4th May 2021

We are resuming sending updates to parents via a sway newsletter direct to your mobile phone number.

25/03/2021

The Birmingham Local Offer website (This information is from the Birmingham Local Authority)

The Birmingham Local Offer website is now launched.  It includes information about the wide range of services that are available to support all areas of a child’s life (0-25 years) especially those with a Special Educational Need or Disability (SEND).  This includes support with education, physical and mental health, social care, leisure activities and moving towards independence and adulthood.

Every local authority in England has a duty to provide children and young people, (0-25 years) with support if they have Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities - this is known as the Local Offer.  Every local authority has to publish what support is available on a website: this is called the Local Offer Website.

This Local Offer website gives information about the support that the local authority expects to be available across education, health and social care. The information on the website is clear and easy to find. It says who a particular service is for, how to apply, and how decisions are made about who gets that service.

The information you should be able to find on a Local Offer Website includes:

• Sources of support, advice and information for children, young people and families including support groups and forums.
• Special educational, health and social care provision for children and young people with SEN or disabilities
• Arrangements to identify and assess children and young people with SEN, including how an assessment can be requested.
• Other educational provision, for example leisure activities, sports or arts provision,
• Information about provision to assist in preparing children and young people for adulthood including post-16 education and training provision
• Arrangements for travel to and from schools, post-16 institutions and early years providers
• Childcare, including suitable provision for disabled children and those with SEND
• Support available to young people in higher education, particularly the Disabled Students Allowance (DSA) and the process and timescales for making an application for DSA
• Arrangements for resolving disagreements and for mediation, and details about making complaints

In Birmingham, we have been updating our Local Offer website to make the information in it clearer and easier to find.

In addition, we really want to keep adding to the information on the Local Offer Website in order to make it the one stop shop for young people and their families.  To do this we need the views of children, young people, families, schools and settings.  We are therefore asking you to promote this new site to parents using the materials provided and also to share with staff within your school or setting and provide feedback using the feedback form on the site.

23/3/2021

Changes to the Test and Trace support payment for parents (From the DfE)

Parents and carers of children who have been advised to self-isolate by their education setting or by NHS Test and Trace are now able to apply for a Test and Trace Support Payment or discretionary payment of £500, if they meet the eligibility criteria. The extension of the Test and Trace Support Payment scheme, which is administered by district and unitary local authorities in England, ensures that parents receive the financial support they need if they are unable to attend work due to childcare responsibilities.

Parents and carers should apply to their local authority to receive a payment. Applications for the Test and Trace Support Payment scheme are made via the local authority in which the parent or carer resides, not the local authority where the setting is situated, if these are different.

To be eligible applicants must meet all of the criteria that:

they are the parent or guardian of a child or young person in the same household and need to take time off work to care for them while they self-isolate. This is limited to one parent or guardian per household for the child or young person’s self-isolation period they are employed or self-employed they cannot work from home while undertaking caring responsibilities and will lose income as a result they meet all the other means-tested eligibility criteria for a Test and Trace Support Payment or locally determined criteria for a discretionary payment

That their child or young person:

is aged 15 or under (or 25 or under with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHC)) and normally attends an education or childcare setting has been told to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace or by their education or childcare setting because they have been identified as a close contact of someone who has tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19)

Nurseries, schools, colleges and further education providers are required to provide a letter to all parents or carers of the children advised to self-isolate, to support their application to the Test and Trace Support Payment scheme.

The letter must detail the child’s name and date of self-isolation. Parents or carers will then be able to provide this letter to their local authority as evidence that their child is required to self-isolate.

Once an application for a payment has been received, the local authority will be in touch with your setting to verify the details of the child provided on the application. This will include a check of the child’s name, age, address and days of self-isolation. This check is to minimise the event of fraudulent claims. It may be conducted before or after a payment is made, depending on the arrangements the individual local authority has chosen to put in place. The letter you give to parents and carers should explain to them that their local authority will conduct a check with their child’s setting if they apply for a payment.

16 March 2021
Returning to School Safely
Letter to families, parents and carers from Dr Justin Varney, Director of Public Health

210316 Returning to School Safely - Letter from Dr Justin Varney DPH

Monday 8th March 2021

Welcome back to all families and children attending City Road Primary School!

Below is an update on attendance from Birmingham City Council; the text of the letter is reproduced below so parents/carers can translate the letter using the translate function.

Here is the link to the letter: WHOLE_SCHOOL_LETTER_BCC_Letter_Attendance._March 2021.docx (sharepoint.com)

Here is the text of the letter:

School Attendance – Covid Update March 2021

A very important message for all parents/carers

Monday 8^th March 2021

Dear Parent/Carer,

This is a message about school attendance.

City Road Primary School is working in partnership with parents and Birmingham City Council to encourage children back into school following several very difficult months for parents, children and schools. We would like to thank parents for the work you have done in ensuring your children have received education during this period.

During the recent lockdown, schools were closed to all but vulnerable children and the children of critical workers.

Now the circumstances have changed, it is vital for all children to return to school to minimise as far as possible the longer-term impact of the pandemic on their education, wellbeing and wider development.  We know that children have missed being with their friends and the wider social aspects of school.  Following the first lockdown the vast majority of children returned to full time school.

