Dear Parents/Carers

I am writing to inform you that, in line with government guidelines, Monday 19 September, the date of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s State Funeral, will be a national bank holiday.

Consequently, all of our schools in the Trust will be closed for the day.  Our schools will reopen on Tuesday 20 September.

Yours sincerely

Nick Hurn

Chief Executive Officer
Bishop Wilkinson Catholic Education Trust

You can view our download the letter in PDF format by clicking the link below:

Bank Holiday 19.9.22 – Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s State Funeral

Will your child turn 5 between 1 September 2023 and 31 August 2024?

If so, you need to complete an application online to tell Durham County Council which school you would like your child to addend. Find out more on our website.

A Letter to the Children of the Diocese

Dear Children of the Diocese
I know you will have heard about the meeting of world leaders in Glasgow early next month called COP26, which will discuss climate change and the environment. This is an urgent and important conference, and I am writing to you to ask that you pray for the success of the meeting….

View Full Letter – Pastoral Letter COP26 Primary Schools

Dear Parent/Carer

As you will be aware, your child is due to transfer to secondary school in September next year.  The application process will open on 6 September 2021.  You will need to read the Parent’s Guide “Primary and Secondary School Admission Guide in County Durham 2022/23”, as it contains essential information that will help you in making your child’s application.  The guide is available on our website www.durham.gov.uk/schooladmissions

Please view or download the full letter below:

Secondary 2022 Preference Letter to Parents – Issued 06/09/2021

We are happy to welcome your children back after the Summer break. We are hopeful that we will be able to gradually return to a normal school routine and all the wonderful events that make our school the lovely place that it is.

Please view our Welcome Back Letter to Parents and Carers which contains information about Start and Finish times, before and after childcare, uniforms and dinner money.  We have also included our approach to bubbles and self isolation  and hope this information clarifies the arrangements for September.

Welcome Back – Letter for Parents & Carers (Sep 21)

Joanne Cruise
Headteacher

Our school email stpius@durhamlearning.net will be checked each morning and evening on Saturday, Sunday and Monday to support Track and Trace. If your child develops symptoms, requires a test or receives test results for COVID during this time please let us know immediately. We will then ensure the appropriate people are contacted as appropriate.

Please continue to keep our community safe by seeking a test for your child if they develop symptoms. Please also follow government rules on isolation where you or a family member develops symptoms.

Thank you for your continued support

Thank you for all of the useful feedback on remote learning. It has been really helpful for planning a way forward over the coming weeks.

Home Learning isn’t the same as mainstream schooling, and shouldn’t try to be. Both have things the other can’t offer. You can’t always do what teachers do in a classroom at the kitchen table, and teachers certainly can’t do what parents do at home. Work within your resources and abilities, and prepare to be as flexible as possible.

Read the full letter below (this has also been added to the Home Learning section.

Home Learning – Letter To Parents

Parental Reminders as we return to school in January 2021 (Tier 4)

• Pupils should only be dropped off and collected by one adult
• Adults are asked to wear masks when dropping off and collecting children
• Families should not car share to and from school
• Parents should continue to observe social distancing at the school gate and leave immediately. Please do not hang around to chat.
• All messages should come via email or telephone and not given to staff at the gates. Face to face discussions with staff shouldn’t take place wherever possible to reduce the risk to all.
• No bags, toys, unnecessary items are allowed in school. Overnight bags should be passed on via adults and not sent into school with a child.
• Reading books will not be sent home in the first week until the rate of transmission and local infection rate is clear.
• Parents must provide school with up to date contact numbers and be able to collect child within a 30- 45 minute window if requested to do so. This is very important when we have to isolate a bubble or send home a sick child. The mobile phone number registered to our texting service will always be the first point of contact for whole class isolation. If you know you would be unavailable on this number please email school on any day where this is applicable so we have an alternative and know to ring you separately.
• Packed lunches should be sent in in disposable packaging for the first couple of weeks to reduce the chance of transmission from home to school and back again.
• Water bottles should be thoroughly cleaned each evening and only your own child should handle it in school.
• Children must not attend school if they, or anyone in their family, has symptoms of COVID- 19. Where a pupil is displaying symptoms they will be sent home immediately and parents must then follow the government information on seeking a test.
• Children should arrive with their class bubble or their sibling group. Any late arrivals will need to ring the intercom and wait for a staff member from their bubble to collect them
• Any changes to breakfast and afterschool provision could be communicated at short notice if staff are absent or forced to isolate. This provision is only for children where there is no other alternative childcare. We have limited capacity. We will do our best to accommodate children on a short term basis in exceptional circumstances but it is reserved for those children who have already been attending under the keyworker arrangements we had in our original lockdown. Pupil must be at the gate at 8.15a.m. to be collected by named staff. The afterschool club closes at 4.30p.m. so all children should be collected before this.
• Pupils should wear clean clothes each day to reduce the chance of infection. This does not need to be school uniform. Change your child as soon as they return from school to reduce any risk to yourself.
• Please follow all the rules for Tier 4 so that you keep the risk to staff and pupils as low as possible during this time.

You can download this information by clicking the link below:

Parental reminders as we return to school in January 2021St Pius

Full School Opening January 2021– Infection Control COVID-19 General Risk Assessment Form

 All schools are advised to note the issues and suggested control measures in this document and then add detail specific to their school.

St Pius – Risk Assessment (COVID) January 2021