Tuesday 18th May

Dear Parents/Carers,

Coronavirus Information

  I am writing to advise you that unfortunately, a child in the school has been tested positive for Coronavirus. The children in that specific class, their staff team and those children who have been on the child’s bus are now at home and have been asked to self-isolate following the national guidance.

Following Government Guidance, your child should continue attending school providing they remain well. This guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/guidance-for-full-opening-schools#soc

However, if your child becomes unwell with a new and persistent cough, or a high temperature, or has a loss of or change in, their normal sense of taste or smell (anosmia), you MUST keep them at home and you must follow guidance for households with possible or confirmed coronavirus (COVID-19) infection, which sets out that your child should self-isolate for at least 10 days and you should arrange to have a test to see if they have coronavirus (COVID-19). You can book a test online at nhs.uk/ask-for-a-coronavirus-test or call 119. Please email the results of any tests taken by members of your household during the isolation period as we need this information in order to safely bring your child back to school. Please email any results to office@oaklands.leicester.sch.uk.

Whilst numbers of Covid cases has reduced nationally, we continue to be concerned about this and ask that you remain vigilant in looking for the symptoms of Coronavirus. Please do not send your child in to school if they are unwell. If your child or a household member has symptoms of Coronavirus and you need further advice you can call NHS 111.

If your child has nausea, diarrhoea or any other signs of illness, you MUST keep your child off school for at least 48 hours after the last bout of their illness. Please ring the school office to let us know.

If you have any concerns or queries, please do not hesitate to contact us. Your child’s safety is our utmost priority. We will contact you as soon as we know the outcome of the child’s test.  

Regards

Sarah Osborne

(Headteacher)

Dear Parents and Carers,

We’d like to thank you for keeping to the national and local guidance–social distancing, frequently washing hands and using face coverings. Here in Leicester we’ve been under lockdown more than anywhere else in the country, so we know just how important these actions are.

COVID-19 case rates in Leicester are at around 37 per 100,000 of the population, the lowest the rate has been since last autumn. Our rates are coming down; however, they continue to be significantly higher than the national average and in the last couple of weeks we have seen our rates fall at a slower pace. We urge you to remain vigilant even as restrictions continue to be relaxed and from Monday, 17 May, as you begin to mix more with your families and friends.

You may have heard about different variants of the virus. In Leicester, all positive PCR test results are checked to see if they are a variant. We have systems to make sure we are informed of potential variant cases very quickly and that we respond rapidly to such cases. This means that we can contain any spread to a very small number of people. We will continue to do this in the coming months. Please be assured that there is nothing additional for you to do about variant cases unless specifically contacted by ourselves or Public Health England.

The best way to reduce the transmission of ALL cases, not just variant cases remains: social distancing, frequent hand washing, wearing face coverings when required, keeping the number of people you are in contact with as low as possible and getting tested regularly as part of the lateral flow testing or when symptomatic. In other words, continuing to do the things you have been doing:

• Not sending your child to school if they have any symptoms

• Arranging a test if any member of your household has symptoms and isolating all contacts until the results of the test are known

• Keeping your child at home if they have been identified as a contact with a confirmed case

• Continuing to do twice weekly lateral flow tests and confirmatory PCR tests if any results are positive.

We would also urge everyone who is eligible to have their vaccination when invited to do so. Vaccination, alongside the measures above, are the best ways to reduce the spread of coronavirus and protect both ourselves and our loved ones. Other than in a very few cases, the tiny risks associated with vaccination are far lower than the very real risks from infection.

Schools and settings continue to have arrangements so that children are able to attend school so please do keep sending your child to school throughout the rest of the summer term unless they are unwell, have had a positive test or advised to self-isolate. As usual schools will only grant leave of absence for exceptional circumstances. From Monday, 17 May, there are some changes to some of the rules for schools.

Guidance about face coverings has changed

Following the government’s announcement, from 17 May, pupils, staff, and visitors will no longer be required to wear face coverings in school during lessons. However, they may still wear them if they want to.

In Leicester we are still encouraging secondary aged pupils to wear face coverings in indoor communal areas, such as corridors, where it is difficult to maintain social distancing.

Staff and visitors in all schools must continue to wear a mask in indoor communal areas at all times.

Visit leicester.gov.uk/facecoverings for the most up-to-date guidance for Leicester.

There is no national or local recommendation that children in primary schools wear a face covering.

Trips and visits

School organised trips are now allowed in the government rules. If your child’s school organises a trip or visit, they will make sure that all the safety measures are in place. They will not be mixing groups of children.

For further help and advice around Coronavirus, please visit the council’s website - leicester.gov.uk/coronavirus and remember as things start to reopen we need to take this step carefully.

Keep a distance from others, wear face coverings and wash hands often. Get tested regularly.

Kind regards,

Martin Samuels                                                      Ivan Browne 

Strategic Director, Social Care and                        Director of Public   

Education                                                               Health and Sports  

As we come to the end of our week focussing on mental health awareness, it’s important to remember that wellbeing continues to be a focus throughout the year. Children need to develop the skills to understand and express their emotions, and to develop strategies for coping with the ups and downs of life.