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. Therefore, the government has advised that school attendance is again compulsory from the 8^th March 2021

This means that (unless parents are formally notified of new lockdown arrangements where schools are closed or a child is required to self-isolate), the usual rules on school attendance apply, including:

• parents’ duty to send their child/children to school regularly where they are of compulsory school age;
• schools’ responsibilities to record attendance and follow up absence
• the option for local authorities to again consider the use of legal sanctions, including penalty notices and prosecution in court.

If you are worried about your child/children attending school the first port of call is to discuss your concerns with the school directly. The school has specialist staff who may be able to help, and all schools work closely with health and council teams who may also be able to help if needed.

Please note that, given the disruption to children’s education caused by the pandemic, requests for leave during term time are unlikely to be authorised by the School.

Family emergencies also need careful consideration. It is not always appropriate or in the best interests of the child to miss school for emergencies which are being dealt with by adult family members.

No school or local authority wants to take legal action.  Every attempt to resolve parents’ concerns and improve a child’s attendance will be made before any formal legal action, which may include a penalty notice or court action, is considered.

After so much disruption to children’s education over the past year, the most important thing is that the school and parents work together to get children back into school. The school is ready to listen so please contact them if you have any worries and they will try to help you.  There is also information for parents and carers on attending school during the pandemic here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/what-parents-and-carers-need-to-know-about-early-years-providers-schools-and-colleges-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak

We wish you and your child/children all the best for the remainder of the academic year.

Kind regards

Education Legal Intervention Team

Birmingham City Council

 

Saturday 6th March 2021

Full return of schools - Monday 8th March

We are  so excited to be able to welcome all of our children back to school on Monday 8th March.  Many  of  the  children  may  be  feeling  apprehensive  about returning to school after  having been away since the beginning of January. We fully understand this and that is why there is a big focus on mental health and well-being. We want our children to feel happy and secure and enjoy being back in school, learning and meeting up with their friends.

Please be assured stringent procedures will be in place to keep everyone as safe as possible.

Dropping off/collecting children

There is a 20 minutes window in which children can come to school in family groups: 8:30 - 8:50. You can drop off children at any time between 8:30 - 8:50.

Likewise, at the end of the day there is a 20 minutes window 3:20 - 3:40. You can collect children at any time between 3:20 - 3:40.

 

Dropping off/collecting points

Nursery -Enter/leave from City Road gate

Morning 8:30am - 11:30am Afternoon 12:30pm - 3:30pm

 

Reception -Enter/leave from the Reception class door

Year 1D -Enter/leave from the Year 1 Entrance

Year 1C-Enter/leave from the Reception playground Entrance (Same as before)

Year 2 -Enter/leave from Y2 Entrance

Year 3 -Enter/leave from Y3 Entrance

Year 4- Enter/leave from main playground

Year 5 - Enter/leave from main playground

Year 6 - Enter/leave from main playground

 

Social distancing outside school grounds

Please do not arrive before 8:30am or 3:20pm.

 If you arrive early, please stand 2m away from any other families at all time. If you are in a vehicle, please stay in your vehicle until the gates are open and maintain distance from others in the playground.

We politely ask you to wear a face covering when entering the school grounds unless you are exempt.

Nursery

If your child turns 3 between 1st September 2020  and 31st March 2021 they can start in our nursery in April 2021.

If your child turns 3 between 1st April and 31st August this year they can start in our nursery in September 2021.

Please get in touch with the school office for more  information.

Important Dates

School will be breaking up for the Easter holidays on Thursday 1st April 2021.

Children are expected back at school on Monday 19th April 2021.

Term dates are available on the school website.

Breakfast Club

From Monday 8th March breakfast club will be available.

There is a charge of £5 per child per week to be paid weekly in advance.

We are starting breakfast club earlier at 7:45am but children can come in any time from 7:45am until 8am.

Please note the £5 per week charge does not cover the full costs the school incurs; we provide this service at a very low cost to parents to be able to support those families who need this provision for their children.

Click on the link if you wish to register your children for the breakfast club:

breakfast club form

 

Free School Meals over the Easter holidays

Birmingham City Council will be providing vouchers for the 2 weeks for children entitled to free school meals; we will be in touch with those parents in due course.

Contact the school office to check if your children are entitled to free school meals or click on the link below:

Click on the link below to check if your children are eligible for free school meals. If your children are eligible the school will receive an email notification and the school will be in touch with you to confirm arrangements.

https://www.cloudforedu.org.uk/ofsm/birmingham

Tips from the Young Minds Helpline on how you can support your child to transition back to school life

Here are some tips from the Young Minds Helpline on how you can support your child to transition back to school life:

 

1. Talk to your child about how they are feeling about going back to school and try not to make  assumptions. Ask  them  if  they  are  worried  or  feel  scared  about anything, but also if they are excited about or looking forward to something. No matter how your child feels, let them know that it is completely normal to feel a mixture of emotions and that everyone will be in the same boat.

 

2. Provide your child with as much information about their new routine and school day as you can. This will help them to prepare for any changes that have been made to the timings of their day, the layout of their classroom, their peer groups and playtimes.
   3. Reassure your child. During the lockdown we have been told to stay at home, remain socially distant from others and wash our hands regularly. This means children may find it difficult to go back to school because it will be a huge change from what they have been asked to do during the pandemic. Talk with your child about ways they can stay safe at school, such as washing their hands before and after eating, and reassure them that the school are putting measures in place to keep them safe.

    

   4. Re-establish a  routine  to  help  ease  into  school  life. During  lockdown  it  is understandable that your family’s routine may have changed. Children are likely to have been waking up later or going to bed later. To help them get ready for school,  try  to  gradually  get  them  back  into  their  usual  morning  and  bedtime routines as they get closer to their return date.

