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Statement to Parents and Carers                                                                                       20 January 2021

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New National lockdown from Wednesday 6 January

A new national lockdown came into force on Wednesday 6 January.

During the period of national lockdown, our settings will remain open to vulnerable children and the children of critical workers only. It is likely that all other children and students will learn remotely until February half term at the earliest. Nursery classes will remain open. 

This decision does not suggest that our settings are no longer safe places for staff and young people. Instead, limiting attendance is about reducing the number of contacts that all of us have with people in other households. 

This statement should also be read in conjunction with the Trust’s Reset and Recovery Policy, which is available on this website under Covid-19 / Policy and Addendums.

Vulnerable children and children of critical workers who can attend school:

During the period of national lockdown, our settings will only allow vulnerable children and the children of critical workers to attend Reception through to Year 6. Children with at least one parent or carer who is listed as a critical worker are eligible for a school place if required, but parents and carers should keep their children at home if they can.

Settings will contact parents and carers to identify who requires a school place. If it proves necessary, they can ask for simple evidence that the parent in question is a critical worker, such as their work ID badge or pay slip.

If you have not yet been contacted and consider yourself to be a critical worker, then please contact your setting. The decision to offer a place rests with the Head Teacher, and the Head Teacher’s decision is final.

Attendance:

Vulnerable children and the children of critical workers are expected to attend school full time, except if they are shielding, self-isolating, quarantining or unwell. Whilst settings will encourage all eligible children to attend, if the parent wishes their child to be absent from school, the parent should let their setting know that the pupil will not be attending. Non attendance will not be penalised.

Group Sizes:

As per the Government’s directive to limit the number of contacts, where possible, group sizes should be limited to 15 children (20 in larger spaces); where this is not possible then the setting should consult with the CEO.  Provision will be reviewed on an ongoing basis.  Should there be significant issues with capacity in any of our settings, then we reserve the right to review the setting’s offer of full-time places and to give priority to certain types of Critical Worker.

Free school meal provision:

During the period of national lockdown, settings will continue to provide meal options for all pupils who are in school. Meals will be available free of charge to all infant pupils and pupils who are eligible for benefits-related free school meals who are in school.

From Monday 4^th January, Settings will also provide free school meals vouchers for pupils who are eligible for benefits related free school meals who are not attending school.  This arrangement will be reviewed every two weeks.

Remote education:

We aim to:

• Maintain high levels of communication and contact with pupils and their families; checking, daily, whether pupil are engaging with their work, and work with families to rapidly identify effective solutions where engagement is a concern.
• Continue to support the mental health and wellbeing of the whole school community.
• Select a digital platform for remote education provision that is used consistently across the setting in order to allow interaction, assessment and feedback and make sure staff are trained and confident in its use.
• Overcome barriers to digital access by distributing school-owned laptops/tablets accompanied by a user agreement or contract or providing printed resources to structure learning, supplemented with other forms of communication to keep pupils on track or answer questions about work.
• Set meaningful and ambitious work each day in an appropriate range of subjects.
• Teach a planned and well-sequenced curriculum so that knowledge and skills are built incrementally, with a good level of clarity about what is intended to be taught and practised in each subject so that pupils can progress through the school’s curriculum.
• Provide frequent, clear explanations of new content, delivered by a teacher or through high quality curriculum resources.
• Provide opportunities for interactivity, including questioning, eliciting and reflective discussion.
• Provide scaffolded practice and opportunities to apply new knowledge.
• Enabling pupils to receive timely and frequent feedback on how to progress, using digitally facilitated or whole class feedback where appropriate.
• Work with families, putting in place reasonable adjustments as necessary, so that pupils with SEND can successfully access remote education alongside their peers.
• Gauge how well pupils are progressing through the curriculum, using questions and other suitable tasks and set a clear expectation on how regularly teachers will check and assess
• Using assessment to ensure teaching is in response to pupils’ needs and addresses any critical gaps in pupils’ knowledge.
• Deliver a programme that is of equivalent length to the core teaching pupils would receive in school, ideally including regular contact with teachers:
• Key Stage 1: 3 hours a day on average across the cohort, with less for younger children;
• Key Stage 2: 4 hours per day.

All children not attending school, other than for reasons of sickness, will be expected to engage with Remote Learning; settings will closely monitor engagement.

For children with Special Educational Needs (SEND), Settings will work collaboratively with families, putting in place reasonable adjustments as necessary, so that pupils with SEND can successfully access remote education alongside their peers.

If a parent or carer has any concerns about the Remote Education on offer, or about access to on-line resources and/or the interactive platform, then they should contact their setting.

Please also refer to your setting’s Remote Learning Policy, which is available on this website under Covid-19 / Remote Learning.

Yours sincerely,

Jon Lovatt

Chief Executive Officer

 

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Statement to Stakeholders                                                                                                   19 December 2020

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Dear Colleagues

Welcome to my last update of 2020.  Despite being one of the most challenging years in living memory for us all, the Trust has weathered the storm by sticking true and proud to our organisation’s founding values and ethos of being a place where everyone is valued and respected.  Furthermore, whilst the unprecedented challenges posed by the Pandemic will no doubt continue into the New Year and beyond, Societas is in an even stronger position now to continue to meet them head on and to triumph.

My thanks to each and every single one of our staff for their commitment, selflessness, sheer hard work and determination to keep everyone as safe as possible, and to ensure that all our children continue to get the same great opportunities for learning whatever their own circumstances and wherever they may be.  My thanks also to our parents, carers and children, for their resilience and perseverance, as we have all worked together to successfully overcome challenges that at first appeared to be insurmountable.

You will be glad to hear that there has been another slight improvement in Covid related absence since my last update.

Over the last two weeks, on average, 188 children were isolating and being educated remotely – this accounts for 9.7% of our total population.  Attendance overall this term, not accounting for Covid-19 related absence, remains around 96%, which is fantastic.

