ST. CUTHBERT’S R.C. SCHOOLHUTCHISON CROSSWAYEDINBURGH EH14 1RPTelephone : 0131 443 2621Fax : 0131 443 9298Website: www. st-cuthberts-primary.com Twitter: @StCuthbertsRCP

MR PAT BRACK, PDGE Primary EducationActing Head Teacher

19th March 2020

St Cuthbert’s Primary: Daily Update – 19th March 2020

Dear Parent/Carer,

As you are no doubt aware, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has confirmed that Scotland’s schools will close from end of school on Friday 20 th March 2020. Supporting our pupils, families and staff during this time is a key priority for St Cuthbert’s school. Detailed below is information and advice which we think will be helpful going forward.

Communication During School Closures

Communication with parents/carers is always a priority at our school and will be absolutely key during this unique time. To ensure the widest possible availability of and access to information during our closure, from today, we will post all updates simultaneously on our school app, school website (https://st-cuthberts-primary.com/) and Learning Journals platforms. Regular updates will be communicated.

If you have any questions or queries please contact our school admin mailbox (Admin@st-cuthberts.edin.sch.uk).

Plans to Support Learning During School Closure

The school has plans in place to ensure that learning continues during the period of school closure and staff have been working very hard to ensure these plans can be implemented promptly.  Please see plans below.

Learning During School Closures

Our method for sharing learning will be 2 fold:

Firstly, initial supply of offline resources: Each child at school on Friday will be given a paper folder containing, for example:

o A grid of activities, similar to a homework grid (there should be a balance of offline and online tasks)

o 2 reading books from class/school libraryo Worksheets

Secondly, through Microsoft One-Drive: A group has been created for each class where teachers can post learning. All pupils will be issued with log in details (these will be stuck into the inside cover of their paper folders) and a ‘how to guide’ explaining how to log-in.

The expectation for ‘how much’ learning is as follows: 3 A Day. This means one Literacy task, one Numeracy task and one other task which could be IDL or another curricular area.

Daily reading of 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes in the afternoon should be set. Pupils may use their own books or books gathered from school library.

A planned physical activity should be shared twice a week Queries re pupil work will only be answered during the hours of the

school day.

Pupils who are not Currently at School

Pupils who are currently absent will have their Microsoft 365 login details e-mailed out to their parents/carers over the coming days. We will also put step by step ‘how to login’ instructions on the app and our website. If you think the e-mail details which we currently have for you are out of date, please contact our admin mailbox:

admin@st-cuthberts.edin.sch.uk

Breakfast Clubs and After School Care

Please note that we have been advised that these will cease after Friday.

Primary 7 Pupils – Important Message

I sincerely hope that children and staff will return to school prior to the summer holiday however should this not be the case we will of course seek to provide the Primary 7 children with a fitting and proper send off to mark the end of their time with us. This may not be until later in the year, but we will absolutely look to make this happen. I have spoken with the Primary 7 pupils who are in school today, explained to them that they are definitely not yet Primary 7 Leavers and reassured them that tomorrow will not be the final opportunity planned by the school for them to join together.

Medical Advice – Self Isolation

Below are the very latest links to the Coronavirus advice on the NHS Inform website and for educational settings which you may find helpful:

https://www.nhsinform.scot/illnesses-and-conditions/infections-and-poisoning/coronavirus-covid-19

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-educational-settings-about-covid-19/guidance-to-educational-settings-about-covid-19

Please note that no pupil who has been absent due to self-isolation should not return to school during the advised period of self-isolation given in the NHS guidance (link above).

Thanks again for your continued support at this challenging time. Together we can will get through this!

Yours sincerely

Pat BrackActing Head Teacher

St Cuthbert’s CARES We are: Creative Active Respectful Equal Supported