    

   5. Don’t put pressure on yourself. The transition back into school is likely to take some time. Lots  of children  will  experience  ups  and  downs. Try  your  best to support,  reassure  and  comfort  them,  without  putting  pressure  on  yourself  to make sure their homework is done or they settle into a new routine straightaway.

    

   6. Think ahead. As well as reflecting on what has happened during the past few weeks, it is important to help children develop hope and a sense of excitement for the future. At a time like this, it can be hard to feel positive, but identifying the things that they  can look  forward  to  will  help  them  to  realise  that the  current situation won’t last forever and their feelings will change.

    

   Seek support if you need it. Transitioning back to school after being in lockdown is no  easy  task.  You  may  find  that  your  child  struggles  to  get  back  into  school  or experiences difficulties while they’re at school. If this is the case, reach out to your child’s  school  as  soon  as  you  can  so  that  you  can  make  them  aware  of  the challenges and work together to support.

Please do not hesitate to contact us with any concerns and staff will be happy to provide support.

Thursday 4th March 2021

• Message for nursery and reception parents/carers: useful video on toys for talking: https://vimeo.com/518987914/222acb93f4

 

• City Road was successful in obtaining a grant from Millennium Point for a sensory garden.

The sensory garden project showed a great opportunity for developing the students communication, social skills and understanding of the world through the process of building this project. The project is a great example of promoting STEM throughout the school while developing young students' skills set.

Read more about this here: https://www.millenniumpoint.org.uk/case-study/city-road-primary-school-sensory-garden/

Full return of schools - Monday 8th March

Read this important newsletter on our walk to school challenge from Mr Miah: WOW! Walk to school challenge

Read this important newsletter on active travel from Mr Miah: Inspire active travel newsletter

Help create a 5 minutes walking bubble around the school: park further away and walk

Below is a link from the leader of Birmingham City Council to share with families across Birmingham.

1329tr Parents & Carers Schools return

Information from BCC’s Transportation Team: Keeping pupils safe on the return journey to school

With face-to-face learning soon resuming, we are working closely with Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) and transport operators including National Express West Midlands, to ensure that you and your pupils are prepared for the journey back to school. TfWM have developed a Back to School Toolkit complete with posters, leaflets and ticketing information, designed to help you communicate the changes to your school community.  They have also created some online resources to help you speak to students about journey planning.

To ensure you are as prepared for the return to school journey as possible, TfWM and BCC will be holding a webinar on 11 March 3.30-4.30pm. This will give the opportunity to ask questions, find out more about public transport provision, and obtain further support and resources. Please email connected@birmingham.gov.uk to sign up.

Public Transport

Keeping everyone safe is our top priority. All buses and most trains and trams will be out on the West Midlands Network as usual, ensuring that students can get safely to and from school. Cleaning regimes have been increased and capacity on board will be limited in order to support social distancing measures.

Top tips:

• Plan ahead; with limited space on board there may be more demand for services.
• Leave more time for your journey, as there may be a longer wait than usual. You may not be able to get on the first service and need to wait for the next one.
• Promote use of face covering: TfWM has launched the “Mask up Now” campaign to promote mask wearing compliance on public transport. Further resources can be found here.
• Remind students that social distancing should be maintained at all times when travelling.

 

For further advice about how to stay safe when using public transport please visit this link.

Parking and Congestion

The most effective way of alleviating congestion at the school gate is to encourage people to leave the car at home and to walk, cycle and take public transport to school.

Wednesday 24th February 2021

Full return of schools - Monday 8th March

The government have announced the return of all pupils to school from Monday 8^th March. In the meantime, children should continue with their learning from home. Please be assured the same stringent procedures will be in place to keep everyone as safe as possible. We look forward to welcoming all children back to school from 8th March.

In week beginning 8th March we will be asking all parents/carers who have borrowed devices/chargers from school to return the equipment as we will need these from the following week for children to use in class. We will also be setting up a bank of devices for those pupils who may have to isolate.

The procedures in place will be the same as for the autumn term; these are reproduced below:

 

Nursery -Enter/leave from City Road gate

Morning 8:30am - 11:30am Afternoon 12:30pm - 3:30pm

 

Reception -Enter/leave from the Reception class door

Beginning of the day: 8:30am-8:45am       End of the day: 3:25pm-3:40pm

 

Year 1D -Enter/leave from the Year 1 Entrance

Beginning of the day: 8:30am-8:45am     End of the day: 3:25pm-3:40pm

 

Year 1C-Enter/leave from the Reception playground Entrance (Same as before)

Beginning of the day: 8:30am-8:45am     End of the day: 3:25pm-3:40pm

 

Year 2 -Enter/leave from Y2 Entrance

Beginning of the day: 8:30am-8:45am    End of the day: 3:25pm-3:40pm

 

Year 3 -Enter/leave from Y3 Entrance

Beginning of the day: 8:30am-8:45am     End of the day: 3:25pm-3:40pm

 

Year 4- Enter/leave from main playground

Beginning of the day: 8:30am-8:45am End of the day: 3:25pm-3:40pm

 

Year 5 - Enter/leave from main playground

Beginning of the day: 8:30am-8:45am End of the day: 3:25pm-3:40pm

 

Year 6 - Enter/leave from main playground

Beginning of the day: 8:30am-8:45am       End of the day: 3:25pm-3:40pm

 

Social distancing outside school grounds

Please do not arrive before 8:30am or 3:25pm.