This is also a time for looking ahead to next year and beyond, and at the AGM last Thursday the Trust’s Strategic Development Plan going forward to 2023 was approved by the directors – a copy can be found on this website under Key Information/ Trust Development.  Below are our six main strategic statements:

1. Ensuring recovery plans and strategies are in pace, across the Trust, that support all pupils, including SEND and disadvantaged, to catch up for lost teaching during the coronavirus pandemic; the focus being on high quality teaching, targeted academic support and wider strategies;
2. Ensuring that each setting uses Philosophy for Children to create a community of enquiry that improves pupils’ questioning and reasoning skills, their search for alternative perspectives and connections, critical thinking (so that they are open to changing viewpoints) and outcomes in reading, maths and writing. By summer 2022 most settings will meet SAPERE’s Silver criteria (some choosing to submit for the award); by 2023 some settings will meet Gold criteria (with some choosing to submit for the award);
3. Supporting and improving the mental health and emotional well-being of all stakeholders by developing whole Trust strategies that support wellbeing; and teaching and learning practices that promote resilience, support social and emotional learning, and cultivate a love of learning among the whole school community; all settings to achieve the Sandwell Chartermark by 2023;
4. Extending the Capacity (skills and ability) of all staff and governors so that by summer 2023: all staff and governors have the expertise and the ambition necessary to fulfil their role; leaders can monitor, evaluate, diagnose and improve the areas for which they are responsible; can lead by example; and can manage and deploy resources effectively.  This is to be achieved, among several other initiatives, through participating in peer-to-peer, coaching and mentoring, and collaborative governance training;
5. Ensure that each setting has a rich, inspiring and highly stimulating curriculum, including extracurricular provision that fully meets the needs of all pupils and leaves them with highly memorable and influential experiences, and overcomes some of the barriers to cementing a broader community and a corporate understanding of great learning. This is to be achieved, in part, through the Shakespeare, Music, Sports and Ceramics Projects and the work of the Really Useful Generation Students’ Group (RUGS);
6. To grow the Trust through a process of “growth through collaboration” with other ‘like-minded’ leaders and organisations, to serve a pupil population (excluding nursery children) of no less than 3,000 pupils by the summer of 2023.

The annual accounts for the year ended 31 August 2020 were also received by the Directors at the AGM, with a clean bill of health being declared yet again by our External Auditors.  However, whilst the Trust’s financial position has improved slightly compared to the previous year, the auditors also recognised that this has been achieved against the backdrop of massively depleted funds and increased costs related to Covid safety arrangements: an extraordinary achievement that they say should be applauded.

My thanks to Carol Stead, our Compliance and Finance Manager, and to all our business managers for their steadfast efforts to keep the Trust’s finances on an even keel despite the financial uncertainties posed by the Pandemic.

Just a reminder that all Trust settings, with the exception of Oaklands, will be closed to children on Monday 4th January to allow senior leaders time to assess the post-holiday staffing situation and for additional INSET where required.

It has been my great privilege to lead the Trust since its inception in 2015, and at no time has this been truer than over the last ten months.  I know that our organisation will continue to grow in strength; that our determination to do the right thing for our communities, whatever the associated risk, is the right path to take; and that together as a team we will continue to prevail against adversity for the benefit of all.

Once again, thank you to each and every single one of you for your continued support of the Trust during these extraordinarily difficult times.  Your kind words have also been a boon to our Head Teachers and to me.

Wishing you all a joyous and restful time over the Christmas period and a very healthy and prosperous New Year.

Jon Lovatt

Chief Executive Officer

 

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Thank You Message from the Chair of The Trust Board                                          16 December 2020

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Dear Colleagues,

As 2020 draws to a close, I have been reflecting on the journey we have been on though these unprecedented times. This time last year we were celebrating the successes of the collaborations across the Trust and the continuing improvements in all the settings, and were all looking forward to pushing on again in 2020.

Once the pandemic became a reality it was obvious that 2020 would be a unique and challenging year for us all, both in terms of our work and personal lives.

However, it has been fantastic to see how the whole Trust has come together to face these challenges and drive through the changes that have been required to maintain the provisions across all settings.

In the early period of the pandemic, all settings were able to provide safe school provision for the vulnerable children and the children of key workers, as well as providing work and support for the children at home. As settings re-opened to all children in September, the obstacles to provide safe bubbles were overcome; and although we naturally had to close bubbles at certain times, it was handled safely and effectively to minimise the spread of the disease.

Advancements in technology have been embraced and we have all become ‘stars of the screen’, whether that be attending virtual meetings, story reading to children at home, or providing live lessons and support to those at home. We have received fantastic feedback and comments from parents across the Trust for the quality of the online and interactive provision to children.

It has, of course, been upsetting that the children have not been able to join together again on the whole Trust activities (Olympics, Shakespeare, Young Voices etc.), but we are committed to ensuring that these events are run in 2021, assuming that restrictions allow.

I would also like to reassure everyone that the wellbeing of the children and our workforce continue to be of paramount importance to the Trust. We continue to liaise with the various Government/Council bodies and the Trade Unions, and take advice on safe working practices within educational settings to help us ensure our practices are maintained and updated as appropriate.

Looking forward to the New Year, I have no doubt that we will continue to face challenges whilst the Pandemic is ongoing; however, I am confident that we are well placed as an organisation to successfully adapt and react to them, and that is down to each and every single one of you. Hopefully as the New Year progresses, we will begin to see a gradual return to normality.

On behalf of the Trust Board, I would like to thank you all for your outstanding commitment and hard work over the last 12 months, to wish you and your families all the very best for the Festive period, and hope you enjoy a well deserved break.

With my very best wishes,

Guy Weir

Chair of the Trust Board

The Societas Trust

 

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Statement to Stakeholders                                                                                                   11 December 2020

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Dear Colleagues

I hope you’re all keeping well.

You will be glad to hear that there has been another slight improvement in Covid related absence since my last update.

Over the last two weeks, 300 children were isolating and being educated remotely – this accounts for 15.5% of our total population.  Attendance overall this term, not accounting for Covid-19 related absence, remains around 96%, which is fantastic.

Below are some parental comments received by another of our settings in answer to the question – ‘What has worked well with regard to Remote Learning?:

• A plan for the week and day ahead was useful. The materials to support were accessible and well organised. As a working parent this was great. For my son, he also enjoyed structure and really enjoyed the Teams interaction.
• The ability to go on Teams and email the staff.
• Having printed learning packs, weekly timetable and set call times.
• Team calls were very good kept the children’s spirts up.
• Timetable, easy to access links via the school website, teams meetings to stay in touch – all was fab!
• The greatest motivation for my child was to show his work to his teacher on Teams at the end of the day.
• My child is Motivated to show her teacher what she had done on Teams. Good balance of work – practical/verbal/written – all worked well.
• The Teams sessions: to know he had to engage with the teacher and possibly have to talk about the activities, and knowing I was sharing his work helped a lot. 

