17 Dec Letter from the Headteacher
Dear Parents and Guardians
This has been a very unusual term. I would like to thank you all for everything that you have done. Attendance has been an amazing 95% for the term. You have been wonderful at following the covid rules and this has contributed to the safety of the whole school community.
Islington Borough decided on Monday that schools should close on Tuesday. They also decided that schools would not return until the 11th January. This was a sensible decision based upon the rapidly increasing rate of covid-19 infection in Islington.
The Department for Education (DFE) objected to this and put pressure on Islington to keep schools open. The press has reported that Islington backed down but this is not the whole story. In fact, a compromise has been reached. Islington have agreed that the term will start as originally planned. For Pooles Park, this means that children from Reception to Year 6 will start on Tuesday 5th January. The Nursery will reopen on Monday 11th January. If the government, or Islington decide to change this date, you will be contacted by text.
The DFE and Islington have agreed that today (Thursday) and Friday should be staff training days so that the schools can close. Although this deal is meant to solve the dispute, I am not able to organise two days of staff training without any notice.
My opinion is this. Children are catching up well following the original lockdown but there is still much to be done. It would be far more sensible for the children to spend Thursday and Friday catching up further. The teachers are preparing home learning activities on Seesaw. Some younger children will be working on paper activities. Please make sure that your children do all the work that is set for them. If you have any problems, please contact the school office.
Have a safe Christmas and New Year and I look forward to seeing you all in January. .
Greg Crawford
Headteacher