 If you arrive early, please stand 2m away from any other families at all time. If you are in a vehicle, please stay in your vehicle until the gates are open and maintain distance from others in the playground.

We politely ask you to wear a face covering when entering the school grounds unless you are exempt.

Nursery

If your child turns 3 between 1st September 2020  and 31st March 2021 they can start in our nursery in April 2021.

If your child turns 3 between 1st April and 31st August this year they can start in our nursery in September 2021.

Please get in touch with the school office for more  information.

Important Dates

School will be breaking up for the Easter holidays on Thursday 1st April 2021.

Children are expected back at school on Monday 19th April 2021.

Term dates are available on the school website.

Breakfast Club

From Monday 8th March breakfast club will be available.

There is a charge of £5 per child per week to be paid weekly in advance.

As you may be aware the school has to keep children in different classes apart so we'll need to know as soon as possible if you require breakfast club provision.

We are starting breakfast club earlier at 7:45am but children can come in any time from 7:45am until 8am.

Please note the £5 per week charge does not cover the full costs the school incurs; we provide this service at a very low cost to parents to be able to support those families who need this provision for their children.

Click on the link if you wish to register your children for the breakfast club:

breakfast club form

 

Contact the school office to check if your children are entitled to free school meals or click on the link below:

Click on the link below to check if your children are eligible for free school meals. If your children are eligible the school will receive an email notification and the school will be in touch with you to confirm arrangements.

https://www.cloudforedu.org.uk/ofsm/birmingham

Message from the Department for Education: BBC Asian network: vaccine scams

The BBC Asian Network has created some information on coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine scams and made it available on social media. The information includes videos in Urdu, Sylheti, Punjabi, Tamil and Gujarati for Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

You can also find these on the BBC news website.

Tuesday 23rd February 2021

 

Full return of schools - Monday 8th March

The government have announced the return of all pupils to school from Monday 8^th March. We will be sending out more information soon. In the meantime, children should continue with their learning from home. Please be assured the same stringent procedures will be in place to keep everyone as safe as possible. We look forward to welcoming all children back to school from 8th March.

In week beginning 8th March we will be asking all parents/carers who have borrowed devices/chargers from school to return the equipment as we will need these from the following week for children to use in class. We will also be setting up a bank of devices for those pupils who may have to isolate.

Secondary school offer day: Monday 1^st March (message from Birmingham City Council)

In advance of secondary offer day next Monday, we will be sending information tomorrow to families of Year 6 pupils who applied on time, explaining the process for them receiving their offers. This information is set out on the council’s website at https://www.birmingham.gov.uk/Year_7_offer_day

Offer emails will be sent on Monday 1 March 2021, and we expect that families will receive their email by 4pm. The exact time will depend on email service providers. Families will also receive their child's offer by letter from 2 March 2021. Families only need to contact School Admissions if they are refusing the offer. If families do not contact us to refuse the offer by 15th March, the offer will be accepted.

 

Saturday 13th February 2021

 

If you are over 65 or in a clinically extremely vulnerable group and have not yet had a COVID vaccination, you can book an appointment now.

Appointments are available at Millennium Point (City Centre) and Villa Park (Aston)

For more details visit: Birmingham & Solihull NHS COVID-19 Vaccination Service

Friday 12th February 2021

 

Video Message for Parents/Carers

Please watch this important, short video message from Head of School at City Road Primary School, Rashida Begum, to update parents/carers on remote education and other matters :

Click here to watch video message

Free BT Wi-Fi vouchers

BT is offering schools a limited number of free BT Wi-Fi vouchers to enable pupils in need to access the internet at home.

Click on this form if you are interested

Each Wi-Fi voucher code will allow access to the internet on up to three devices at a time, for free, until the end of July 2021. Access will be provided through BT’s network of over 5 million Wi-Fi hotspots around the country and includes comprehensive content filtering.If you are interested click on the link for more information: https://www.businessdirect.bt.com/sectors/education/free-wi-fi/

You can enter your postcode in the above website to check if you live in an area supported by the BT Wifi scheme.

Video Message for Parents/Carers (5th February 2021)

Please watch this important, short video message from Head of School at City Road Primary School, Rashida Begum, to update parents/carers on remote education and a new resource for reading:

Click here to watch video message

If your children are experiencing any issues with their online work at home please email:

enquiry@cityroad.bham.sch.uk

If parents/carers are unable to email, please phone the school office on 0121 464 3348.

Consultation on Relationships & Health Education: (5th February 2021)

Please share your views with us on the relationships & health education policy, the curriculum and resources that were shared during the three presentations.

Click on this link for the form: Parents/carers consultation form 

The presentation slides are available on the school website in the workshops folder under the parents tab.

(Link is available in the form).

The consultation is open until Friday 26th February 2021.

Device for remote education (2nd February 2021)

We have distributed many devices to our families to support with remote education.

If your child requires a device and you have not yet completed the form to request a device, please click on the link below:

Technology Home School Agreement

If you are unable to access the form or need any support with completing the form, please phone the school office: 0121 464 3348 and a member of staff will provide you with assistance.

Consultation on Relationships & Health Education: (Years 3-6)

Dear Parents/Carers,

We will be holding online workshops so we can consult with you on our curriculum plans and resources.