Our dedicated staff continue to ensure that all our FSM children receive a meal every day they are unable to attend school due to Covid.  Our settings have also been asked by their relevant Local Authority to help them distribute meals vouchers to all our vulnerable families before the Christmas holiday begins.

Once more, my sincere thanks to our incredible Head Teachers and staff, who continue to work tirelessly to support all our children and families through this ongoing crisis.

Following on from very recent Government guidelines, all Trust settings will be closed to children on Friday 18th December.  This is to allow for a 6 day contact tracing window (up to and including 23 December), during which staff and parents are asked to continue to contact schools to inform them of any subsequent positive cases where the symptoms occurred within 48 hours of the last day of term. All Trust settings, with the exception of Oaklands, will also be closed to children on Monday 4th January to allow senior leaders to assess the post holiday staffing situation and for additional INSET where required.

Below is a preview of a report to our Members and Directors from our Executive Education Representative, Nichola Gibson, on the work of the Executive Board, Trust Steering Groups and Working Parties that has taken place this term along with plans for 2021:  

Executive Board

The Executive team’s unrelenting focus continues to be on the sustainable recovery of all our settings, with a particular emphasis on mental health and well-being. 

The Trust Reset and Recovery Policy has been kept under constant review reflecting the ever-changing DfE / PHE guidance. Staff and visitors in all settings have been kept up to date with necessary practices to ensure the safety and well-being of all.  

All Settings have now had opportunity to meet remotely with Sarah Preston, our new Trust Education Partner. This allowed Sarah to familiarise herself with context of each setting and to gather information about the setting’s approach to managing the quality of education during the pandemic. A summary report has been compiled for next week’s AGM. Plans for reinstating the full Academy Performance Review (APR) process are in place for later in the year. 

Our Remote Learning Policy and on-line procedures were put into action after the half term break with all settings supporting remote, interactive learning for children at home. This is proving very successful with positive feedback received from parents and carers at all settings.  

Our Strategic Development Plan has been updated and sets out our vision and aligned success criteria for the next three years: this will also be shared at the AGM.  

The Trust ‘Developing a Professional Community’ training plan, based on the outcome of our second annual whole staff survey, has also been collated with costings outlined.  

The Trust Growth Plan has been updated to reflect our current collaborations and future plans for growth. Development days are planned for the Spring Term where we can build on this work and also our Improving Education Strategy. 

We held a remote session to relaunch our MAT to MAT collaboration, led by Paul Sheehan from Worcester University. Colleagues from the New Guild Trust, Richard Heathcote and others were in attendance, and plans for the Peer Partner triads to meet are now in place for after Christmas. 

We continue to keep our plans for ‘Societas has Talent’ projects under review for the coming year, hoping that the changing situation will eventually allow all our communities to come together again in the future. 

Plans continue for our third biennial Staff Conference which will take place on 8th April 2022, with one of the main themes being supporting Mental Health and Well-being in the Curriculum.

All our settings continue to support Associate Teachers from Staffordshire University and KNSTE as part of our ongoing Initial Teacher Training work. 

We have also received regular updates from Carol Stead, Compliance and Finance Manager, regarding the work of the Academy Business Managers’ Group and Internal Audit Process; internal audit recommendations; and items for the forthcoming ABM Group meeting agendas, are routinely discussed and agreed by the Executive. 

The CIF projects at Ellison, to completely replace the heating system, and at Summerbank, to entirely reconfigure the entrance and offices, are now complete.  The CIF project at Gladstone, to completely refurbish and extend the SEN bock, is going well and due for completion next term.  The CIF project at Goldenhill, to replace defective perimeter fencing and install additional vehicle and pedestrian electronic gates, will commence in the New Year.  Once these last two projects are complete, the Trust will have invested approximately £980,000 to make the estate a much safer and better place to work and to learn, with approximately £830,000 in the form of CIF grants from the DfE.

Pupil Premium and Recovery Steering Group

Both working parties linked to this Steering Group met this term. The Pupil Premium Leaders’ Group worked on a set of Trust principles and a three year Pupil Premium strategy for each setting. It was great to have governors also in attendance who were able to oversee the developments over the course of the day. The session was supported by Berni Pearce from Blackfriars. The next steps will be to share the strategies and good practice over the coming year with regular review sessions to be held each half term. 

The Philosophy for Children (P4C) Leaders’ group met also. They were able to update colleagues and begin to formulate plans for the coming year. Neil Phillipson was able to offer support during this session. P4C is a recognised intervention that has a significant positive impact on outcomes for children particularly in the areas of oral language and reasoning. It is therefore very well suited to our current Catch Up curriculum. 

Inclusion and Well-being Steering Group

This Steering Group oversees the work of the SENDCo Leaders’ Group, the Family Support Leaders’ Group and the Well-being Team.

The Well-being Team has created a survey to go out to all settings to evaluate the well-being of staff at this present moment in time. Good practice with regard to supporting the mental health and well-being of staff was shared; this work will help further develop practice across all settings and improve policy and procedures for the Trust moving forwards. 

EYFS Leaders’ Group

Our EYFS Leaders also met on the 19th November, working alongside our National Leader for the Early Years, Sara Bailey, Head Teacher at Oaklands Nursery.  At this session, Sara took leaders through the new EYFS framework in depth, and shared tips and resources on how to raise staff awareness of it.

Meetings of the other Steering Groups and Working Parties will take place next term. 

To end this week’s update, I would like to congratulate two of our fantastic staff who have just received their Trust long service award for twenty five years’ dedicated public sector service: they are Diane Wild at Ellison and Jay Clarke at Goldenhill.  My heartfelt thanks and best wishes to them both!

Once again, thank you for your continued support of the Trust and its communities during these very difficult times.

With my very best wishes,

Jon Lovatt

Chief Executive Officer

 

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Statement to Stakeholders                                                                                                   4 December 2020

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Dear Colleagues

I hope you’re all still safe and well!

