Latest News | Cherry Oak School

Update - Friday 22nd May 2020

Fri 22 May 2020 Amy Findlay Head of School

Dear Parents/Carers

I hope this message finds you all well and safe. We have had another busy week in school and with our virtual learning. The zoom timetable is well established and it is fantastic to see how many families are accessing these sessions. There are no sessions timetabled for next week due to half term holiday but look out for information regarding the timetable for the week beginning Monday 1st June 2020. Many staff have continued to work hard in school providing childcare to children of key workers and our most vulnerable pupils. There has been a lot of effort from all staff to ensure children have access to a range of activities and resources to support with home learning. We have now visited all families again this week with another activity pack. The staff delivering these packs have loved seeing you all and are very appreciative of the positive responses.

I have now contacted all families that will be accessing a childcare place during the week beginning Monday 1st June 2020. We are still not in a position to 're-open' to all pupils who would like to come to school. We will continue to offer childcare to children of key workers and our most vulnerable pupils. I appreciate that some parents may be disappointed that they would like their child to return to school and do not meet our continued criteria. . I will be contacting those parents in June to discuss how we can safely have their child back in school at a later date in the summer term. The safety of all our pupils and staff is our main priority and we will continually risk assess the situation.

To support with health and safety, all pupils and staff are required to come in clean clothes every day. We continue to request that no one visits the school site. Any child who needs to be dropped off or collected other than by ATG transport can only be done by prior agreement.

School will be completely closed next week and all staff have been directed to take a well earned break. This means that school staff will not be contacting families for one week.

I know it is difficult to view next week as half term holiday but I hope you can enjoy some positive time with your families.

Take care everyone.

Amy

Update 20th May 2020

Wed 20 May 2020 Amy Findlay Head of School

Dear parents/carers

Thank you for your ongoing support at this difficult time. We have managed to speak to most of you regarding your decisions about sending your child back to school in June.

All special schools in Birmingham have taken the join decision that we will not be reopening on June 1st. The local authority are aware of this collective decision. All special schools in Birmingham will work to a model of safely increasing the numbers of pupils in school based on need throughout June. The main priority is to focus on pupils whose parents are key workers and pupils who are classed as our most vulnerable. All special schools are aware that the numbers of pupils that fall into these groups are increasing due to more parents being required to work and more families become vulnerable due to the impact of the ongoing situation.

Following the discussions we have had with you, we know there is a need to increase numbers at Cherry Oak from Monday 1st June. For this first week in June we will be focusing on providing places to those families who need their child to be in school due to work commitments and those who need their child in school due to their vulnerability. We will continue to offer a mixture of full time and part time places based on these needs. We will then review the impact of these increased numbers in line with our risk assessment to evaluate how we can increase further from 8th June. We will then hope to include children who do not fall into the 2 groups but parents have expressed a desire for them to return to school later in June.

We will be contacting all families who we are allocating places to for the week beginning 1st June. If you are not contacted by 3pm on Friday 22nd May then you can presume your child will not be attending school during the first week in June. If you feel we have wrongly assessed your need to send your child to school please contact me directly. We will then contact families again during the week ending 5th June.

I hope you can understand the approach we have taken. This approach focuses on safety of our pupils and staff and we want to ensure that no one is being put at risk.

Please feel free to phone me on the school number if you wish to discuss this.

Thank you again for your patience and understanding.

Amy

National Teacher's Day

Wed 20 May 2020 Julie Fardell Executive Head

Today is National Teachers' Day so I would like to take the opportunity to thank all the teachers, teaching assistants, therapists, nurses, administrators, site staff, ICT support staff, cleaners, cooks, drivers and guides,who make it possible for our young people to receive an outstanding education. During this time of COVID-19 lockdown, many have been working harder than every to offer direct care and education to children in attendance, remote education to those who are at home and the myriad of pastoral care tasks that keep children safe and fed and cared for, wherever they are. We are still in uncertain times, but one thing that is certain is that education continues to be one of the most important gifts we can give to our young people to prepare them to take their place in society as valued citizens. On this National Teachers' Day I thank each and every one of you.

Cherry Oak's Promotional Video For Mini Brum At The Think Tank

Fri 15 May 2020 Claire Kings Strategic Pastoral Care Manager

Cherry Oak School supported Fade Productions & Open Theatre in producing a promotional video for Mini Brum in Birmingham.

We supported in advising the teams how to make the areas SEN friendly and wanted to show families what to expect when they arrive at Mini Brum.

Please take a look at the work the group has produced.

Thank you to all of the children involved in the making of the video.

We had hoped to hold a premiere at school but in the current climate, this isn't possible so please enjoy it from the comfort of your homes!

Cherry Oak At Mini Brum - Click Here To Watch

Update 11th May 2020

Mon 11 May 2020 Amy Findlay Head of School

Dear Parents and Carers,

We expect that you will have watched the Prime Minister’s address yesterday evening. Further details are due to be released and we will be reviewing the guidance and its implications for special schools. At the moment, we have no further information and so currently nothing has changed and the school remains open only to the children of key workers and those who have been identified as being particularly vulnerable from our safeguarding data. We will update you as and when more information becomes available. In the meantime, we hope that you and your family remain safe and well.

Thanks

Amy

Update 7th May 2020

Thu 07 May 2020 Amy Findlay Head of School

Dear all parents and carers,

I hope that you are all continuing to keep safe and well. Thank you for your continuing support of the school and all the staff. I have spoken to many parents over the last few weeks and the class teachers are keeping me up to date and informed following their weekly conversations and contact with you. The teachers have commented on the positive relationships they have continued to develop with you during this difficult time.

Our weekly timetable of zoom sessions is continuing to develop. It is really lovely to see how many of our families are engaging with these sessions. We do not want to put any pressure on families but want to continue to offer you a range of different activities that you can incorporate into your daily timetable. All the staff that are taking part (including myself) are enjoying staying in contact and seeing the positive responses we are getting from the children. Can I remind all parents that when you join a zoom session you are taking full responsibility for your child during that session.

There has been a lot of discussion in the media about what the next steps will be for schools. We continue to only have as much information as the general public. However, I want to reassure you that we will continue to work with the Local Authority and follow the guidance set both locally and Nationally to ensure the safety of us all. We continue to be open as a childcare provider for children of key worker parents and our most vulnerable pupils according to our safeguarding data. We will update you when this situation changes.

None of us expected to be in this situation and it has had a huge impact on all of us but your kindness and support has really meant a lot to all of us here at Cherry Oak School. We are all missing all of our pupils and the usual routine of life at Cherry Oak School and will look forward to the time when we can safely be together again.

Thanks

Amy