Please click on link below in advance of the meeting so you are familiar with how to access Microsoft Teams:

Learn more about Teams

This meeting is for the Relationships & Health Education Curriculum focussing on the content for Years 3-6; all parents/carers at City Road are welcome to attend.

Meeting time is as follows:

Thursday 4th February  5pm - 6pm

For a link to the online meeting email: head@cityroad.bham.sch.uk

(Please state your full name and the names of your children attending City Road Primary School in the email).

Public Q&A sessions regarding COVID-19 vaccination (1st February 2021)

 

Please share the information below about Q&A sessions with parents:

 

The coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine is our best defence against the virus. The vaccine is highly effective and it is currently being rolled out across Birmingham to priority groups. Throughout February 2021 there will be five online Q&A sessions which will allow the public to ask any questions they may have about the vaccination.  On the panel will be the Birmingham & Solihull Clinical Commissioning Group, local representatives and Councillor Paulette Hamilton, Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care.

 

It is strongly recommended that people attend the session that is relevant to where they live, as some of the information in the webinar will be localised:

4th February at 6pm-7.30pm. North Birmingham https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/138628992047

9th February at 6pm-7.30pm. South Birmingham https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/138644995915

11th February at 6pm-7.30pm. East Birmingham https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/138644995915

24th February at 6pm-7.30pm. West Birmingham https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/138645314869

25th February at 6pm-7.30pm. Central Birmingham https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/138645491397

Video Message for Parents/Carers (29th January 2021)

Please watch this important, short video message from Head of School at City Road Primary School, Rashida Begum, to update parents/carers on remote education and a new resource for reading:

Click here to watch video message

If your children are experiencing any issues with their online work at home please email:

enquiry@cityroad.bham.sch.uk

If parents/carers are unable to email, please phone the school office on 0121 464 3348.

Video Message for Parents/Carers (22nd January 2021)

Please watch this important, short video message from Head of School, Rashida Begum, to update parents/carers on remote education and a new resource for reading:

Click here to watch video message

 

If your children are experiencing any issues with their online work at home please email:

enquiry@cityroad.bham.sch.uk

If parents/carers are unable to email, please phone the school office on 0121 464 3348.

Device for remote education (update 22nd January 2021)

We have distributed many devices to our families to support with remote education.

If your child requires a device and you have not yet completed the form to request a device, please click on the link below:

Technology Home School Agreement

If you are unable to access the form or need any support with completing the form, please phone the school office: 0121 464 3348 and a member of staff will provide you with assistance.

Famly App (Update 19th January 2021) - Reception & Nursery: Great learning taking place! Well done!

To EYFS parents and carers,

I am very pleased with how children are enjoying their learning. Most children have now logged on and are watching the teaching videos. It is wonderful that parents and carers are supporting children, we love receiving your positive comments, please keep posting!

Staff are working very hard to provide new and exciting videos to ensure children can learn the best as they can at home.

All the staff are very pleased to see all the hard work being uploaded. Well done!

The comments section on Famly is an excellent way to feedback on how your child has got on. If you have any concerns with anything, please message a teacher on the app directly or phone the school.

Thank you for your continued support.

Fahmija Anwar

EYFS Leader

Update from Birmingham Children's Partnership (19th January 2021)

Emergency and ongoing help for Birmingham

As lockdown three begins, we want to let you know about the help that is available to families.

Please find detailed information about where you can find help for now and the longer term. If you want to talk to someone about help please contact your local team who can advise on all issues for all families.

Click here for more information which is available in a number of languages:

BCP Letter to Parents Carers Jan 21

 

Consultation on Relationships & Health Education: (Years 3-6) (Update 18th January 2021)

Dear Parents/Carers,

We will be holding online workshops so we can consult with you on our curriculum plans and resources.

Please click on link below in advance of the meeting so you are familiar with how to access Microsoft Teams:

Learn more about Teams

This meeting is for the Relationships & Health Education Curriculum focussing on the content for Yearsv 3- 6; all parents/carers at City Road are welcome to attend.

Meeting time is as follows:

Thursday 4th February  5pm - 6pm

A link will be sent closer to the time of the meeting.

During the meeting please ensure your camera and microphone are switched off; this makes it easier for everyone to access the meeting.

There will be opportunity to ask questions which you can type in the conversation section during the meeting and we'll answer these towards the end of the meeting.

Following the meetings, we will put all the presentation slides on the school website.

We want all children to grow up healthy, happy, safe, and able to manage the challenges and opportunities of living in modern Britain.

That is why, from September 2020, the law requires all primary age children to be taught Relationships and Health Education (RHE). RHE will put in place the building blocks needed for children to form and maintain positive and safe relationships, including with family, friends and online.

This meeting will explore the school's curruiculum in Years 3 - 6 (Key Stage Two) and how this supports the rest of Relationships and Health Education which will be taught from Year 1 through to Year 6.

We will be consulting with parents/carers over the course of the autumn and spring terms to ensure full implementation at the start of the summer term 2021.

By the end of primary school, it is mandatory for pupils to have been taught content on:

• Families and people who care for me

• Caring friendships

• Respectful relationships

• Online relationships

• Being safe

• Mental wellbeing

• Internet safety and harms

• Physical health and fitness

• Healthy eating

• Drugs, alcohol and tobacco

• Health and prevention

• Basic first aid

• The changing adolescent body

YOU CAN FIND FURTHER DETAIL BY SEARCHING ‘RELATIONSHIPS AND HEALTH EDUCATION’ ON GOV.UK.