You will be glad to hear that there has been a slight improvement in the number of staff and children testing positive since my last update.

Over the last two weeks, 461 children were isolating and being educated remotely – this accounts for 23.7% of our total population.  Despite this, attendance overall this term, not accounting for Covid-19 related absence, is still at 95.8%.

Interactive remote learning continues to go very well indeed, and is much appreciated by staff, children and parents alike who are having to self isolate. A copy of each setting’s remote learning policy can be found on the Trust’s website under Covid-19 / Remote Learning.

Below are some of the comments received by one of our settings to a recent parental survey:

• Constant interaction from teachers was brilliant. Loads of videos and tasks when children could work independently. 
• I think overall the work set has been lovely and easy to follow, explained very well. The dojo system was a brilliant way to share all the work and the staff responded quickly to any queries I had. The Teams sessions were a brilliant way for the child to stay in contact with the teacher. Thank you to all the nursery staff. 
• Work set daily and was a manageable amount for the children. Communication was great and the teaching staff have kept in touch and been helpful. 
• Comments from the teachers on my child’s work after being submitted, both praise and where we needed to go back and correct the work. The comments really helped my child to know that she was doing well. Also the phone call from the teacher really helped me as a parent, as I was working from home and finding it very difficult to assist my child in completing the work that had been set. The teacher was very understanding. 
• The communication with any problems was amazing with a quick response with how to resolve it. 
• The communication with the teachers was brilliant; my little girl really enjoyed the videos of the teachers each morning. 

Once more, my sincere thanks to our dedicated Head Teachers and staff, who are working extremely hard to support our children and their families as we work together to keep everyone as safe as possible, so the children can learn as much as possible wherever they may be.  

As you are no doubt aware, the national restrictions expired on 2 December and have been replaced by new stricter tier arrangements.  All our settings are currently in the highest of the three tiers, tier 3.  The executive team and I met on Monday to consider the revised DfE guidance and I have now also updated our Reset and Recovery Policy to reflect this – a copy is available on the Covid-19 page of this website under Policy.

As I’m sure you all appreciate, the ongoing pandemic continues to have an impact on many staff members’ work and home lives, which in turn may impact on their mental health and well-being.

Whilst the Trust and each setting have already put a raft of additional measures in place to ensure everyone is as safe as possible (over and above those required in the national guidance), it is important that we continue to take steps to understand how staff are coping and whether they require any additional support going forward.

To help us to do this, we will undertake a staff well-being survey towards the end of each term whilst the Pandemic is ongoing. The results will be used to gather information about certain aspects of mental health and well-being within the current context; to identify any issues staff are presently experiencing; and to gather suggestions for how we might be able to improve things even more.

The information gained will also contribute to the further development of the Trust’s general mental health and well-being support procedures.  This term’s survey is currently in the process of being sent out to all staff.

All Trust and governor led activity is continuing via digital means for the time being.  All other Trust activity can be found on the Trust’s website under Calendar of Events.

Trust Covid-19 Policy and Addendums, and each setting’s latest risk assessment, are available on the Trust’s website under Covid-19.

Thank you for your continued support of the Trust and its settings!

Please stay safe and well!

Jon Lovatt

Chief Executive Officer                                                

 

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Statement to Stakeholders                                                                                                   27 November 2020

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Dear Colleagues

I hope you’re all safe and well!

Sadly, since my last update, we have had several more confirmed cases due to community transmission, resulting in the further closure of pupil bubbles to maintain everyone’s safety.  However, on a more positive note, a number of bubbles have now returned to school.

Over the last two weeks, 637 children were isolating and being educated remotely – this accounts for 33% of our total population.  Despite this, attendance overall this term, not accounting for Covid related absence, is still at 95.8%, with two of our settings at almost 98%.  My congratulations to the staff, children and their parents on this remarkable achievement.

Interactive remote learning continues to go very well indeed, and is much appreciated by staff, children and parents alike who are having to self isolate. A copy of each setting’s remote learning policy can be found on the Trust’s website under Covid-19 / Remote Learning.

Once more, my sincere thanks to our incredible Head Teachers and staff, who are working extremely hard to support our children and their families as we work together to keep everyone as safe as possible, so the children can learn as much as possible wherever they may be.  

Some other excellent news to share: the appeal for our Condition Improvement Funding (CIF) bid to replace defective fencing and install new electronic gates at Goldenhill Primary Academy has been successful.  This means that four of our five CIF bid applications this year have been successful. Once this year’s projects are all complete, we will have invested approximately £979,000 over the last two years to improve our facilities and to make our settings safer places to work and to learn, with most of this spending (circa £828,000) in the form of additional CIF grants from the ESFA. 

Just in case you missed last week’s update, our Pupil Premium / Recovery Leaders’ Group, which comprises senior leaders from across the Trust, met remotely last Friday to work on / refine a set of PP Principles for the Trust as a whole, and a three year PP improvement strategy for each setting.  Whilst this is only the beginning of a very exciting three year PP strategy for the Trust, the formulation / refinement of 3 year plans for each setting is now well under way.

Below are the agreed Trust curriculum principles for our disadvantaged children, with links to each of our overarching Trust Curriculum aims:

We are also now working on the Trust’s second annual ‘Developing a Professional Community (DPC) Training Plan’, which will be based on the findings from our whole Trust Workforce and Governance surveys that took place in the Summer term.  Steve Martin, Head Teacher at Goldenhill Primary Academy, is working on this plan, which I believe is already over 20 pages long.  This will be shared with the DPC Steering Group and Executive after Christmas, with agreed training programmes for staff and governors commencing hopefully in the Spring Term.

Our EYFS Leaders also met on the 19th November, working alongside our National Leader for the Early Years, Sara Bailey, Head Teacher at Oaklands Nursery.  At this session, Sara took leaders through the new EYFS framework in depth, and shared tips and resources on how to raise staff awareness of it.

As you are no doubt aware, the current national restrictions are due to expire on 2 December and be replaced by new stricter localised tier arrangements.  The Executive team and I will be meeting on Monday to consider any new guidance from the DfE and how these new arrangements might affect our settings, if at all.  I’ll update you on any changes that may be required to our reset and recovery policy in my next update.

