Dear all

I do hope you and your family are well.

As we move into week 5 of the ½ term, I thought it might be useful to write to you with a few updates.

We are really pleased to have our whole school community back together and whilst there are a few staff working off site with a very small number of students receiving a blended curriculum of face to face and on-line/virtual learning and outreach, whilst in transition, our school environment is busy and productive once again. Whilst not surprisingly there have been a lot of changes to embed into our daily routine, our boys are adapting exceptionally well and are settling back in with the support of those who know them well. The bubbles are one change that we are continually keeping under review. We want students to be with their friends and peer groups, yet we also know the importance of keeping groups small, in our response and duty to try and reduce contact and limit movement between groups. I know that there is a great deal of understanding from families and we have really appreciated the feedback which is helping us learn from the new ways of working.       

Whilst we are trying to reduce the amount of information you receive, all schools have been asked to share the letter enclosed from the Department for Health and Social Care which sets out when a COVID test should be sought. Although it’s info that we are already aware of, I’m hopeful it provides as a timely reminder for us all. I am also attaching a document produced by Greater Manchester, which may prove as a useful one stop guide.

As I’m sure families will be aware, the school really tries hard to promote and celebrate our students’ hard work and achievements through our Social Media pages, and as a reminder I’m highlighting the route to Facebook and Twitter. There are some really great examples of students having fun, taking on challenges, such as the Yorkshire 3 Peaks this last weekend, and progressing socially and academically.     

https://www.facebook.com/WilliamHenrySmithSchool 

https://twitter.com/WHSSchool

It has been really heartwarming to receive letters, cards and emails of thanks over this last month and I thank you for your continued support.

Best wishes,

Sue

 

     

Dear all, it’s been fabulous having our school community back this week and there’s been a significant effort on everyone’s part as we re-ignite our relationships, reconnect and re-engage with one another and the environment. Over the next few weeks we will be re-introducing assemblies (of the virtual kind) with Mondays and Fridays being Achievement and Celebration focused and Wednesdays being prepared and delivered by bubbles. Families can enjoy achievement and celebration assemblies by logging onto our SM pages.

A big well done Bill Smiths!

Mrs Ackroyd

  

 

     

     

 

 

 

Good morning everyone, to enable the school to get an accurate picture of your needs as a family & as we plan our ‘recovery curriculum’, families will shortly receive a survey consisting of 4 questions.

Can I please encourage you to take 5 minutes to help us plan, with you & your child, & our whole school community in mind. Many thanks.

Sue

7th April 2020

Dear all, I do hope you and your family are well.

It’s been fantastic hearing and seeing all the amazing projects that our boys have been involved in whilst at home and families must be congratulated on the creative ways they have helped engage children during these challenging times.

There are so many examples of research activities, helping tidy up gardens and planting seeds, building a chiminea, scavenger hunts, baking banana bread, entering competitions and even writing a book. There are lots of examples of boys taking advantage of keeping up with their formal learning, and although there’s no expectation, have even returned it to school for feedback!

We have had examples of boys making daisy chains, keeping a diary and even lighting up their houses all in aid of raising awareness during these challenging times.

Families are asked to share photos so we can showcase on our Social Media pages and during a live Tuesday morning assembly. If you haven’t checked out our Twitter @WHSSchool feeds, please do take a look, we love sharing and celebrating.  

For families who have a love for books, @whsschoolbooks is attracting a lot of attention from authors and we are adding to our bookshelf lots of new & free books. The school’s reading club should prepare themselves for some exciting reading challenges.

We are continually looking at developing an interactive community and families will know that we are using zoom at the moment to try and maintain face to face contact. We will be introducing lots of activities specific to interests…such as personal fitness training, bake offs, board games, quiz’s, sun flower planting and bird box building, but to name a few.  

Keep a look out for weekly information sharing & celebration assemblies, family bingo, fitness and activity challenges and how to build a fitness fortune teller!.  

Our joint working and collaboration is simply fabulous. If you need anything, you know where we are.

Best wishes,

Sue   

Great news

Dear all, I do hope you and your family are well.

It’s been fantastic hearing and seeing all the amazing projects that our boys have been involved in whilst at home and families must be congratulated on the creative ways they have helped engage children during these challenging times.

There are so many examples of research activities, helping tidy up gardens and planting seeds, building a chiminea, scavenger hunts, baking banana bread, entering competitions and even writing a book. There are lots of examples of boys taking advantage of keeping up with their formal learning, and although there’s no expectation, have even returned it to school for feedback!

We have had examples of boys making daisy chains, keeping a diary and even lighting up their houses all in aid of raising awareness during these challenging times.