The above list does not include any teaching about sex education (the school is not considering whether to offer pupils some lessons on this subject in addition to the mandatory teaching required by the National Curriculum for Science).

The school is therefore developing its policy and curriculum on RHE and will shortly begin asking parents and carers for their views.

As part of RHE we intend to teach your child what a relationship is, what friendship is, what family means and who can support them. In an age-appropriate way, the school will cover how to treat each other with kindness, consideration and respect.

In order to help us develop our policy and curriculum, the school intends to use the Relationships and Health Education programme that has been designed by Birmingham City Council, in partnership with Birmingham schools, as its starting point. This has been drafted with the aim of meeting the needs of children across the city. An essential part of the programme is to ensure that parents and carers are aware of what is being taught and to ensure that the curriculum is appropriate for all children in Birmingham.

You can view the programme that has been designed by Birmingham City Council on the Birmingham City Council website:

https://www.birmingham.gov.uk/info/20014/schools_and_learning/2198/birmingham_approach_to_relationships_and_health_education_in_primary_schools

As a school, we wish to encourage a positive engagement process that includes the views of pupils, parents, staff and governors in relation to the new curriculum. We will therefore contact you to gain your views following the workshops.

Yours sincerely,

Shaukat Islam

Executive Headteacher

Video Message for Parents/Carers (15th January 2021)

Please watch this important, short video message from Head of School, Rashida Begum, to update parents/carers on remote education:

Click here to watch video message

Remote Education (Update 14th January 2021)

If your children are experiencing any issues with their online work at home please email:

enquiry@cityroad.bham.sch.uk

If parents/carers are unable to email, please phone the school office on 0121 464 3348.

Key Worker Survey (Update 14th January 2021)

If you want your children to attend school, please complete the form below which also provides more information:

Key Worker Survey Form 

Remote education provision: information for parents/carers (14th January 2021)

This information is intended to provide clarity and transparency to pupils and parents or carers about what to expect from remote education if local restrictions require entire cohorts (or bubbles) to remain at home. You  can read the text below which can be translated into other languages using the translate button or if you want to download a PDF document you can click on the following link:

Inspire _share_information_about_your_remote_education

For details of what to expect where individual pupils are self-isolating, please see the final section of this page.

The remote curriculum: what is taught to pupils at home

A pupil’s first day or two of being educated remotely might look different from our standard approach, while we take all necessary actions to prepare for a longer period of remote teaching.

What should my child expect from immediate remote education in the first day or two of pupils being sent home?

Children should log on to their remote learning account (myShowbie for KS1 and KS2).  As soon as they log on, they will see two week’s worth of work. They should open the week one folder and complete all of the work labelled day one (reading, writing, maths and phonics) in the morning. In the afternoon, they should look at the timetable that shows which lessons they should complete on that day (science, music, PSHE etc.)  All of the work set in these folders is from pre-recorded lessons by teachers in school or across the Trust and the Oak Academy.

Children in EYFS access remote learning through the Famly app. This can be accessed on phones, tablets or computers. Children watch pre-recorded lessons and are then set follow-up tasks away from the screen. Parents can write comments to the teachers on how the children did or upload images of their work. Children are given a remote learning pack to support them with practical tasks such as maths and a book to record their phonics work.

 

Following the first few days of remote education, will my child be taught broadly the same curriculum as they would if they were in school?

• If the whole bubble or school has to learn remotely, then we teach the same curriculum as we would in school. We follow the same timetable as we would in school with additional daily PE lessons and daily well-being sessions. All sessions are led by the bubble’s teacher who pre-records lessons and uploads daily by 9am.

Remote teaching and study time each day

How long can I expect work set by the school to take my child each day?

We expect that remote education (including remote teaching and independent work) will take pupils broadly the following number of hours each day:

In KS1 and KS2, we provide at least 4 hours of remote learning every day.

The timetable is set to follow the timetable of a normal school day, with additional breaks, slightly shorter lessons, and additional daily PE and well-being lessons.

Learning takes place between 8:45am-3:00pm with an hour for lunch and regular breaks.

In EYFS, we provide at least 3 hours of remote learning every day.

The timetable is tailored to meet the needs of the EYFS curriculum and all follow-up tasks are away from the screen.

 

Accessing remote education

How will my child access any online remote education you are providing?

In KS1 and KS2, we provide at least 4 hours of remote learning every day.

The timetable is set to follow the timetable of a normal school day, with additional breaks, slightly shorter lessons, and additional daily PE and well-being lessons.

Learning takes place between 8:45am-3:00pm with an hour for lunch and regular breaks.

In EYFS, we provide at least 3 hours of remote learning every day.

The timetable is tailored to meet the needs of the EYFS curriculum and all follow-up tasks are away from the screen.

If my child does not have digital or online access at home, how will you support them to access remote education?

We recognise that some pupils may not have suitable online access at home. We take the following approaches to support those pupils to access remote education:

We lend Chromebooks to pupils if they do not have a device at home. Parents are sent a Home Technology Survey Form to complete (which is sent to their phone). This form is sent regularly. In addition, parents can call the school office to request the form again. As well as this, teachers who notice that children are not accessing remote education are able to request that the form is sent to parents and can communicate with them to encourage them to complete it.

We also provide internet connection for families who do not have it.  Parents complete the same form (see above).

We provide online connectivity and devices to all pupils to enable them to access remote education.

We also provide remote learning packs including exercise books and stationery to all pupils.