All Trust and governor led activity is continuing via digital means for the time being.  All other Trust activity can be found on the Trust’s website under Calendar of Events.

Trust Covid-19 Policy and Addendums, and each setting’s latest risk assessment, are available on the Trust’s website under Covid-19.

Thank you for your continued support of the Trust and its settings!

Please continue to stay safe and well!

Jon Lovatt

Chief Executive Officer

 

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Statement to Stakeholders                                                                                                   21 November 2020

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Statement to Parents and Carers                                                                                       13 November 2020

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Dear Parent/ Carer

First of all, my thanks for supporting your child’s attendance at school and their continued learning during these exceptionally difficult times.

Staffordshire continues to see high levels of Covid cases, primarily driven by household transmission. There has also been an increase of hospital admissions across the county.

The Police Force have received 483 reports of Covid breaches in the last week (4 – 11 November) with the majority of these being house parties and gatherings (mixing of households). The peak was Saturday 7 November with 139 incidents.

Consequently, Police Officers are urging us all to comply with the revised measures to ensure the safety and well-being of our friends and family, and also to ensure that schools can continue to operate.

We too have seen an exponential rise in cases across all our settings due to household transmission, which has resulted in a number of pupil bubbles being closed to prevent any further spread of the infection.

I want to reassure you that we continue to do everything we can to keep everyone as safe as possible in each of our settings.  Learning is continuing both in our schools and remotely.  Since the beginning of term, pupil attendance across the trust is 96% (not accounting for Covid related absence), which is above the national average and testament to the faith parents and carers have in our safety arrangements.

That being said, should we reach a point at any of our settings where staffing levels reach a critical point where we can no longer maintain the safety of everyone on site, then we may have to take additional temporary measures. These may include either a full or partial closure of a particular setting, or a reduced teaching timetable.  Should there be a need to introduce any such measures, you will of course be given appropriate notice.

I am certain that if we all work together and abide by the national restrictions in place, we can avoid the need for any such additional measures.

Yours sincerely

Jon Lovatt

Chief Executive Officer

 

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Statement to Stakeholders                                                                                                   6 November 2020

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Dear Colleagues

Welcome back! Hope you have had a restful half term break, if you were lucky enough to have one.

Since my last update, we have had several more confirmed cases (most during half term), resulting in the closure of a number of bubbles as a precaution.  The staff and children affected continue to work and learn from home.

Attendance this week is 96 % across the Trust as a whole, not accounting for absence relating to Covid-19.

 

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Statement to Stakeholders                                                                                                   8 October 2020

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Statement to Stakeholders                                                                                                   26 September 2020

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Statement to Stakeholders                                                                                                   18 September 2020

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Statement to Stakeholders                                                                                                   11 September 2020

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Statement to Parent and Carers                                                                                         15 July 2020

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Stakeholder Update – Week Ending 10 July 2020

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Dear Colleagues

 

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Stakeholder Update – Week Ending 3 July 2020

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Dear Colleagues

 

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Stakeholder Update – Week Ending 26 June 2020

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Dear Colleagues

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Dear Parent and Carers,

As you are no doubt aware, the Government has now requested schools to expand provision from June 1st, as it deems its five key tests ‘are being met’. As you know, considerable work has been undertaken by the Trust and each setting to ensure that their environments are as safe as they possibly can be both now and going forward.

We have liaised extensively with various Government/Council bodies, Public Health, Trade Unions and other Health and Safety agencies on the matter of safety, and have taken expert advice on safer working practices within educational settings, to help form our own policy and procedures. This work will continue to ensure that risk assessments and safer working practices are maintained and improved upon where necessary.  A copy of the Trust’s Covid-19 Reset and Recovery Policy can be viewed here: Societas Covid-19 Reset and Recovery Policy

As stated previously, in preparation for this initial phase from June 1st, all our settings have applied the same consistent approach (list is not exhaustive):

Jon Lovatt

CEO

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Statement to Parents and Carers                                                                                              22nd May 2020

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Dear Parent and Carers,

Further to my statement below, dated 16th May 2020.

As you are aware, the Government has requested schools to expand provision from June 1st, if it is deemed safe to do so, and I am sure that you all have some reservations about this. I can assure you that the wellbeing of your children and our workforce are of paramount importance to us, and considerable work has already been undertaken by the Trust and at each setting to ensure that their environments are as safe as they possibly can be for all, and will continue to be so.

We will continue to liaise with the various Government/Council bodies, Public Health, Trade Unions and other agencies on the matter of safety, and have taken advice on safer working practices within educational settings, to help form our own policy and procedures. Once our settings do begin to expand their provision, whenever that is, this work will continue to ensure that these practices are maintained and improved upon where necessary.

A copy of the Trust’s Covid-19 Reset and Recovery Policy can be found here: Covid-19 Reset and Recovery Policy

Our settings have now analysed the results of the parental survey regarding the potential expansion of provision from June 1^st at the earliest, ahead of confirmation that the Government’s five key tests have been met, and have applied the following consistent approach in preparation for this initial phase (list is not exaustive):

• The safety of everyone in school is paramount;
• Supporting a consistent and collaborative approach;
• Following social distancing guidance as far as possible in all classrooms and the school environment;
• Encouraging all eligible vulnerable children to return to school;
• Agreement that the year groups prioritised within the government guidance will be the initial focus;
• Settings may plan for a phased / incremental expansion of pupils in the first two weeks to allow staff time and space to properly train for and test safety procedures and systems;
• Settings to liaise closely with transport providers as they develop arrangements to allow the transport arrangements to be planned;
• Individual settings will decide the safe numbers of pupils per group (up to a maximum of 15) and will therefore manage attendance of pupils to reflect this (However, initially, groups should not exceed 10 pupils where possible);
• Individual settings to manage daily attendance;
• Staggered starts, breaks and ends to the day to support social distancing;
• Minimising the number of pupils that each staff member has contact with;
• Staff and pupils deemed clinically ‘extremely’ vulnerable, or living with someone in this category, should not be on-site until further notice (i.e. people who have been advised to shield themselves by a health care professional);
• Staff and pupils deemed clinically vulnerable (i.e. at a higher risk of a more serious outcome if they catch the virus), or living with someone in this category, should be encouraged to stay and work from home, where possible, until further notice;
• If it is deemed by the setting that a child may not be able to follow instructions, then the setting should carry out a risk assessment to determine what mitigation needs to be put in place and whether they should stay at home for their own and others’ safety;
• For those children with a social worker, the expectation is that they should attend their setting unless a risk assessment concludes they will be safer at home;
• If a child, member of staff, or member of their household, is experiencing Covid-19 symptoms, they should self-isolate immediately and be sent for testing.

