Dalrymple Primary School and ECC

Dear Parents/ Carers and Young People

Following a meeting today with the professional associations at council level, we are now in a position to advise of the return dates for all schools in EAC.  Teachers will return on 11^th August for an in-service day and pupils will return on Wednesday 12^th August.  Clearly not all pupils will return physically to school on that day and we will advise you as soon as possible around physical attendance patterns for our young people.  We hope that you will find this information helpful at this time, and we will issue further information about remaining term dates for 20/21 in due course.

video 1

June re-opening

Letter to pupils June 2020

Letter to parents and carers June 2020

Good morning,

Hope you are all well and are enjoying the experiences the ECC have been putting on the blog.

I have a little request, I hope you will like.

I am looking for you to take a short (approx. 10second) recording of your child waving at the camera, doing a dance or gymnastic move, pulling a funny face…. anything and email it to me at 19oneilltania@eastayrshire.org.uk by Friday 15th May.

We will then blend them all together and we will post this to the blog and also email to your child for them to keep.

We want to cheer everyone up and show we are all still very much together despite the world keeping us apart at the moment.

I look forward to seeing your clips.

Thank you

Tania

East Ayrshire Council is currently updating our Anti-bullying Policy and Dalrymple & Littlemill Primaries are creating an Establishment Statement to help address bullying. The aim of the policy and the establishment statement is to ensure that we provide a range of supports to staff, parents and pupils to improve their knowledge and confidence in promoting respectful relationships and addressing bullying behaviour and its impact.

Please can you complete the questionnaires by following the links, one for pupils and one for parents/carers:

Parent/carers

Pupils

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all of our pupils, parents, carers, their families and the wider community of Dalrymple, well during these unprecedented times. Since lockdown we have had to get used to not only a different way of learning, but of living. There are many changes we have had to get used to – some of them are welcome and some of them are not! Please be assured that the sacrifices we are all making right now are making a difference to the wider difficulties faced by many in our society. Your commitment to staying at home and observing the lockdown and social distancing will have contributed to the saving of a life or lives – that is something both honourable and humbling to reflect upon. No doubt these circumstances have caused us to reconsider what is important in our lives.

I was reading this quote from John Lennon – for the young, he was a very famous singer/song writer – who said,
“When I was 5 years old, my mum always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down “happy”. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment and I told them they didn’t understand life.”

Whilst we are in the business of educating our children and young people, this crisis has thrown into perspective the need to ensure the wellbeing and happiness of each and every one. We do want you to engage with our online learning and activities, but we want you to be happy most of all. We want you to learn for life and to make sure the relationships you have right now are valued and sacred. Please take care of yourselves over these next few weeks, and if there is anything we can do to support you further then please do not hesitate to get in touch with any of the staff team here at Dalrymple PS & ECC.

Thank you and stay safe,

Mr Simon Leitch

Live lessons from RBS available for all ages. Click here.

The Dalrymple staff prove yet again that we are game for a laugh.  We, along with many others from what we hear, took to our living rooms to record a group song and dance along to nothing less than “Reach for the Stars”, our school song.  We think it’s not a bad effort.  Have you got a video of you doing it too?  Email it to me, (david.stokes@eastayrshire.org.uk), and I will see if I can add it to the Dalrymple Blog.

In a more positive note in these troubled times there are lots of free resources around to help.   Here is a link to David Walliams site where you can hear Audion Stories for free.  We hope you enjoy.  If you know of other free or useful sites to help just now please contact your teacher to share them.

https://www.worldofdavidwalliams.com/elevenses/

Dear Parent/Carer

Thank you for working with us in ensuring that we could provide childcare for our most critical key workers today.  It has been enormously helpful that our advice to use our schools as a last resort has been heeded. Having ascertained the number of young people attending our schools and ECCs and are now in a position to revise this further and re-organise according to most needed areas and we will move to a “hub” provision with effect from tomorrow, Tuesday 24^th March 2020.

If you wish to access any of this provision you will require to fill in our e-form so that we have your details logged in advance of your child’s arrival.