 

How will my child be taught remotely?

We use a combination of the following approaches to teach pupils remotely:

• Pre-recorded lessons by your child’s teacher for reading, writing and maths. These lessons are approximately 15-20 minutes long and include a follow-up task which takes another 15-20 minutes to complete.
• Pre-recorded phonics lessons from a teacher across the Trust.
• Pre-recorded lessons from the broader curriculum from across the Trust (science, history, art, DT, RE etc.).
• Pre-recorded lessons from the Oak National Academy or White Rose Maths
• Websites supporting the teaching of specific subjects or areas, including video clips: BBC Bitesize etc.
• Access to books to read for pleasure and read independently: Oxford Owl and Bug Club
• Remote learning packs relevant to each Key Stage to support pupils with their learning.

Engagement and feedback

What are your expectations for my child’s engagement and the support that we as parents and carers should provide at home?

Expectations for pupils’ engagement with remote education

• Pupils are expected to complete all work set on the day it is set.
• Pupils are expected to complete work to the best of their ability.
• Pupils are expected to share work with their teacher on the day it is set.
• Pupils are expected to communicate with their teacher if they require more support.

expectations of parental support, for example, setting routines to support your child’s education

• Ensure your child/ren go to bed on time, try and have a similar routine like you would if they were attending school
• Have a routine so any siblings can take it in turns to complete set work by their teacher
• Provide a quiet space for your child/ren to complete their work (can provide headphones)
• Ensure short physical breaks are built into the day so children can have time away from the screen
• Ensure anything that may distract them is put away (play stations/phones etc.)
• Talk to your children about their learning, praise them for accessing their learning, they will enjoy talking you through their work
• Follow the timetable as closely as possible so teachers can feedback and adapt the following lessons accordingly.

 

How will you check whether my child is engaging with their work and how will I be informed if there are concerns?

• Teachers check pupil’s engagement with remote education on a daily basis. They can easily monitor who has completed work and assess the quality of the work.
• Parents will be immediately contacted if their child is not accessing work. This may happen in a number of ways: a text message, a phone call from your child’s teacher, a phone call from a member of support staff, a letter sent home if we are unable to contact you.
• Teachers can communicate with parents via the chat function and equally, parents can communicate directly with their child’s teacher using the chat function.
• In addition, at least once a week, all parents receive a call from a member of support staff who will give a general overview of the child’s engagement over the week.

 

How will you assess my child’s work and progress?

Feedback can take many forms and may not always mean extensive written comments for individual children. For example, whole-class feedback or quizzes marked automatically via digital platforms are also valid and effective methods, amongst many others. Our approach to feeding back on pupil work is as follows:

• Feedback may be given to individual pupils using voice notes, messages, annotations on their uploaded work or emojis. Sometimes, feedback may require a phone call to the pupil.
• Feedback may be given to the whole group/class. This may be given in the following teaching lesson, in the class discussion or in the chat section.
• Answers may be released at a later time so children can self-mark. Teachers will then review the work to plan the next steps in learning.
• Pupils are set multiple choice, self-marking quizzes so they receive instant feedback. Teachers analyse the results of these quizzes to inform their next teaching session.

Additional support for pupils with particular needs

How will you work with me to help my child who needs additional support from adults at home to access remote education?

We recognise that some pupils, for example with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), may not be able to access remote education without support from adults at home. We acknowledge the difficulties this may place on families, and we will work with parents and carers to support those pupils in the following ways:

• In the EYFS and for pupils with complex SEND, we use the Famly This is easy to access for parents and they can communicate easily with teachers.
• Pupils are able to watch pre-recorded lessons and then complete a follow-up task away from the screen.
• Lessons are tailored to meet the individual needs of each pupil.
• The length of lessons are tailored to meet the needs and age of the child.
• Phonics, maths, stories and topic lessons are prioritised and parents are encouraged to participate with the follow-up tasks.

Remote education for self-isolating pupils

Where individual pupils need to self-isolate but the majority of their peer group remains in school, how remote education is provided will likely differ from the approach for whole groups. This is due to the challenges of teaching pupils both at home and in school.

If my child is not in school because they are self-isolating, how will their remote education differ from the approaches described above?

If a pupil is self-isolating, they log onto their Showbie account.

They will find two weeks’ worth of work that is broadly in line with what their peers are learning that half-term in school. As soon as they log on, they should open the week one folder and complete all of the work labelled day one (reading, writing, maths and phonics) in the morning. In the afternoon, they should look at the timetable that shows which lessons they should complete on that day (science, music, PSHE etc.)

All of the work set for their period of self-isolation is from the Oak Academy, White Rose Maths or pre-recorded lessons by teachers in school or the Trust.

Pupils who are self-isolating, should continue to complete work according to the timetable for the duration of their self-isolation (up to a period of 2 weeks). If the isolation period goes on further than two weeks, school will upload subsequent lessons.

If an individual pupil has to self-isolate, then we teach the same curriculum remotely as we do in school wherever possible and appropriate. However, we have needed to make some adaptations in some subjects so that the core knowledge and skills for that subject are prioritised.

For example, units of work in reading, writing and maths focus on the core and basic skills in these subjects during a period of self-isolation e.g. place value and the four operations in maths. For units of work from the wider curriculum, we use the Oak Academy to deliver the same knowledge as they would learn in school. Where Oak Academy does not have a similar unit to what is on our curriculum, we replace this unit with another key unit for that subject.

