School routines and Covid19 restrictions

Dear families

School routines and Covid19 restrictions stay in place
I wanted to write to all our families across the Trust’s schools following the latest announcement by the Prime Minister about the lifting of Coivd restrictions from Monday, 19 July.

We have decided to avoid further disruptions and not to make any changes for the final week of schooling in any of our schools, which for most of you will mean up until Friday, 23 July.

We would be grateful therefore, if you could continue to observe all the current routines that your school has put in place until the end of term.

As the Prime Minister said this week, we all need to continue to do absolutely everything we can to keep each other safe.

The schools, will, of course, continue to follow all statutory guidance.

Summer school
If your child is attending one of our Summer schools we will be writing to you separately about these arrangements.

Arrangements for the next academic year
Your school will be writing to you during the Summer break, in plenty of time before the new academic year starts, to explain how it will operate when the children return in September.

The government has also said it will review all its guidance in September.

Get vaccinated.
We are joining with schools across the borough to spread this important public health message and urge all our families to get vaccinated as soon as they are able to.

From 16 August, double jabbed adults and under 18s will no longer need to self-isolate if they are identified as a close contact of someone with the virus.

The government has made it clear that if schools suffer outbreaks from the return in September then restrictions may need to be re-imposed.

The greater the numbers of people with vaccinations the safer we all are and the quicker we will be able to get back to normal in our schools.

Summer reading is essential – 15 minutes a day, every day
We all need to do everything we can to help get the children to where they need to be after losing out on so much classroom learning during the pandemic.

This means that we need an even stronger partnership between the classroom and home.

All the research shows children who read or are read to every day, for at least 15 minutes, do much better in all subjects, including maths.

This year we are partnering up with Enfield Council and their ‘Wild World Heroes’ Summer reading challenge, which is free to join and to take part in from any local library.

Children, aged 4-11, get free stickers and posters for reading books. There are games to play as well as other rewards.

Just visit your library to take part.

Thank you to our amazing parent volunteers
We now have over 100 parents volunteering with us, helping with a variety of tasks, which is a huge help to the schools.

Everything we do is aimed at supporting the children, so your contribution has a very real and lasting impact.

All our volunteers receive training and supervision. It is also a great way to refresh work skills and to make new friends.

We are especially delighted we have been able to employ a number of our volunteers directly in full and part-time jobs.

Do you have a few hours you could spare each week?  We are always looking for new volunteers. Please contact your school office and let them know you are interested.

Heron Hall - UK Secondary School of the Year, Bronze Award
We are very proud that our secondary school, Heron Hall Academy, which many of our Year 6 primary pupils go on to join, reached the final this year and was selected as one of the top five schools in the UK.

It has just been announced that the school received a Bronze Award in the final, a fantastic achievement for a school in the first few years of its existence.

This week, Year 5 pupils from Cuckoo, Woodpecker and Enfield Heights are having special days at Heron. We hope very soon to be able to invite parents to events at the school too.

Thank you
Finally, on behalf of our headteachers and the Board of Trustees, can I say a huge thank you for all the support you have given the schools this year.

The way you have worked with us, the understanding you have shown, helping us to overcome every problem, all of the kind words - all these things have been greatly appreciated.

On behalf of myself and our Board of Trustees may I wish you a lovely Summer break.
Marino

Marino Charalambous
Chief Executive Officer