Latest News
Keep up to date with the latest news headlines at Downderry...
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Back to school safely
Thu 03 Sep 2020We are looking forward to a return to school for pupils on Monday 7th September. It’s been an unsettling six months for us all, and our children have needed to adjust to life without their school routine and regular contact with classmates, teachers and friends.
We know all schools are excited to have pupils back and are looking forward to learning together again. School is the place to be for a number of reasons.
Going to school is vital for your child’s:
- Educational development
- Mental and physical wellbeing • Social development
- Sense of routine
That said, we understand that this will be a worrying time, and you may be feeling anxious about the re-opening of schools and sending your children back.
We can assure you that the health and safety of children, school staff and their families is our top priority. We want to reassure you that schools in Lewisham have spent the summer holidays putting in place a number of measures to protect children, staff and families and help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
We have added a COVID-19 page to our school website with all the relevant information about how we are making 'Back to School' Safe!
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Summer Holidays and September Opening
Wed 29 Jul 2020Dear Parents
I would like to thank you all for your support during what has been an extraordinary and unprecedented year. This week we say goodbye to our Year 6 cohort as they get ready to embark upon Secondary school in September. For the rest of the children, school closes today for Bubble A groups and on Friday 17th July for Bubble B children for the Summer holidays. School will reopen to children on Monday 7th September when all year groups will return to school full-time.
While coronavirus (COVID-19) remains in the community, this means making judgments at a school level about how to balance and minimise any risks from coronavirus (COVID-19) with providing a full educational experience for children and young people.
Returning to school is vital for children’s education and for their wellbeing. Time out of school is detrimental for children’s cognitive and academic development, particularly for disadvantaged children. This impact can affect both current levels of learning and children’s future ability to learn, and therefore we need to ensure all pupils can return to school sooner rather than later.
Measures for arriving at and leaving school
In September we will continue to facilitate social distancing by adjusting start and finish times to keep groups apart as they arrive and leave school, and by maintaining the one-way entry and exit systems for Reception, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2.
Gates will be open for Reception, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 children from 8:30am - 8:45am to minimise gathering. Lessons for these children will start at 8:50am.
Parents and Carers of our new Reception cohort are asked to arrive from 9:00 - 9:30am during the first week, when they will be able to walk their children down to the Reception classrooms and help them to settle. Unfortunately Parents/Carers will not be allowed into the classrooms, and will be asked to wear a face-mask whilst on site. Ordinarily parents will not be allowed onto the school site at the start of the day.
Nursery classes will enter the school via our Children’s Centre. Miss Gray has already been in touch outlining procedures including staggered start days and arrangements for collecting at home time.
Other Protective Measures
Essential protective measures include:
- a requirement that people who are ill stay at home
- robust hand and respiratory hygiene
- enhanced cleaning arrangements
- active engagement with NHS Test and Trace
- formal consideration of how to reduce contacts and maximise distancing between those in school wherever possible and minimise potential for contamination so far as is reasonably practicable
We will continue to operate temperature checks and hand sanitisation at the gates upon entry onto the site.
Children will remain in class and year group bubbles in September to reduce interaction and contact with others. Measures to be taken include:
- grouping children together
- avoiding contact between groups
- arranging classrooms with forward facing desks
- staff maintaining distance from pupils and other staff as much as possible
Prevention
Following guidance from the Government and Public Health England we will engage with the NHS Test and Trace process to manage any confirmed cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) and contain any outbreak by following local health protection team advice. Staff will only wear appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) where necessary. The majority of staff will not require PPE beyond what they would normally need for their work.
Attendance expectations
From September it is vital for all children to return to school to minimise as far as possible the longer-term impact of the pandemic on children’s education, wellbeing and wider development.
Missing out on more time in the classroom risks pupils falling further behind. Those with higher overall absence tend to achieve less well in both primary and secondary school. School attendance will therefore be mandatory again from the beginning of the autumn term. This means from that point, the usual rules on school attendance will apply, including:
- parents’ duty to secure that their child attends regularly at school where the child is a registered pupil and they are of compulsory school age
- schools’ responsibilities to record attendance and follow up absence
- the availability to issue sanctions, including fixed penalty notices in line with local authorities’ codes of conduct
Shielding advice for all adults and children will pause on 1 August, subject to a continued decline in the rates of community transmission of coronavirus (COVID-19). This means that even the small number of pupils who will remain on the shielded patient list can also return to school, as can those who have family members who are shielding. Read the current advice on shielding.
Anxious about returning to school
I am mindful that pupils and families may be anxious about returning to school in September. I hope this letter reassures you about the protective measures put in place to safeguard pupils, staff, parents and carers. Furthermore, in September the curriculum will be adapted to support: transitioning to a new class and year group, mental and physical health and wellbeing, and to support with gaps in their learning through missed education during lockdown and the period phased reopening.
School Meals
Chartwells, our catering contractor, will be fully operational in September, providing meals to our children. Again, this will be managed in Year group bubbles to minimalise social interaction. A copy of the menu is available on the school website, together with details on your entitlement to free school meals. Please don’t miss out!
School Uniform
From September children will need to wear their correct school uniform as this plays a valuable role in contributing to the ethos of a school and setting an appropriate tone. New school uniform will be available to purchase from the school office before the children return from Wednesday 2nd September, 9am-3pm.
Extra-curricular Provision
It is our intent to reopen breakfast club and after- school Forest club in September. Details of this wrap around care are available on the school website, and Miss Wyles and Miss Derosa will be contacting existing members before the children return to school on 7th September to establish numbers and manage groupings.
Please note we will only be accepting payments by ParentPay for pupil meals, breakfast club and Forest Club. Finally, I would like to wish you all a safe and happy holidays.
