Reporting symptoms after school closes for the Summer break

If your child develops symptoms of coronavirus at any point over the Summer break you must book a test.

If your child develops symptoms up to and including Sunday 18 July which result in a positive test you must inform the school at byersgreen@durhamlearning.net.

Please include the name of your child, their class and the date that their symptoms started, as well as your own contact details.

If your child develops coronavirus symptoms from Monday 19 July onwards, they must be tested and, if positive, follow the advice of Test and Trace. You do not need to inform the school of any symptoms which occur on or after this date.

Please see our end of year newsletter below:

16.07.21

Thank you to those who were able to attend the Share Sound Grand Finale on Wednesday night. We hope you enjoyed it!

If you weren’t able to attend live, would like to re-watch the event or share with family and friends, we are pleased to include a link to the event recording below.

Recording

A recording of Share Sound: Grand Finale is now available to watch online here: https://youtu.be/4XQXx5nn_1k

This link is available for the next seven days and will expire on 15 July 2021.

Feedback

We’d love to hear your feedback on your event experience and what we can do to improve similar future events. If you haven’t already done so, we’d be really grateful if you would complete this short feedback survey: https://uk.culturecounts.cc/s/KwYJy

The survey will take roughly 6 minutes to complete.

Bonus content!

We’ve popped together a playlist of bonus music from the project for you to enjoy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dN7WQ3fvTHs&list=PLxpKb1aFn_fBbZKKKWYJPcKQ0c8oz7Som

Want to find out more about Share Sound and the work of Orchestras Live? Subscribe to our monthly e-news or follow us for behind the scenes updates from all our projects on Instagram.

With best wishes

Orchestras Live and the Share Sound team

Dear Parent,

We have been advised that there has been a confirmed case of COVID-19 within the school.

We have carried out a full risk assessment and identified anyone who has been in close contact with the affected case and have recommended that they stay at home and self-isolate until 10 days after their last contact.

Your child has not been identified as a close contact and therefore does not need to make any change to their usual routine, including school attendance.

What to do if your child develops symptoms of COVID 19

For most people, especially children, COVID-19 will be a mild illness.

The most common symptoms of COVID-19 are recent onset of:

• new continuous cough and/or
• high temperature and/or
• a loss of, or change in, normal sense of taste or smell (anosmia)

If your child develops any of these symptoms of COVID-19, they should remain at home and you should arrange a PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) test for them.

Testing can be arranged by calling 119 or via gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test

If your child has developed symptoms, all other household members must begin to self-isolate, this means staying at home, not go to work, school or public areas, even for exercise.

When you receive the result of your child’s PCR test, further advice will be provided via the NHS Test and Trace Service.

If your school asks you to arrange a PCR test for your child without symptoms.

If there are any additional cases reported within school and you are identified as being in close contact with a case you will be advised to self isolate and arrange a PCR test.

How to stop COVID-19 spreading

There are things we can all do to help reduce the risk of you and anyone you live with getting ill with COVID-19:

• wash your hands with soap and water often – do this for at least 20 seconds
• use hand sanitiser gel if soap and water are not available
• wash your hands as soon as you get home
• cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve (not your hands) when you cough or sneeze
• put used tissues in the bin immediately and wash your hands afterwards
• keep a regular flow of fresh air into indoor areas.

Help, support and further information.

To help you comply with the requirement to self-isolate the County Durham Together Community Hub can provide access to essential supplies, financial support and emotional support as well as other services. Please visit durham.gov.uk/covid19help or call the Community Hub on 03000 260260 for further details.

There is also support available the coronavirus section via durhamlocate.org.uk

Useful Websites

www.gov.uk/coronavirus

www.nhs.uk/coronavirus

www.durham.gov.uk/coronavirus

www.durham.gov.uk/covid19help

www.durhamlocate.org.uk

SCHOOL CLOSURE – This morning we received notification of a positive Covid test at our school and, in line with guidance, we are having to identify close contacts. As the case could potentially involve some people from across school, we are closing school today while we identify all close contacts. We will be back in touch with further information as soon as possible.

Please see the letter below from Amanda Healy, Director of Public Health for County Durham and Jim Murray, Head of Education and Skills:

Parents Letter – End of Year Activities June 2021_

Dear Parents/Carers

Unfortunately, we will be unable to host our usual end of summer term activities in school this year. With rising numbers of cases, both nationally and locally, and a considerable proportion of the population still not fully vaccinated, we have opted for a cautious approach to the end of the school year. However, even given the current restrictions, we will ensure that the final few weeks are as enjoyable and memorable as possible for all our children.

We are currently awaiting further information from the DfE regarding their plans for how schools will be expected to operate from September 2021. We hope to be in possession of any such information before the end of this term in order to be able to communicate the expectations to everyone before school closes for the summer break.