If you wish to access any of this provision you will require to fill in our e-form here:

https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=oyzTzM4Wj0KVQTctawUZKWcF6bVSsANAmvUItgCuaeBUOFNBNFdENzhVR0xIQUVINlBJUDgwNzRSSS4u

Once more, no child will be turned away on the first day of this revised provision, providing they have been registered.

A colleague will get back to you if you do not qualify for a keyworker place in these revised provisions.

The available hubs across the authority are as noted below, and meals will be provided to those pupils on site.  All school transport is also now withdrawn given the hub model in place, and the low numbers attending our schools and centres today.

Parents and carers should therefore ensure that their children are transported to the appropriate location.  Provision will run from 9am-3pm, unless otherwise guaranteed by an ECC provision.

Many thanks for working with us on this, such that we can continue to provide childcare at this time for our critical keyworkers.

Kind regards

LINDA McAULAY-GRIFFITHS
Head of Education

Sent

Dear Parent/Carer

We appreciate fully that many parents are concerned about keyworker status.

The guidance we have received from the Scottish Government is that “if one parent is a key worker and the other is not, the non-key worker should normally be expected to provide childcare. If it is at all possible for children to be at home, then they should be.”

Having checked the UK Government guidance, it is different and says that if only one parent is a key worker, they can send their children to school if required.

In light of this contradictory position, we will deal with each case on its merits. If there is no other childcare option then we would look for confirmation of this.

We want to do all we can to support key workers. We need them to look after those who are going to get sick and to keep our vital services running, but we also need to avoid social contact so, if key workers can make any other arrangements for their children, we ask them to do so.

Head Teachers will not turn away any child on Monday, but will need to seek some form of confirmation of key worker status for future attendances. Going forward we will need to keep matters under review with staff absences rising as more of our staff require to self isolate and we know parents will understand.

Remember we need to reduce social contact, and even if you are a key worker, please only send your child as a last resort and if you absolutely need to.

Kind regards

Linda McAulay-Griffiths
Head of Education

Sent To You By East Ayrshire Council

Dear Parents/Carers

A further reminder to all parents/carers to please understand that our emergency provision is absolutely only as a final option.  We are sure that our parents/carers will understand and respect this to help keep our pupils, staff and families safe.

We are still encountering some questions regarding emergency provision from Monday.  Clearly all adults in the child’s household must be keyworkers to access the service.  Where this is not the case, the other adults are expected to provide care.

Please refer to the website for the key worker categories:

https://www.east-ayrshire.gov.uk/CouncilAndGovernment/Coronavirus/Schools-ecc.aspx

Kindest regards

Linda McAulay-Griffiths
Head of Education

Sent To You By East Ayrshire Council

Dear Parent/Carer

As you will be aware, the Deputy First Minister has just announced further details about the nature of provision that will be available to some young people during the period of school closures.   I hope this letter will clarify such provision.

Who will our schools and ECCs be open to?

ALL schools and ECCs in East Ayrshire will open on Monday 23^rd of March to children and young people whose parents/carers work for the following services:

• NHS- all staff including primary care (pharmacy/dentistry)
• Health and Social Care Staff
• Emergency Services- all staff
• Staff who work in prisons
• East Ayrshire Council employees who have children who attend our schools, please discuss with your eligibility with your manager. This will be in line with roles which are designated as essential.
• Education staff

We will also be providing a service for some of our most vulnerable children identified by professionals in a multi-agency approach.

Please note that the service being provided will not be a continuation of normal educational provision and will also be supported by colleagues from other Council teams such as Vibrant Communities staff.

May I also reinforce that young people with underlying health conditions or who are currently self-isolating should NOT attend such provision, and schools will continue to alert parents/carers to pick up any young people who do exhibit symptoms aligned to COVID-19.

We respectfully ask that other parents/ carers do not send their young people to school, as clearly the measures in place are designed to support critical services and vulnerable young people in addressing this pandemic. If you feel that your job/role meets the criterion but is not listed, please discuss this directly with your child’s school/ ECC.

Young people not attending school/ ECC

All other children and young people will continue to receive educational input via online platforms such as Glow and school and centre staff will be providing updates to you via the school app and other communication tools. We will also be ensuring that schools and ECCs keep in contact with you and your family via regular communications to maintain the already great sense of community and togetherness in our schools and ECCs.

