Update 3rd April 2020
Dear parents/Carers
We wanted to update you with the latest developments, both concerning Lark Hall and government advice. We are working on the premise that school will continue to be closed after the Easter holidays, and I will update you all during the holiday period.
Again, like last week, we apologise in advance for the length of this letter. We think it is important that you have as much information as possible at this time.
We firstly want to give you all a huge shout out for the past two weeks. You are all no doubt doing an amazing job in these trying circumstances.
We also repeat our gratitude to all of families for the support shown to all of our staff during this time. This is a time where support for each other is critical in order to get us all through this crisis. Please support those in your neighbourhood, such as the elderly, who would value you ‘checking in’ with them.
As always, we ask you to please follow government advice to ensure your families are protected as much as possible. You and your families’ health are the most important consideration.
We also want to reiterate the fact that all school staff are working hard to do what we can to ensure all of our children, those in school and those at home, are supported during these days and weeks.
We now want to stress some further key messages.
Home Learning Resources
A reminder of the resources available online. These resources can be accessed by the school website - on the home page, click the tab entitled ‘Coronavirus Remote Learning’ and then select the year group. These resources are intended to last until the end of the Easter holidays.
Furthermore, please see this link below for our Youtube account to help with remote learning.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCELk8e27A7qnPK8YjLxfGCg/playlists
Also on the website remote learning page are the email addresses of your child’s teacher. Teachers and children are eager to maintain communication channels and keeping in touch with each other is massively important at this time.
A further reminder to all of families, our children can also be provided with hard copy learning folders for them to carry on working at home. If any family has not picked up a home learning folder, please contact the school to make arrangements to come into school to collect one. Please do not come to school without first contacting the school.
Easter Holidays
During the Easter we do not set homework. This is to enable pupils to take the time to relax with their families. During these challenging times, however, we appreciate this is easier said than done, but it still important to have some downtime.
Activities that are always worth maintaining every day are:
- Reading and listening to stories
- Early spelling and sounding out games
- Number Work and multiplication tables
Home Learning After Easter
Starting from after the Easter holidays, on Monday 20th April, we will be providing Home Learning resources on a weekly basis.
Every Monday morning (from April 20th) children from each year group will be provided with:
1 story/literacy based video uploaded to our youtube account - It will be great for the children to be able to see all their teachers faces still!
1 maths related video uploaded to youtube.
1 Seesaw task set for KS2 children.
1 post from EYFS and KS1 on twitter with activity ideas for children and families to try at home.
1 page of paper based learning on the school website for parents to download.
Our P.E. Specialist, Adam, is also preparing 1 post a week for either youtube or twitter relating to staying fit and healthy at home.
Online Safety
Of course, if you are using internet-based resources, please be mindful of safe internet usage. Below is a very useful link for families with regard to online safety. It includes most of the apps and games children might use.
The remote learning resources are designed to support families throughout this period. We hope you find them useful, but please use these resources as little or as often as you like. To reiterate, the purpose of the support from all at Lark Hall is to sustain a sense of school over what is perhaps a lengthy period of time
Emotional Well-Being and Mental Health
Regardless of their age, this is a difficult time for families with children. How a child or young person reacts can vary according to their age, how they understand information and communicate, their previous experiences, and how they typically cope with stress. Negative reactions may include worrying thoughts about their health or that of family and friends, fear, avoidance, problems sleeping, or physical symptoms such as stomach ache.
How children and young people of different ages may react
All children and young people are different, but there are some common ways in which different age groups may react to a situation like the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Understanding these may help you to know how to support your family. The common reactions to distress will fade over time for most children and young people, though could return if they see or hear reminders of what happened.
For infants to 2-year olds
Infants may become more easily distressed. They may cry more than usual or want to be held and cuddled more.
For 3 to 6-year olds
Nursery and reception children may return to behaviours they have outgrown. For example, toileting accidents, bed-wetting, or being frightened about being separated from their parents or caregivers. They may also have tantrums or difficulty sleeping.
For 7 to 10-year olds
Older children may feel sad, angry, or afraid. Peers may share false information but parents or caregivers can correct the misinformation. Older children may focus on details of the situation and want to talk about it all the time, or not want to talk about it at all. They may have trouble concentrating.
