Keep up to date with all the latest news happening in school at the moment.

• 27th March 2020

  Fri 27 Mar 2020 Jacquie Vanstone

  Dear Parents & Guardians,

   

  I hope you are all staying well.  This will be a short update as I know you will all have spent a great deal of time looking at our website this week!

   

  Shifting to home learning has been a huge change for us all.  I have been using website to support the children in school with their learning and I am sure you will join me in thanking the teachers for their hard work.  I know many parents are working from home and supporting home learning and this can prove stressful.  Please place focus on wellbeing and key skills that the children need, daily reading, times tables etc. 

  This is a very sad, scary time and a time that the children will remember.  Watching films, playing in the garden, going for walks, baking and playing games will all form part of the positive memories.  Please do not let the learning take over these important family times.  I am very proud of how the children seem to be embracing home learning and we will support you as best we can.

   

  School remains open for our key worker children and they have been an absolute pleasure to be with all week.  This provision will continue next week, over the Easter holidays and going forward and we are proud to be able to continue to support families in such critical jobs at this time.

   

  I wish you all a lovely weekend, hopefully in the sunshine. I wish for us all to stay in well.

   

  Kind regards

  Jacquie Vanstone

   

• 18th March 2020

  Wed 18 Mar 2020 Jacquie Vanstone

  Dear Parents and Guardians,

   

  I am sure you have now seen or heard the latest announcements regarding school closures.

   

  All schools will be closed in the UK from the end of school on Friday 20th March apart from for pupils of key workers and for children who have a social worker or Education Health Care Plan. 

   

  I will be sending an email tomorrow regarding key workers. This will allow me to arrange the appropriate provision for the families identified.  I would be grateful if all families would respond to my email as soon as possible.Examples of these workers include NHS staff, police, delivery drivers.  A full list will be provided by the Cabinet office tomorrow.

   

  Tomorrow we will send home some home learning material and I will send home a letter with the communication procedures.  This will then give you the opportunity  to ask any questions you may have on Friday.

   

  We will do everything we can to support you all; I appreciate how unsettling this is for everyone.  I will talk to each class tomorrow as I am sure the children will have many questions.  The past few days have been difficult for our staff and I thank you for the support you are showing.  I was very sad today to say goodbye to Mrs Myall.  Due to the changes in the guidance regarding pre-existing health conditions Mrs Myall is unable to be in school.  Her contribution to the school has been incredible over a long time (nearly 17 years) and I cannot thank her enough.  We will say a proper goodbye once we return to 'normal'.

   

  With kind regards

  Jacquie Vanstone

   

• Tuesday 17th March 2020

  Tue 17 Mar 2020 Jacquie Vanstone

  Dear Parents & Guardians,

   

  With the Coronavirus situation intensifying it is very important that we maintain a calm approach not only for the children but also for ourselves.  We have had another great day of learning and I thank the staff for this.  

  There is no further information regarding school closures and as I said yesterday we hope to remain open for as long as it is safe to do so.  This evening our staff meeting was focused around the home learning plans which we have in place and in the event of a closure we will provide you with clear home learning guidance.

  The systems we put in place yesterday are working well and we have restricted visitors to the school.

  I must say that school feels a safe place to be.  If you wish to speak to me, do not hesitate to come and see me or to phone the office.

  With kind regards

  Jacquie Vanstone

• Monday 16th March 2020

  Mon 16 Mar 2020 Jacquie Vanstone

  Dear Parents & Guardians,

   

  Due to the evolving situation with Coronavirus I have decided to email a daily update from school, please also remain up to date with government guidelines.

   

  • Hand washing procedures remain in place; the children are all very well rehearsed in what to do.
  • Instead of whole school collective worship, we are holding class assemblies this week.
  • Children with a packed lunch are eating in the classrooms and children who are having cooked dinners are eating in the hall.  We are doing this to give all children more space.
  • Staff are providing as much time outside as possible; we certainly enjoyed the sunshine today.

  All these adaptations have been made with discretion and we are keeping school calm and focused on learning.  I have spent most of today with the children and seeing them learn and play together has been a pleasure.

  We are following UK government guidelines on school closure and will remain open as long as it is advised and safe to do so.  I again thank you for your support and our staff for keeping our school such a positive and nurturing place to learn.

  Kind regards

  Jacquie Vanstone

• Sunday 15th March 2020

  Sun 15 Mar 2020 Jacquie Vanstone

  Dear Parents & Guardians,

   

  In my news update on Friday I said I would update you at the weekend.  Although I am sure you are aware of the developments in the news and on social media, there are no changes at present for the arrangements for schools.

   

  I will continue to follow Government guidelines. If we believe a child to be at school but unwell, we will contact you and send them home.  Some children have been kept off school last week due to colds and as you make these decisions I ask you to continue to be respectful of the current situation, each other and the more vulnerable members of our school community.

   

  The revised government bulletin issued on Thursday stated: The symptoms are:

   A high temperature (37.8 degrees and above)

   A new, continuous cough. You do not need to call NHS 111 to stay at home

   If your symptoms worsen during your stay at home period or are no better after 7 days contact NHS 111 online at 111.nhs.uk. If you have no internet access, you should call NHS 111. For a medical emergency dial 999.

   

  In the event that your child is unwell in line with this guidance but would otherwise been have been in school, I will contact you regarding ways in which we can support.

   

  The moment I am notified of any significant change I be in contact but in the meantime I thank you for your considered approach and continued support.