It’s important to encourage your child’s emotional wellbeing and mental health from an early age. The attached document is tips that have been suggested to Scope by parents and professionals with experience of special educational needs.

Please also have a look at https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/supermovers/pshe-super-mood-movers/zm2gydm Super Mood Movers.  These are free and fun videos that will encourage your child to get active while they learn.

For more information or support please contact our Mental Health Champion; Sally Bott sbott@oaklands.leicester.sch.uk or 0116 241 5921.

What do we mean by 'connect with nature'?

We build our connection to nature through our own personal experiences - what we feel, think and experience in our interactions with the natural environment. Connecting with nature is not just about the amount of time we are spending outdoors; it is also about building a relationship with nature by noticing and becoming sensitive to what is around us. We use our senses to do this–such as noticing the different cloud shapes in the sky, taking in the scents that flowers give off and listening to the birds chirping in the trees.

Sound Walk Activity:

Why not go on a sound walk with your child/family? What can they hear? Use the worksheet attached to name the sounds. Try to focus on sounds made in nature, birds, trees, leaves. Collect some sticks and leaves and explore the different sounds that they make.

#mentalhealthawarenessweek #connectwithnature

Health & Wellbeing

Being outdoors is good for us in so many ways. Ideally, a connection to nature established at a young age will develop healthy, lifelong behaviours. Evidence shows that being outside and connecting with nature can provide many health and well-being benefits including:

• opportunities to increase physical activity
• guarding against obesity and type 2 diabetes
• preventing Vitamin D deficiency
• reducing the symptoms of stress and ADHD
• contributing to dementia treatment
• promoting academic attainment
• developing employability skills
• helping to prevent the loss of environmental knowledge and understanding

These activities can be done by adults or can be adapted for children.

Do activities outdoors:

• Take a walk in a green space, such as a local park.
• Get creative. Draw or paint animals or nature scenes, or let them inspire a poem or song lyrics. If you enjoy writing in a journal, try doing this outside.
• Eat meals outdoors. Have a picnic in a local park, or simply sit in a garden. This might be something you could enjoy doing with other people.
• Watch the stars. Use a stargazing website, app or book to help you recognise different stars, or simply enjoy looking at the night sky. Give your eyes time to adjust, as it can take about 20 minutes before you can fully see stars in the dark.
• Try exercising outside. Run or jog through a local park, or do yoga outdoors. You could try it by yourself, or look for classes in your local area.

How can nature benefit my mental health? 

Spending time in green space or bringing nature into your everyday life can benefit both your mental and physical wellbeing. For example, doing things like growing food or flowers, exercising outdoors or being around animals can have lots of positive effects. It can: 

• improve your mood 
• reduce feelings of stress or anger 
• help you take time out and feel more relaxed 
• improve your physical health 
• improve your confidence and self-esteem 
• help you be more active 
• help you make new connections 
• provide peer support.

What nature ideas could I try?

Bring nature inside:

• Buy flowers or potted plants for your home.
• Collect natural materials, for example leaves, flowers, feathers, tree bark or seeds – use them to decorate your living space or in art projects.
• Arrange a comfortable space to sit, for example by a window where you can look out over a view of trees or the sky.
• Grow plants or flowers on windowsills.
• Take photos of your favourite places in nature. Use them as backgrounds on a mobile phone or computer screen or print and put them up on your walls.
• Listen to natural sounds, like recordings or apps that play birdsong, ocean waves or rainfall.

These activities can be done by adults/young people or can be adapted for children.

This week is Mental Health Awareness Week. It provides a great opportunity for schools to normalise the discussion of mental health and wellbeing amongst pupils and staff. The theme for this year’s week is ‘nature’. 

Recent National Trust research found a link between feeling connected to nature and having improved wellbeing. 

Every day this week we will send home information, ideas and resources that link with this theme and support wellbeing for all the family.

This term we are introducing our school Learning Powers: Explore, Connect, Persevere, Feel and Reflect.  To find out more go to:

https://oaklands-school-leicester.secure-primarysite.net/learning-powers/

Dear Parents,

PARENT GOVERNOR VACANCY AT OAKLANDS SCHOOL

I am writing to let you know that there is a vacancy for two parent governors at our school and to invite you to stand for election or to nominate another parent to do so. This is a fantastic opportunity to become more involved in the life of the school.

The Governing Body, with the Headteacher, has overall responsibility for the running of the school. Governing bodies have three main roles: -

• Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction;
• Holding the Headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils; and
• Overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent.

Governors need a strong commitment to the role, the curiosity to question and analyse and the willingness to learn.  However, we would particularly welcome nominations from parents with the following skills: - financial and premises expertise.  A wide variety of other skills are very welcome.

Our parent governors have a term of office of four years. Our governing body usually meets four times a year and has two committees who meet four times a term.

If you would like to stand for election or wish to nominate someone else, please complete the attached form in your child’s book bag. We must have the completed nomination forms returned by the end of the school day on Wednesday 28th April 2021. If there are more nominations than vacant posts, a ballot will be held and one voting paper per parent will be sent to you via your child.

If you would like further information on your eligibility to serve as a parent governor or on the role of a governor, please contact me.

Yours sincerely,

Sarah Osborne

Headteacher