Families are asked to share photos so we can showcase on our Social Media pages and during a live Tuesday morning assembly. If you haven’t checked out our Twitter @WHSSchool feeds, please do take a look, we love sharing and celebrating.  

For families who have a love for books, @whsschoolbooks is attracting a lot of attention from authors and we are adding to our bookshelf lots of new & free books. The school’s reading club should prepare themselves for some exciting reading challenges.

We are continually looking at developing an interactive community and families will know that we are using zoom at the moment to try and maintain face to face contact. We will be introducing lots of activities specific to interests…such as personal fitness training, bake offs, board games, quiz’s, sun flower planting and bird box building, but to name a few.  

Keep a look out for weekly information sharing & celebration assemblies, family bingo, fitness and activity challenges and how to build a fitness fortune teller!.  

Our joint working and collaboration is simply fabulous. If you need anything, you know where we are.

Best wishes,

Sue   

1st April 2020

Great news

It is really pleasing that I can share with you the report released by Ofsted today following their inspection in March. 

A big thank you must go to our staff team across the school’s community, to our children for their hard work and for always keeping us on our toes, and to our families for their determination and support.

Best wishes,

Sue

I hope that you are well. Today, schools have been sent information about a national voucher scheme for children eligible for free school meals. We will be sending out information on this as we get more details, however please be assured that the school will also be sending supermarket vouchers to all families in need at this time. Families who requested vouchers either last week or this, will be sent some more as we break for Easter. It is not too late to register a request.

Key Workers from our therapy, care and education teams will continue to contact families through the Easter break using your child’s individual support plan. Please continue to contact the school directly if you need any help or support.

Best wishes,

Sue

27th March 2020

I hope that you are well. Today, schools have been sent information about a national voucher scheme for children eligible for free school meals. We will be sending out information on this as we get more details, however please be assured that the school will also be sending supermarket vouchers to all families in need at this time. Families who requested vouchers either last week or this, will be sent some more as we break for Easter. It is not too late to register a request.

Key Workers from our therapy, care and education teams will continue to contact families through the Easter break using your child’s individual support plan. Please continue to contact the school directly if you need any help or support.

Best wishes,

Sue

I hope families have managed to enjoy a bit of the sunshine over the last couple of days. We’ve had a few requests for supermarket vouchers and hope that we have a few more before the weekend, please either ring reception or

e-mail:general@whsschool.org.uk to register your preference. We’d like to encourage families to send in their photos of boys in action so we can share them on our social media pages-we know that other carers and the staff team enjoy seeing what everyone is up to.

And finally, please encourage the boys to stay in contact using their school email addresses, they can reach all staff directly.

Keep well,

Sue

25th March 2020

We are conscious that many of our families will be finding it difficult providing for their households, as they continue to follow guidance set out by the government to stay at home wherever safe to do so. So, we have decided to provide supermarket vouchers for the next 2 weeks for all our families, whether children are in school or at home. Families can this week request a voucher from one of 3 supermarket chains….Tesco, Asda & Co-op (we do have a much larger number of Tesco ones at present), and are asked to contact reception or email general@whsschool.org.uk to indicate a preference.

Please accept this as a gesture of our support for families and in the manner in which it is intended.  

Best wishes,

Sue   

A heartfelt thank you for your consideration and support at this difficult time.

We have been busy continuing to plan for our most vulnerable children, creating a timetable to enable our staff team to support across all areas of the school, and to help our families who are key workers provide front line and crucial services. We are working hard to maintain our usual high level of care and thank you for your kind words of support.

We are continuing our work in the community (albeit from a distance) and this next week we will be supporting local residents at Ward Court Care Home with food hampers.  

If you need anything, please continue to contact the school.

Best wishes,

Sue

23rd March 2020

Good afternoon, I do hope that you are well. This morning we received a letter from the Director of Calderdale’s children and young people’s services, reiterating the government’s directive to parents to, where it is safe to do so, keep their child at home. The thinking at our school has been that where it is safe to do so, we will maintain a level of care for our children and their families, however this continues to be a challenge with the number of people self-isolating (across the country) rising. Our local picture is reflective of the country, in that where provision has stayed open to provide care from schools for children of critical workers, only a handful of children have actually accessed this facility.

We have this morning reassessed our situation and are confident that we can provide support to our ‘most’ vulnerable and are asking carers to strongly consider if you can care for your child at home. Many of you have already considered this and have chosen this course of action. We are keen to offer our support to those defined by the government as ‘key workers’; we know it is our duty to help provide the country with essential services and if you are a critical worker you will have already informed us, thank you.

We will continue to reach out to all families, providing emotional support, and learning packs. We will make further decisions arising from our current staffing situation, and direction from government.

If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to ask.

With sincere  wishes,

Sue 

Calderdale CYP-COVID 19 Parent and Carer Letter