   

  With kind regards

  Jacquie Vanstone

   

   

• 13th March 2020

  Fri 13 Mar 2020 Jacquie Vanstone

  Dear Parents & Guardians,

   

  This will be a short newsletter following the letter I sent out yesterday.  I hope you found the letter useful and understand the procedures that are in place and will be in place if we have to close.  I am receiving updates from Wokingham and we will of course continue to follow Wokingham and Government guidance.  We are being considered in all we do and continue to encourage good hygiene.  

   

  This morning we had great fun dancing in the hall  to Cha Cha Slide as a whole school and this afternoon we held two staff v pupil football matches.  We drew against the girls but the boys were very proud to beat us; I certainly underestimated how hard they can kick the ball!  This was all in aid of Sport Relief; the children looked fantastic in their sport kits and we had a total of 23 different sports represented which is wonderful.  Thank you for your support.

   

  It is with sadness that I must inform you that Mrs Myall and Mrs Judge will both be leaving us at Easter.  They have both worked with great commitment for a long time and I thank them for their hard work, dedication and skill as well as the incredible support they have shown me.  We will miss them and wish them both happiness.  I will of course keep you updated as we appoint new members of staff.

   

  I wish you a lovely weekend and look forward to seeing you next week.

  With kind regards

  Jacquie Vanstone

   

   

   

   

• 6th March 2020

  Fri 06 Mar 2020 Jacquie Vanstone

   

  Dear Parents & Guardians,

   

  Following my newsletter on Sunday evening I am pleased that we have been able to continue as normal.  The children have been washing their hands on arrival at school and at appropriate points throughout the day.  On several occasions I have seen Mrs Williams singing 'Happy Birthday' outside the toilets!!  Attendance has remained good all week with an average of  95% .  I will continue to receive and follow advice from Public Health England and from Wokingham and I will keep you informed.  We would like to have email addresses for all families so we can prompt you if we add a news update at an unusual time, as I did this Sunday.  If you have not provided your email address, please email: finchparents@finchampstead.wokingham.sch.uk and we will add you to the mailing list.

   

  I would like to thank Mrs Gan for attending the WASMA rehearsal on Tuesday evening. The children are working hard to learn the songs; the choir should all have a link to online resources so they can continue to learn the songs at home.  It won't be long until the WASMA performance which is always such a wonderful evening.

   

  This week throughout the school we have been celebrating science and there has been lots of extra science in the classrooms.  We then had a science themed world book day; we began Thursday with a fantastic Mad Science assembly.  In such a short space of time the children saw, learnt and experienced so much, it was fantastic!  There will be information about this year's Mad Science after school club going out next week. 

  We also delighted to welcome  Mr Snell  into school each Wednesday lunchtime.  He is working with a group of Goldfinch children to build a weather station; this is a great opportunity which the children are thoroughly enjoying.

   

  The improvement in the weather today gives me hope that soon we may be able to start using the field again.  Next week is Sport Relief and we would like to support it with all the children donating £1 to come in a sports kit on Friday.  This could be a football kit, swimming, karate, ballet etc.  It is a great opportunity for children and staff to learn more about the sports we participate in.  We would also like to invite the children to bring in any recent sports certificates, trophies or medals they have so they can be displayed and shared with their class.

   

  Goldfinch have had a great day at The Living Rainforest today; this not only supports prior learning but extends it further and provides wonderful memories.  I know they were delighted to see the sloth! Thank you Mrs Stangroom for organising it and all the adults who went on the trip.

   

  I would like to finish by thanking FOFSA.  Over the next month FOFSA will be providing our school with a refurbished staff room.  We are so fortunate to have such hard working and dedicated staff and the refurbished staff room will make such a difference to staff wellbeing.  FOFSA are looking for parent support with the work so please be in touch with a committee member or the office if you are able to help.  The work will be carried out over two weekends in March.  Thank you all as it is another fantastic development for our school.

   

  I wish you a lovely weekend and look forward to seeing you next week.

  With kind regards

  Jacquie Vanstone

  

• Coronavirus

  Mon 02 Mar 2020 Jacquie Vanstone

  Dear Parents & Guardians,

   

  We have had a great day of learning today and lots of fun playing in the long awaited sunshine!  Today I sent home information provided by Wokingham Borough Council regarding Coronavirus.  In the situation as it stands, the Wasma rehearsal tomorrow after school will go ahead as planned, as will the Goldfinch trip on Friday.  We will take extra precautions at both, as we are doing in school.  If we need to make any changes to these arrangements, I will update you.

  I thank you for your support and as I have said previously, please come and see me if you have any concerns or queries.

  With Kind regards

   

  Jacquie Vanstone

   

• Coronavirus communication

  Sun 01 Mar 2020 Jacquie Vanstone

  Sunday 1^st March 2020

   

  Dear Parents & Carers

  Earlier this week, I sent out a letter regarding the advice from Public Health England and shared what the school is doing to mitigate the risk of infection. I wanted to once again reassure you that the school is doing all it can to keep Finchampstead C of E a healthy environment for all pupils and staff. 

  To take all appropriate measures within the school, we have and will continue to:

  Educate the children about good hygiene habits through class teaching and in assemblies;

  Stock up on anti-bacterial items in all classes;

  Ensure the soap in the toilets is checked twice during the school day and restocked as appropriate;

  Ensure all classrooms have a box of tissues available for the children to use.

   

  I am sure you are aware of developments over the weekend with two Wokingham schools closed tomorrow for deep cleaning.  We will continue to monitor the situation, take advice from Public Health England and adapt as necessary.  I will keep you informed should there be any changes to the situation or arrangements for our school. If you have any further queries or concerns please do not hesitate to contact the school office.

   

  Kind regards

   

  Jacquie Vanstone

  Head teacher