As you can imagine it has been a mammoth task to properly risk assess and reorganise the settings in preparation for this potential expansion, and I thank you in advance for your patience and understanding.

As directed by the Government, our settings have prioritised the following year groups for the initial phase of expansion: Nursery and Reception, followed by Year 1 and then Year 6.

Please note that, if you are offered a place, only your children in the above Year Groups will be able to attend, and any siblings in Years 2, 3, 4 and 5 should remain at home (unless classed as vulnerable or those of registered key workers).

If you have indicated you would like a place for your child(ren) from June 1^st (and if the Government deems it safe to expand provision from then) either via the survey or in person, and your setting is able to offer them a place, they will now be contacting you by letter to explain the exact terms and conditions of the provisional offer.

Please be aware that, due to availability of staff and health and safety reasons, settings may not be able to provide full-time places for all eligible children, other than for those children classed as vulnerable or those of registered Key Workers.

To minimise the risk to children, staff and parents, and to give everyone the chance to familiarise themselves with the new Covid-19 safety routines, and if deemed safe by the Government, settings will initially expand provision over a two-week period beginning Tuesday, June 2^nd.

Please note, all our settings will be closed to children on Monday, June 1st, including those classed as vulnerable and of registered key workers, to enable whole staff training to take place.

Unless you have registered as a critical key worker with your setting or your child is deemed vulnerable (i.e. assigned to a social worker and/or has an EHCP), then please only bring your child to school on June 2nd if:

• The Government does eventually announce it deems it safe for schools to expand provision from June 1st; and,
• You have received a written offer of a place from your setting.

Thank you once again for your patience and understanding!

With my very best wishes to you and your own families,

Jon Lovatt

CEO

 

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Thank You Message to all Stakeholders                                                                                       22 May 2020

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Reset and Recovery Plan – Principles                                                                                             22 May 2020

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Context

This statement sets out principles and ambitions for reset and recovery for school settings in Societas, to develop a consistent approach to enable them to interpret and implement the latest government guidance in preparation for expansion of provision from June 1 at the earliest, ahead of confirmation that the Government’s five key tests have been met.

Overarching Principles

Our approach is based on the following principles:

• The highest priority and consideration is the safety and wellbeing of children, staff and other key stakeholders;
• Flexibility and local decision making;
• A collaborative approach involving Local Authorities and professional associations/trade unions;
• Recognition of the different layers of accountability and responsibility including government, countywide, trusts and individual schools;
• Supporting each other (e.g. hub arrangements, Emergency Locality Teams in each district, effective practice, talking and sharing).

Specific Principles/Plans for Initial Phase:

• The safety of everyone in school is paramount;
• Supporting a consistent and collaborative approach;
• Following social distancing guidance as far as possible in all classrooms and the school environment;
• Encouraging all eligible vulnerable children to return to school;
• Agreement that the year groups prioritised within the government guidance will be the initial focus;
• Settings may plan for a phased / incremental expansion of pupils in the first two weeks to allow staff time and space to properly train for and test safety procedures and systems;
• Settings to liaise closely with transport providers as they develop arrangements to allow the transport arrangements to be planned;
• Individual settings will decide the safe numbers of pupils per group (up to a maximum of 15) and will therefore manage attendance of pupils to reflect this (However, initially, groups should not exceed 10 pupils where possible);
• Individual settings to manage daily attendance;
• Staggered starts, breaks and ends to the day to support social distancing;
• Minimising the number of pupils that each staff member has contact with;
• Staff and pupils deemed clinically extremely vulnerable, or living with someone in this category, should not be on-site until further notice;
• Staff and pupils deemed clinically vulnerable, or living with someone in this category, should be encouraged to stay and work from home, where possible, until further notice;
• If it is deemed by the setting that a child may not be able to follow instructions, then the setting should carry out a risk assessment to determine what mitigation needs to be put in place and whether they should stay at home. For those children with a social worker, the expectation is that they should attend their setting unless a risk assessment concludes they will be safer at home;
• If a child, member of staff, or member of their household, is experiencing Covid-19 symptoms, they should self-isolate immediately and be sent for testing.

 

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Statement to Parents and Carers                                                                                              16th May 2020

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Dear Parents and Carers,

First of all I want to thank you for all the hard work you have been doing with your children; for being so supportive of their school (“setting”) and the staff who are trying their very best to support both them and you.

I’m sure you’re aware of the Prime Minister’s recent announcement indicating that some children might be able to return to school from June 1^st, if it is safe to do so. We have since received more Government guidance on how this can be done keeping children and staff as safe as possible, and our settings have now been able to start reading, understanding and begin planning to hopefully welcome some children back to school before the end of term.

The following link is to the guidance for parents and carers that the Government has also issued: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/closure-of-educational-settings-information-for-parents-and-carers/reopening-schools-and-other-educational-settings-from-1-june

The key messages from the Government are:

1. Schools should continue to offer places to vulnerable children, including those with Education Health Care Plans (EHCPs), and children of Covid-19 Critical Key Workers.
2. Nursery and primary schools should look at ways to open to more children from June 1^st if is considered safe to do so.
3. Parents will NOT be fined for not sending their children to school.
4. Children considered clinically extremely vulnerable should NOT attend school just yet – if you are unsure about this, please speak to your GP.
5. If a child lives with someone who is clinically extremely vulnerable, then they should NOT be in school just yet – again, if you are unsure about this, please speak to your GP.
6. Groups of children must NOT mix together or come into contact with each other, and children within a group should ideally remain 2 metres apart, if they can. I’M SURE YOU UNDERSTAND THAT THIS WILL BE VERY HARD TO ENFORCE IN A SCHOOL SETTING, PARTICULARLY FOR YOUNGER CHILDREN.
7. If there is a shortage of teachers, then a teaching assistant can lead a group.
8. The aim is for all nursery and primary school age children to have some time in school before the summer holidays.