There will be no change to the organisation of teaching staff from September 2021, which will remain as follows:

• Class 1 (Reception) – Miss Morgan
• Class 2 (Y1/2) – Miss Forth
• Class 3 (Y3/4) – Mrs Bradwell
• Class 4 (Y5/6) – Mrs Mowbray
• Miss Dodds – Y5 English & maths/intervention
• Miss Jewett – PPA cover

Kind regards

Mr W. Kirtley
Headteacher

We were extremely excited that our KS2 children were able to take part in the Share Sound music project. They really enjoyed being involved in the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment workshops and the professional recording sessions of their contributions to the ‘Forged By Fire’ performance.  As always, the children were a credit to our school. The livestream performance is at 7:00pm on Wednesday 7 July – please come along and watch. If you haven’t attended a livestream concert before, it’s like attending a ‘proper’ concert but from your own sofa. The audience don’t appear on screen (it’s not like a meeting).

This is the link to book free ‘tickets’:

https://www.orchestraslive.org.uk/projects/share-sound-grand-finale

You only need to book one ticket per household and after you’ve booked you’ll be sent the link to access the concert.

Please see below for the full invitation which includes further details about the performance:

You are warmly invited to a very special evening of online celebration and performance featuring our own young musicians and from around the UK, artistic teams from six music education hubs, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Chineke! Orchestra and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.

On the evening of Wednesday 7 July, young musicians from six locations will join forces with three famous orchestras and six music education hubs to premiere new pieces of music and film they have co-created as part of our flagship digital project, Share Sound. These very special performances will showcase the astounding talent and creativity unleashed during the course of the project.

7.00pm: Grand Finale (YouTube, approximately 60 mins), presented by Share Sound Artistic Director, James Redwood.

Featuring:

• Cumbria Music Hub and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
• Durham Music Service and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
• Lincolnshire Music Service and Chineke! Orchestra
• Norfolk Music Hub and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
• Inspire (Nottinghamshire Music Hub) and Chineke! Orchestra
• Suffolk Music Education Hub and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment

Book you free ticket here:

https://www.orchestraslive.org.uk/projects/share-sound-grand-finale

Department for Education (DfE) statutory requirements for Relationships and Health Education

Dear Parents/Carers

Previously, all schools have been expected to provide PSHE (Personal, Social, Health and Economic) Education in their curriculum. This expectation has been strengthened from September 2020, when Relationships and Health Education aspects of the primary curriculum became compulsory in all schools. You can read about these changes in this DfE guide for parents here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-sex-and-health-education-guides-for-schools.

The DfE also strongly encourages primary schools to deliver sex education to help prepare children for their transition to secondary school. Most schools, including ours, are already delivering very effective Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) and the new guidance is simply about ensuring that all children get the information they need and want. The lessons will help children to learn about their bodies including the changes that take place at puberty, and will help keep them safe, so they can form healthy relationships (friendships) with others, now and in the future.

At our school we are using the leading children’s health and wellbeing charity, Coram Life Education (CLE) to support us in meeting these legal requirements. We do this by using their online SCARF (which represents their values for children of Safety, Caring, Achievement, Resilience and Friendship) teaching resources. It’s vital that schools continue to cover the full breadth of PSHE education subjects that are outside the scope of the DfE’s statutory requirements so that wider life issues can be explored; these include economic education, environmental and community issues, rights and responsibilities.

SCARF provides a comprehensive scheme of work for PSHE education and covers all of the DfE’s statutory requirements for Relationships and Health Education. It also covers the learning opportunities within the PSHE Association’s Programme of Study, therefore providing for elements such as the rights of the child, caring for the environment, economic education, and children’s social, moral, spiritual and cultural (SMSC) education, including British Values, which are statutory requirements.

More information about Coram Life Education and SCARF can be found on their website:
www.coramlifeeducation.org.uk

Research shows that delivering this vital education has a positive effect on mental health and is a protective factor when it comes to safeguarding children. It has also been demonstrated that children with better health (including mental health) and wellbeing are likely to achieve better academically. By learning about positive relationships, respect for themselves and others, and behaving appropriately and safely online, they are better able to enjoy their friendships and therefore focus more at school.

Please see below for our new PSHE Education Policy which includes the changes to the statutory requirements outlined above. We recognise that parents play a vital part in their child’s education and we encourage you to discuss these themes with your child at home as well. If further advice or support is required, or if you have any questions about the programme or would like to view the resources, please don’t hesitate to contact your child’s class teacher or Miss Forth (our PSHE subject lead).

Kind regards

Mr W. Kirtley
Headteacher

PSHE Education Policy June 2021