Your child’s teacher will respond to pupil’s work on a daily basis. If a pupil is not accessing work or requires support, a member of support staff will contact you immediately.

 

Food Parcels for Children entitled to free school meals (13th January 2021)

Please complete the form below if your children are entitled to free school meals and you want to collect a food parcel because you have not collected a food parcel yet.
If you have collected a food parcel in this week only but not last week still complete the form.

If you are unsure if your children are entitled to free school meals, give the school office a call to check.

https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=pXWHFPBDp0uU-y6MjtrTUZEomEjN47lOu93PeF2qaxdUQUxOTktaVldaWEo0QTdJT1FKM1NHVkdMRS4u

See below for more details too.

Nursery Home Learning Timetable (13th January 2021)

AS you are aware Nursery is OPEN; if you choose not to send your child to attend nursery at the moment, below is a link to a timetable to support with learning at home. Staff will be contacting you to go through how you can support your child at home using the 'famly' app.

Nursery Timetable for famly home learning

Food Parcels for children entitled to free school meals (13th January 2021 update)

Our catering supplier, City Serve, are supplying food parcels to collect from school. Please phone the school office to make arrangements to collect food parcels to which your children are entitled. Food parcels will be prepared to take into account children's dietary needs and any religious requirements.

Week 1

• 1 loaf of bread or 6 white rolls
• 2 baking potatoes 50s
• 1 cucumber
• 1 pack of cherry tomatoes
• 1 standard tin sweetcorn in water 326grams
• 2 items from the following:

1 sliced cooked meat – 3 slices of ham/chicken/turkey or 1 tin tuna or 6 eggs

• 250g block of cheese
• 1 tin baked beans 420gm
• 3 individual serving yoghurt pots
• 5 portions of fresh fruit (e.g. apples, satsumas)
• 1 litre CRG Apple Juice or milk

Week 2

• 1 x loaf of Bread or 6 white rolls
• 1 baking potato 50s
• 1 pack of whole-wheat pasta
• 1 tin of tomatoes
• 1 onion or cucumber
• 1 pack of cherry tomatoes
• 1 standard tin sweetcorn in water
• 2 items from the following:

1 sliced cooked meat (3 slices of ham/chicken/turkey) 1 tin tuna 185gm or 6 eggs

• 200g block of cheese
• 1 tin baked beans
• 3 individual serving of yoghurts 85gms
• 5 portions of fresh fruit
• 1 litre CRG Orange Juice or milk

Remote Learning Update (8th January 2021) - Reception

Remote Learning Update (6th January 2021) - Years 1 -6

Dear Parents and Carers,

Thank you for your continued support during these uncertain times.

Please be reassured that we will support your child/children with home learning in accordance with the government guidance.  We hope that you will work closely with the teachers of the school to ensure your child/children’s learning continues.

Watch this important message from the head of school, Rashida Begum; click on the link below to watch:

https://youtu.be/q13cAawRm54

Expectations for teachers

• All lessons will be accessed via Showbie
• Teachers will pre-record lessons and set follow-up tasks
• Teachers will feedback to pupils and adapt lessons to ensure children make progress
• Teachers will award praise and prizes to pupils
• Teachers will respond to comments and questions that you or your child write
• Teachers will ensure all children access remote learning and arrange for a member of staff to call you if they are worried about the amount of work that they complete
• Teachers will ensure lessons are high-quality
• Teachers will set high expectations for children and insist that children produce work to their best ability

Everyday

Subject	Who will teach the lesson?	How long will the lesson last?
Reading	Your child’s teacher	15-20 minutes plus follow-up task
Writing	Your child’s teacher	15-20 minutes plus follow-up task
Maths	Your child’s teacher	15-20 minutes plus follow-up task
PE	Joe Wicks	30 minutes

 

Once a week

Subject	Who will teach the lesson?	How long will the lesson last?
Science	A teacher from our school/Trust	15-20 minutes plus follow-up task
History/Geography	A teacher from our school/Trust	15-20 minutes plus follow-up task
Art/DT	A teacher from our school/Trust	15-20 minutes plus follow-up task
RE	A teacher from our school/Trust	15-20 minutes plus follow-up task
PSHE	Oak Academy teacher	15-20 minutes plus follow-up task
French	Oak Academy teacher	15-20 minutes plus follow-up task
Music	Oak Academy teacher	15-20 minutes plus follow-up task
Computing	Purple Mash	15-20 minutes plus follow-up task

 

Watch this video of Michael Rayner, Assistant headteacher at City Road Primary School demonstrate how to access Showbie:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFadriw7WK4&feature=youtu.be

Expectations for learning at home with support from parents

• Ensure there is a quiet space for your child to work
• Follow the timetable as closely as possible
• Encourage your child to complete at least 4 lessons each day
• Use the chat feature to communicate with your child’s teacher if your child needs further support
• Show an interest in what your child is learning
• Praise your child for completing work
• Encourage your child to complete work to a high standard
• Help your child with technical support (if needed) uploading work, taking photographs of their work, leaving voice messages
• Contact the school if you need any support or guidance
• Ensure that your child is safe online by ensuring you have filters on your internet and that your child only accesses sites recommended by school: Showbie and Ed Shed
• Make sure that your child has screen breaks regularly (see suggestions in the timetable)
• Encourage them to complete at least 30 minutes of physical activity everyday (use the PE videos on Showbie)

Below is a timetable for your children in Years 1 - 6 to follow:

Remote learning timetable