potentially allow students back safely in the phased way outlined above. It is a very unsettling time for us all, but rest assured that we are going to be doing everything we can to make sure we are ready to receive these year groups if it is safe for our Academies to reopen in the coming weeks. However, we are also not going to be pressuring anyone to send their children to school, since you know your children and personal situation best. We will keep you updated with all our preparations for making sure each Academy is as safe as possible, so you can make an informed decision.
As we go into the next phase of school closure we have developed a Learning Pathway for the Trust which outlines the range of learning strategies that we will adopt to meet the needs of young people at all ages during the COVID-19 period. It provides a framework for all Academies to ensure that all students have learning opportunities which relate to each individual whilst ensuring health and well-being are the most important aspect at this time.
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Direct Learning |
This is learning at school for those groups of students who are back into school. Each Academy will have a specific plan for the curriculum and wider learning of these year groups when they return. It also may include amendments to the school day and structure. |
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Live Learning |
Live Learning is where teachers deliver lessons ‘live’ to students through virtual classrooms. We are currently successfully trialling this with our oldest students on Microsoft Teams to ensure it is fit for purpose and meets safeguarding requirements. The plan is to give access to some Live Learning to the majority of students at secondary school and some within junior. |
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Remote Learning |
Remote Learning are resources which have been created by each Academy where staff are using videos or narrated PowerPoints to support students learning. These are an area that we are developing further into the next phase to enable students to access learning from their own teachers in specific topics. The aim is to have a more bespoke delivery and re-engage students in their learning where needed. |
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Self-Directed Learning |
Students across the Trust have already completed a huge amount of self-directed learning through the on line resources and work packs provided by each Academy. This learning has been specific to each individuals needs and can be completed at any time to fit in with the learning preferences of the families and students |
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Family Learning |
This is an area which has been very successful in developing our young people during the lockdown. Many families have had the chance to learn together and broaden the skills of each other. Activities which can be done together are being promoted, such as joint nature walks, cooking and crafting. |
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Health and Well-Being |
The health and well-being of both students and staff has to be at the forefront of both our Home Learning and Academy provision. All Academy return plans will have this at the centre of what they will do to support students. Time for exercise, safe socialising and mental health support must feature in any plan. |
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Childcare Plan |
The childcare provision for parents who are key workers or have vulnerable children will continue unless it is superseded by direct learning in a specific year group. However, at this moment the guidance is only for these groups to access this childcare. The plan currently would be to continue this provision for students even if some year groups return to school. |
All Academies continue with the safe and well checks for all students. In most cases these are a keep in touch call which have continued to support our parents and students. These will become more and more important in the coming weeks as there will be many questions relating to potential school openings and each family’s particular situation.
Despite the recent announcements we continue to provide childcare for students across the Trust at Camspmount Academy. This continues to be available for the children of Key workers and our most vulnerable only with numbers accessing this provision showing a significant increase during this week. As before if you are classed as a critical worker and need your child to access the emergency childcare provision please let us know by emailing info@legereducationtrust.com
For those in receipt of Free School Meals the Government national voucher system, through Edenred, continues to be in operation. However, there continues to be some issues with this system at a national level but the staff at Campsmount have been working hard to ensure that all families are clear on the process and can access the provision. If any families feel they need further support, either financially or otherwise please contact meals@legereducationtrust.com and we will of course make every effort to help. A help sheet is available below which may help to answer any queries.
The Leger Education Trust Project has successfully provided support to our families with books, clothes, and toys completely free. Over the last couple of weeks, we have donated a significant number of boxes to families who have contacted us and the feedback has been amazing. We continue through the Leger Education Trust Facebook page to take requests and have a safe practice for distribution. However due to the huge amount of donations we cannot accept any more donations at this time.
From a personal point of view can I thank all the staff across the Trust for their incredible professionalism, commitment and resilience at this time. The video messages from each Academy (available on the website and twitter sites) show the care that they have for the students, even though the dancing, acting and singing skills need some improvement! We will continue to provide a weekly update for all parents, staff and governors and make plans for a safe return to school for all students when this is possible.
Yours sincerely,
Adam Dale
CEO