Yours sincerely
Dr. David Gifford
Headteacher
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The Windrush Generation
Fri 26 Jun 2020Windrush day 2020 marked 72 years since the arrival of the Empire Windrush at Tilbury Docks on 21st June 1948. The passengers, disembarked on 22nd June 1948. The Windrush Generation were invited to Britain to work and to help rebuild Britain after the war. The Windrush arrivals had a big challenge, they were treated badly because of the colour of their skin.
At Downderry we believe that all people should be treated fairly and the same, regardless of their race, skin colour, culture, gender or sexuality. Our community needs and deserves to feel safe and valued. Black Lives Matter! Downderry is made up of 26 different ethnic groups and 3⁄4 of our school population is made up of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic pupils.
Year 1 have written ‘I am’ poems about being different which you can read on our website here...
Throughout the school children have been making beautiful commemorative stamps to mark and celebrate ‘Annual Windrush Day’.
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Phased Return
Thu 25 Jun 2020Earlier this week the prime minister announced that schools will reopen with full attendance in September. We await further guidance from the DfE on their proposals for this. As we have done throughout this pandemic, we have adopted a carefully planned approach to wider opening, and next week will see the return of Years 2 and 5.
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Phased Return to School
Fri 19 Jun 2020This week has seen the successful return of Reception classes to the school, in addition to the Key worker Bubble, Years 6 and Year 1 - who have already been invited back.
Next week we are set to welcome back children in Years 3 and 4. Teachers have already been in contact with Parents/ Carers of these year groups and assigned days (Monday and Tuesday or Thursday and Friday). This enables a deep clean of classroom areas on the Wednesday.
Teachers of children in Years 2 and 5 have or will be in contact with their classes next week with a scheduled restart the week commencing 29th June.
We would like to thank you for your continued support during this challenging time, for observing the staggered collection times, social distancing measures we have implemented, and of course for your support with Home Learning- which teachers are planning for on a weekly basis.
Dropping Off and Picking Up
To facilitate social distancing please adhere to only one adult/ family member dropping off and collecting from school at the appropriate gate and time.
Drop off:
Gates will be open from 8:30am and lessons start at 8:50am.
Key Bubble, Years 3, 4 & 6, Key Stage 2 gate
Reception & Year 1, Key Stage 1 gate
Pick up:
Reception, 2:30pm, Key Stage 1 gate
Year 1, 2:45pm, Key Stage 1 gate
Year 6 & Key Bubble, 2:55pm, Key Stage 2 gateYear 3 & 4, 2:55pm, Shroffold Road Gate
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Hopeful Return
Fri 12 Jun 2020Following the Government’s announcement earlier this week that they are no longer planning for all primary age pupils to return to school before the summer holidays, we remain hopeful that all of our pupils from Reception to Year 6 will be invited back to school before the end of term.
The statement referred to primary headteachers having flexibility to determine which children return to school and when, reflecting the approach we have taken at Downderry and across the borough of Lewisham.
Following the successful phased return of Year 6 and Year 1, next week we welcome back Reception. Subject to close monitoring, to ensure that the guidelines around the protective measures and numbers of pupils remain in place, it is our intent to welcome back Years 3 and 4 from 22nd June, and Years 2 and 5, the week commencing 29th June. We will of course keep you posted via the newsletter. Teachers will also be calling Parents/ Carers prior to their scheduled phased return.
The children made some lovely comments since returning to school, we just had to share them with everyone.
“I enjoyed the work. I felt nervous about coming back to school, but now I’m happy.” - Lucas, year 1
“This has been the best day ever! Playtimes are better now than they were before.” - Leon, year 1
“At first, I was really sceptical about returning to school but once I got here all the fear went away and I had a ton of fun with my friends…. there are no more test papers to do!” - Victoria, year 6
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Dropping Off and Picking Up
Fri 12 Jun 2020To facilitate social distancing please adhere to only one adult/ family member dropping off and collecting from school. You are reminded that the gates will be open from 8:30am and lessons start at 8:50am.
Children can be collected from school at the following times:
Reception 2:30pm
Year 1 2:45pm
Year 6 & Key Bubble 2:55pm
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Black Lives Matter in Lewisham
Sat 06 Jun 2020A message form Pinaki Ghoshal, Lewisham’s Executive Director for Children and Young People and Angela Scattergood, Director of Education.
The Mayor of Lewisham, Damien Egan has published a statement on behalf of Lewisham Council in response to the killing of George Floyd in the United States. You can read the full statement here: https://lewisham.gov.uk/articles/news/black-lives-matter-in-lewisham
We believe that our schools and settings are key to tackling racism and other forms of discrimination. We will support all Lewisham schools and settings in their commitment to standing against racism and injustice, alongside and in solidarity with the local and global Black community.
At Downderry Primary School we believe that the diversity of our population and workforce is one of our greatest strengths. This is reinforced through our values education which includes: equality, respect, understanding and forgiveness.
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Phased Return: Key Bubble, Y6
Fri 05 Jun 2020This week we successfully welcomed back our Year 6, in addition to our key worker and vulnerable groups, as part one of our phased return.
On Monday 8th June we welcome back children in Year 1. Earlier this week Mrs Deane and Miss Veale contacted their classes to outline days their children are invited to come in and share procedures to ensure the safety of all concerned.
Reception teachers will be contacting their Parents/ Carers next week with an intent to welcome back Reception the week commencing 15th June.
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Government Guidance
Fri 05 Jun 2020You can find information for parents and carers about phase reopening of schools by going to GOV.UK website and searching “Guidance for Parents”.
