Next week’s Free School Meal hampers will be available to collect on Monday 27th April, 11:30am - 12:30pm, from the school car park.

This week the government announced free school meal eligibility is being temporarily extended to include families who have no recourse to public funds (NRPF). If you believe your family may be eligible, please get in touch with the school office, which is open Monday to Friday 9:00am - 3:00pm.

We will keep any information shared with us about your family’s status confidential.

We would all like to wish the Downderry Primary School family a very Happy Easter. Stay Safe, Stay Home!

Do you need a fun, foodie way to entertain and educate the kids at home? Look no further than Chartwells NEW ‘cook-a-long’ videos with Chef Andrew and Special Guests!

Tune in to Chartwells ‘SUPER YUMMY KITCHEN’ every Monday, Wednesday and Friday to get creative in the kitchen with the family and learn to make some exciting nutritious, snacks!

Visit our ‘Simply Delicious, Super Yummy Chartwells’ YouTube Channel and click here to subscribe!

Give us a follow and tune in!

Facebook: Chartwells UK

Twitter: @chartwells_uk

Instagram: @chartwells_uk

We know many children will be anxious or worried about the coronavirus outbreak and that many will have questions about everything that is happening at the moment.

The Children’s Commissioner has put together a short guide to help explain to children, in language they can understand, some of the issues surrounding coronavirus.

Thousands of people have downloaded the guide already or shared it on social media – we hope you find it useful. 

There is also a page full of advice, information, Suggestions and resources for parents, educators and other professionals who work with children, to help during the pandemic.

www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/coronavirus

As a staff, we have been tirelessly collating activities, ideas and useful links for you to access whilst we enter this period of indefinite school closure. These are inclusive of English, Maths, Science and Foundation subject tasks. You will also find that while we wish for the children to continue their educational learning, we of course would like them to take this time to be calm and celebrate the time they can safely spend with their families and loved ones amongst this uncertainty, and therefore have included alternative activity ideas and links to virtual websites for museums etc.

You will find these tasks on your child’s Class Page on our website as of this afternoon. This is also accompanied by the whole school generic ‘Parent’s Links and Ideas’ document, which gives you a variety of activities you can do with your child that perhaps are not specific to an educational subject area.

Early Years       Year 1      Year 2       Year 3       Year 4       Year 5       Year 6

We have also put together a list of websites and educational links that we use as a teaching staff to plan and facilitate lessons and the children’s learning on a daily basis, including PhonicsPlay and Twinkl. This is inclusive of log-in details or access arrangements. Please note that your child has personal log in details for websites such as Bug Club and TT Rockstars which you and they have been issued with already by your class teacher for homework.

We understand that facilitating home-learning may be daunting for some. Please do not be concerned if you or your child are finding this process difficult at times. Upon return to school, we will be able to fill in any gaps in the children’s learning as we always do. Please do contact the school for guidance and advice if needed. Regarding timings, there is no strict guidance on how much time children should be learning for at home, but from research and experience, we know short, sharp bursts of activity are more beneficial for the children than hours of continual learning which may lead to stress and anxiety for you both.