SQA Examination diet

The SQA exam diet for summer 2020 has been cancelled, we are writing to all young people today to support them in this time of acute anxiety and uncertainty, appreciating the amount of work that they have already put into their studies.   We are working on continuity of provision for our Senior Phase pupils (S4-6) and secondary schools will contact you directly to notify you of these arrangements around completion of coursework.

For your information, certification of all SQA qualifications will go ahead, and will be based on both predicted attainment, coursework and assessment throughout the year.  Certification will NOT be based solely on prelim performance.

Teachers have further work to do on these predictions and this is currently in progress. Schools do not have the final outcomes at this point therefore, and I would therefore ask you not to contact schools for the predictions at this crucial time. They are not yet available.

Hours of opening/ transport / catering provision

All of the children and young people attending our provision can attend their usual school/centre on Monday 23^rd of March during normal hours.  School transport will be provided in the usual way.  If you currently utilise after-school care services then please speak to the provider about this provision. Lunch facilities will continue for the young people who are attending schools/ ECCs.   Free School Meals will be provided for all young people who are entitled to these in a way that is yet to be detailed, but will be in local communities.

As you will understand, this is a dynamic and fluid situation and we expect that arrangements will change as the week progresses and we understand better the demand on this service and our own staff capacity.

Going forward it is unlikely that the provision will be available in every schools and centre and we will look to centralise some of this, but we will keep you informed via the apps and our own East Ayrshire website of any such changes.

Safety of our schools and ECCs

All schools and ECCs will be operating the recommended social distancing guidance in both dining and classroom settings and encouraging regular handwashing regimen.  Our Facilities teams have already adopted new cleaning regimens and protocols and we have ensured that there are adequate supplies of cleaning products and handwashing products.
We are clearly amidst unprecedented times and I hope that this letter will cover most of the questions that you will have at this time, but we also appreciate that you may have further questions. Can we ask that you direct such enquiries to your individual establishments at this time to allow us to collate and respond to these.

Going forward

As I intimated yesterday, we have no indication as to the duration of these closures, but please know that we are on this journey with you and your families at this time. We have been overwhelmed by the response of our staff in regards to working in new and innovative ways to support our young people in these times.

Can I thank you all for your understanding of these circumstances and for working with us to ensure that our critical services can be supported.

I would encourage you to follow all of the health advice being published, which is available on our website, so that you and your family can stay as safe as possible during this worrisome period.

Kindest Regards

Linda McAulay-Griffiths
Head of Education

Sent To You By East Ayrshire Council

Dear Parent/Carer,

Firstly, thank you for your understanding, support and partnership working with early years settings and schools in what are clearly unprecedented times for everyone.

I would like to take this opportunity to share as much information as possible at this time and will provide updates as more information becomes available.

You may already be aware of the announcement from the First Minister of Scotland this afternoon that she is planning for schools and early years settings to close from Friday of this week.

There is no confirmation at this stage regarding the duration of the closure however please be assured that we will keep you informed. More information will be provided via established methods of communication including:

• School App from the school/ ECC that your child/children attend
• The East Ayrshire Council Website https://www.east-ayrshire.gov.uk/coronavirus
• The EAC Stay Connected System https://eastayrshi.re/stayconnected
• East Ayrshire Council Twitter account (@eastayrshire)
• East Ayrshire Education Twitter account (@eaceducation)

Schools have been preparing resources, including digital resources via GLOW, for children and young people to access. With regards to pupils in S4, S5 and S6 who are due to complete National Qualification courses and examinations, we await further information from the Depute First Minister tomorrow and details will be provided to parents/carers as these emerge.

We would also advise that at this stage we are planning, with partners, to provide a service for  children of parents who work for  NHS essential services and emergency services. We will be in touch directly, in due course, in regards to detail and also where this support will be sited.  Arrangements are also being prepared to ensure children and young people who are in receipt of free school meals will have access to these whilst schools are closed.

At this stage, can I thank you again for your understanding in these difficult circumstances and we will be in further contact as more details emerge.

Kindest regards
Linda McAulay-Griffiths
Head of Education

Its Walk to School Week and Monday’s theme is wearing sunglasses.  Well done all those that took part.