For preteens and teenagers
Some preteens and teenagers respond to worrying situations by acting out. This could include reckless driving, and alcohol or drug use. Others may become afraid to leave the home. They may cut back on how much time they connect with their friends. They can feel overwhelmed by their intense emotions and feel unable to talk about them. Their emotions may lead to increased arguing and even fighting with siblings, parents, caregivers or other adults. They may have concerns about how the school closures and exam cancellations will affect them.
Looking after your own mental health
As well as thinking about the children or young people in your care, it is important to take care of your own mental health and wellbeing. Children and young people react, in part, to what they see from the adults around them. When parents and caregivers deal with a situation calmly and confidently, they can provide the best support for their children and young people. Parents and caregivers can be more supportive to others around them, especially children, if they are better prepared.
For more details with regard supporting families with issues concerning mental health, please see the link below.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-on-sup porting-children-and-young-peoples-mental-health-and-wellbeing/guidanc e-for-parents-and-carers-on-supporting-children-and-young-peoples-ment
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Children Invited to Attend School over Easter
The only children that are attending school over the Easter holiday period (from Monday 7th April – Friday 17th April) will be those who have a parent designated as Key Worker.
If you have one of these jobs, and have not already contacted the school, please inform the school via email or phone at the earliest opportunity. Please use this address: eligibleforschool@larkhall.lambeth.sch.uk. Once this has been confirmed, a member of school staff will be in touch with you.
Where key workers have a partner who is working from home or who is not working, we would not expect to provide school services.
For any parent of a Vulnerable Child or any parent who is a Key Worker, please inform the school if you intend not to send your child into school as this is be important information for us to know.
Free School Meal Children
From Monday 30th March Lark Hall and Tesco have organised vouchers to be sent directly to families eligible for Free School Meals. This voucher will be worth the value of £15 per week for each eligible child.
Families will receive an email containing a barcode. They can either print this email off and take it to the Tesco store or show the barcode on your phone. Those families have been contacted today to ensure we have their correct email address.
You may be aware that the government have been working on putting in place a national scheme to enable families to access vouchers from a local supermarket. Guidance from government has come through this week and we will update families of this system over the Easter holidays.
Public Health England and Government Guidelines
I want to highlight the key advice provided for families.
Social Distancing
People are not allowed to leave their home apart for limited purposes – shopping for basic things, medical needs, one form of exercise each day and to travel to and from work when absolutely necessary.
Please follow the social distancing guideline s at the links below.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-implementing-s ocial-distancing-in-education-and-childcare-settingshttps://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-on-social-distanci ng-and-for-vulnerable-people/guidance-on-social-distancing-for-everyone-in-the-uk -and-protecting-older-people-and-vulnerable-adults
Displaying Symptoms
The most common symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) are recent onset of a new continuous cough and/or high temperature. If you have these symptoms, however mild, stay at home and do not leave your house for 7 days from when your symptoms started (if you live alone), or 14 days (if you live with someone who has symptoms). You do not need to call NHS 111 to go into self-isolation. If your symptoms worsen during home isolation or are no better after 7 days, contact NHS 111 online. If you have no internet access, you should call NHS 111. For a medical emergency dial 999.
Hygiene
- Wash your hands more often than usual, for 20 seconds using soap and hot water, particularly after coughing, sneezing and blowing your nose, or after being in public areas where other people are doing so. Use hand sanitiser if that’s all you have access to.
- To reduce the spread of germs when you cough or sneeze, cover your mouth and nose with a tissue, or your sleeve (not your hands) if you don’t have a tissue, and throw the tissue in a bin immediately. Then wash your hands or use a hand sanitising gel.
- Clean and disinfect regularly touched objects and surfaces using your regular cleaning products to reduce the risk of passing the infection on to other people.
That’s it from the leadership team at this time.
Please be assured that the school will be in contact with you whenever we have further information to share. Of course, you are always welcome to contact the school in the usual ways via email or telephone. If any family would like to speak to a member of the leadership team at Lark Hall please contact the school on 020 76223820. Sometimes a chat is all that is needed to get us through these times.
In the meantime, stay in, keep safe and we will be in touch again very soon.
Kind regards
The Senior Leadership Team