As advised by the Government, from June 1^st our settings will seek to welcome back pupils in the following year groups:

Nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 6.

If you do have children in the above year groups, any siblings they may have in years 2, 3, 4 and 5 should remain at home for the time being, unless you and / or your partner are a Covid-19 critical key worker, and have already registered with your setting, or your children are deemed vulnerable – i.e. assigned to a social worker or have an EHCP.

However, to try to keep everyone as safe as possible, it may not be possible to accommodate all children in Nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 on a full-time basis. This will be dependent on what numbers of children our settings can expect to attend from week beginning June 1^st, and how many staff can be available.

Although our settings will try to ensure that your child is with their usual teacher, this may not always be possible. Although the Government, if considered safe, may encourage parents of Nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 to send their children to school from June 1^st, the decision whether to do so or not is purely yours to make, and you will not be penalised for non-attendance.

What do we need to do now?

Our settings now need to comprehensively plan in case they are asked to welcome more children back from June 1^st, to ensure all children and staff can be as safe as possible, so they will be doing the following over the next couple of weeks (list is not exhaustive):

1. Sending out an online survey to find out how many parents may want to take up places for eligible children in Nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 from June 1st. This will be sent by Friday 16^th May and responses are required early next week.

(NB: Please complete the survey separately for each of your children regardless of their year group. However, unless you are a key worker or your child is considered vulnerable, only children in Nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 will be considered for a place from June 1^st)

3. Analysing the responses to identify key groups of children in Nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 6.
4. Reviewing staffing to ensure enough staff are well and available to work.
5. Ensuring adequate and appropriate cleaning resources are available.
6. Updating risk assessments.
7. Moving all desks and seats to provide appropriate separation of children and staff in the classroom (2m apart where possible).
8. Planning timetables to offer as much outdoor learning as possible, weather dependent of course.
9. Planning how staff can continue to support ‘home learning’ for children still at home.
10. Planning for groups of children to be with the same staff members at all times, to minimise changes in personnel.
11. Re configuring their environments so that groups of children and the staff with them can stay together during the whole day.
12. Planning for staggered break and lunch times, so the groups are not mixing together/moving around at the same time.
13. Planning how and where lunches will be provided and eaten.
14. Planning staggered drop-off and collection times – only one parent can bring their children in, so settings will need to consider drop off/collection points and timings for each group.
15. Planning for increased cleaning, as toys and equipment should only be used by the same group.
16. Planning for increased cleaning during and end of each day.

Other Considerations:

For those children who are welcomed back from June 1^st, if deemed safe, then there are some strict guidelines we should all follow, specified by the Government:

1. No unnecessary use of buses/coaches/taxis for children to travel to school – please encourage your children to cycle or walk to school.
2. No one (visitors/staff/children/families/contractors etc.) should enter the grounds or buildings if they have symptoms.
3. Only 1 parent/carer should escort their children to school.
4. Parents/carers should not gather at school gates or entrances to the buildings.
5. Stationery and other resources should not be shared.
6. Shared areas and surfaces should be cleaned daily, and disinfected/bleached frequently.
7. No possessions or other resources from home will be allowed in to school (except for packed lunches).

(NB: SHOULD ANYONE IN YOUR HOUSEHOLD DEVELOP COVID-19 SYMPTOMS, AS PER THE HEALTH ADVICE BELOW, THEN YOU MUST NOT BRING YOUR CHILDREN TO SCHOOL. PLEASE CONTACT NHS 111 FOR ASSISTANCE.)

What do you need to do now?

I urge you to complete the survey over the weekend so that our settings can make more detailed plans.

Please complete the survey by 12pm on Monday 18^th May.

If you have not received a link to the survey, please contact your setting.

If on the survey you indicate you would like a place for your children from June 1^st, then your setting will contact you in due course to let you know more specific details of the provision for them. If you do not complete the survey, your setting will assume you do not require a place for your children from June 1^st.

However, please bear with your setting while they carry out the necessary risk assessments and work out all the logistics, so that from June 1^st, if the science support this, they can welcome back as many eligible children as it is safely possible to do, and ensure that their experience of being back in school will be a happy one.

I hope that the content of this statement helps to reassure you how important your child’s safety is to us.

With my very best wishes,

Jon Lovatt

CEO

 

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Current Health Advice                                                                                                updated 20th May 2020

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It is important that we follow the medical evidence and take the right actions at the right time to help and support each other.

Current advice is:

• If you have Covid-19 symptoms, such as:
  • a high temperature – this means you feel hot to touch on your chest or back (you do not need to measure your temperature);
  • a new, continuous cough – this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours (if you usually have a cough, it may be worse than usual);
  • loss or change to your sense of smell or taste – this means you’ve noticed you cannot smell or taste anything, or things smell or taste different to normal.

self-isolate by staying at home for 7 days. If you live with other people, they should stay at home for 14 days from the day the first person got symptoms. If you live with someone who is 70 or over, has a long-term condition, is pregnant or has a weakened immune system, try to find somewhere else for them to stay for 14 days. If you have to stay at home together, try to keep away from each other as much as possible. There is more information about staying at home that you can read by clicking here. 

• Those who are at increased risk of severe illness from Coronavirus (COVID-19), including the over 70s, need to be particularly stringent in following social distancing measures. You can read more about this by clicking here. 

If you need to self-isolate because of the symptoms mentioned above, please call your immediate line manager and report this immediately, as you would any other absence. 

 

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Update – 11th May 2020

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Following the Prime Minister’s statement yesterday, we are now focusing on 1st June for a managed and ordered return to school in stages, to ensure we can undertake social distancing and have adequate staffing and health and safety arrangements in place at each of our settings.  Our children’s education and learning is hugely important, and we want their eventual return to school to be successful, positive and safe.

However, as stated by the Prime Minister, reopening of schools will only happen if it is considered safe to do so. Until then, our settings will continue to provide places for workers designated as Key to fighting the Pandemic, and children considered vulnerable.  We will of course keep parents and carers informed of our plans for reopening in a timely way.

 

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Initial Statement Issued at the Outset of the Closure of Schools                 updated 16th May 2020

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Dear colleagues

We have now moved into the ‘delay’ phase of the Government’s plan to manage the Coronavirus outbreak and further guidance has been issued overnight. This means that new actions will be taken across the country to reduce the number of people who are affected at the peak of the virus and to delay this peak as far as possible into the summer months when the impact on people and the NHS will be reduced. 

What we are doing as a Trust

We have been working with our settings and other partners across the region to develop solutions to the rapidly changing situation to:

• Identify vulnerable groups;
• Identify numbers of key workers;
• Identify the provision of ongoing services, including school meals;
• Deal with challenges of the health needs of staff in our settings.

The work being done by our settings in partnership together, and with other agencies across the region, is set to provide a strong basis for whatever requirements the coming weeks present. 

To all our staff – thank you for the exceptional pace and professionalism with which you have collectively responded to these unprecedented challenges.

From Monday 23 March 2020, whilst all schools nationally will be closed for the foreseeable future, all our settings will still be open to care for children of key-workers, vulnerable children and children with EHCP’s. The decision to offer a place, and the continuation of this provision, will ultimately rest with the Trust in consultation with Head Teachers. For these children, their setting’s normal school hours will still apply, along with the usual catering arrangements. The Trust will be constantly reviewing the model of provision available going forward.

Since the decision to close schools was announced by the Government on Wednesday, we have been waiting confirmation regarding the definition of ‘vulnerable’ children and ‘key workers’. The guidance was been published this morning. Full details are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-maintaining-educational-provision/guidance-for-schools-colleges-and-local-authorities-on-maintaining-educational-provision

It is essential we get the balance right between those children needing to attend school in lieu of child care. We will need as many key workers available as possible to maintain essential services. All our settings will endeavour to offer children of key workers a place in lieu of childcare, where ever possible. However, in-line with Government guidance, where those key workers can establish appropriate care arrangements for their children at home they should do so, and use schools only as the alternative, rather than ‘default’. Where a key worker parent is having difficulty making such alternative arrangements, they should discuss this with the setting concerned. The decision to offer a place, and the scope of that provision, rests with the Head Teacher.

Vulnerable children are those defined as Child in Need, Child Protection, Looked After Children, i.e. those with a social worker; along with young carers, disabled children and those with EHCP’s. Looking after these children will enable schools to support the country through this incredibly and extremely challenging time. However, whatever the definition, our settings know the identity of the wider group of vulnerable children and will, wherever possible, maintain a pastoral relationship with them.

In terms of Free School Meals, we have been advised that government will give schools the flexibility to provide meals or vouchers to children who are eligible for free school meals. The Government are looking to put in place a national voucher system for every child who is eligible for free school meals. Guidance for schools will be published by the DFE shortly. 

In the meantime, our settings are developing their own ongoing free school meals provision and will contact relevant parents / carers about these arrangements as soon as possible.

HR Policy for the Closure Period (updated 16th May 2020)

Whilst the Trust continues to offer care for children of key-workers, vulnerable children and children with EHCPs, all staff who are employed are also considered by the Trust to be key workers and will continue to be required to undertake work, provided they are well enough to do so.

In practice, this means that staff will be required to be available to undertake tasks which are broadly in line with their usual work and commensurate with their grade.   

Staff with children of school age (3 years old to 17 years old), who are having difficulty making suitable childcare arrangements in order to continue to work, should speak to their Head Teacher, as our settings have been asked to make provision in lieu of childcare available to staff where possible. Staff with children under school age (younger than 3 years old) should make their own arrangements; however, please speak to your Head Teacher if you’re having difficulty doing this. Staff who would prefer to stay at home to look after their children, despite the offer of a place or assistance finding one elsewhere, may make an application to their Head Teacher for unpaid compassionate leave. Such applications will be considered on a case by case basis.

In cases where a staff member is having to self-isolate, or has been identified by their setting (or a health care professional) as at significant risk (i.e. deemed clinically extremely vulnerable or clinically vulnerable), or lives with another adult or child deemed at significant risk, the work may be undertaken from home and would not involve direct pupil contact. Examples of work which may be undertaken would include but not be limited to preparing resources, setting of work for pupils to complete remotely, planning, updating monitoring etc. Staff who are available to work during the school closure period will receive full pay.  If you have any concerns about either your own welfare, or the welfare of anyone you live with, please speak to your Head Teacher.

Staff who have previously been available for work but then become incapacitated by any illness and unable to work, should ensure that they report this in the usual way to their line manager using the correct reporting arrangements for their setting; they will then be considered to be off sick for the duration of their illness and will receive full sick pay entitlement for the period of which they are unwell. Upon recovery, they should advise their line manager that they have returned and are now available to undertake work.

Where it is not possible for an employee, either in self-isolation or in a high risk group, to complete any work from home during the school closure period due to the nature of their role, the employee will continue to receive full pay and their attendance record will not be affected.

As already stated, school employees are key worker staff and able to access school provision in lieu of childcare. For our staff, their children of school age (3 to 17) can attend the setting at which they work if this is appropriate; the preference of the parent/carer; and with the permission of the Head Teacher.  

 

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Current Health Advice                                                                                               updated 20th May 2020

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It is important that we follow the medical evidence and take the right actions at the right time to help and support each other.

Current advice is:

• If you have Covid-19 symptoms, such as:
  • a high temperature – this means you feel hot to touch on your chest or back (you do not need to measure your temperature);
  • a new, continuous cough – this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours (if you usually have a cough, it may be worse than usual);
  • loss or change to your sense of smell or taste – this means you’ve noticed you cannot smell or taste anything, or things smell or taste different to normal.

self-isolate by staying at home for 7 days. If you live with other people, they should stay at home for 14 days from the day the first person got symptoms. If you live with someone who is 70 or over, has a long-term condition, is pregnant or has a weakened immune system, try to find somewhere else for them to stay for 14 days. If you have to stay at home together, try to keep away from each other as much as possible. There is more information about staying at home that you can read by clicking here. 

• Those who are at increased risk of severe illness from Coronavirus (COVID-19), including the over 70s, need to be particularly stringent in following social distancing measures. You can read more about this by clicking here. 

If you need to self-isolate because of the symptoms mentioned above, please call your immediate line manager and report this immediately, as you would any other absence.