Keep up to date with all the latest news happening in school at the moment.
The Cabinet Member for Education and Skills today approved plans to delay the Kent Test by around one month as a result of the impact of Covid-19 on schools and pupils.
The test will now take place on 15 October for pupils who attend a Kent school
Kent parents will also be offered two additional preferences on their child’s Secondary school application this year, an increase from four to six, to account for the later release of Kent Test results.
If you have particular queries that have not been addressed or covered in
recent communications please contact kent.admissions@kent.gov.uk .
Dear Parents/Carers
We’re very nearly at the end of another academic year. I’m sure you’ll all agree that 2020 has not been what we may have hoped for - so far!! We have been extremely proud of the fact that our school has been open during ‘school closure’ for the children of key workers and other identified children and then for children in selected year groups since the beginning of June. Our staff have been working tirelessly during this period, many without a prolonged break having worked through both the Easter and half term holidays, either in school or preparing work for your children to complete remotely. Hopefully, you would have been in regular contact with a member of school staff whilst the school has been closed to ensure that you have been well supported and to provide your children with an education whilst they have not been at school. We cannot wait to see you all upon your return on the 7th September.
At this time of year we have to say goodbye to our fantastic year 6 children and some of our wonderful staff. It is such a shame that our year 6 children have not been able to receive the traditional year 6 ‘send off’ that they so thoroughly deserve. On behalf of the staff, Governors, pupils and parents of Drapers Mills Primary Academy, we wish them all the very best of luck at their new Secondary Schools. Please remember your time with us fondly and we hope to see you all again soon! We are hoping that, social distancing guidelines allowing, we may be able to invite them back in September for an opportunity to say a proper ‘Goodbye’. Please watch this space - we will not forget you!
Some of our staff are leaving too. Miss Lamb and Mr Day will be leaving us after successfully completing their Teacher Training with us. We congratulate them both for this fantastic achievement and wish them both the very best of luck in their new teaching roles. We also say goodbye to Miss Husband, Miss Hayes, Mrs Love, Mrs Harris, Mrs McGee, Mrs Grainger, Miss Wong and Miss Laura Johnson. We wish them all the best of luck in their new ventures.
We must also congratulate Mr Wilson for securing the role of Safeguarding Lead for our Academy, The Kemnal Academies Trust (TKAT). This is a massive achievement for Mr Wilson as he will now be supporting all of the 45 Primary and Secondary Academies in the TKAT Family. Although we will not be losing him completely, it is likely that we will be seeing less of him as the year progresses and his commitments elsewhere keep him away from school. We wish him all the best of luck in his new role.
We are also saying goodbye to Mrs Fassam who retired during lockdown after 20 years at the school. We thank her for everything she has done for the school over the years and hope she will not be a stranger!
Now, looking forward to September …
Our classes will be named after famous authors. This will help children take an in-depth look into the author and enjoy some of their texts throughout the year, in addition to the wide range of texts that they study through their Literacy learning. A love of reading is an essential part of the culture we promote at Drapers Mills Primary Academy
Classes for academic year 2020 -2021
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Nursery
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Amanda Manclark Lauren Gardner Alborough class |
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Reception
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Mrs S. Baker Carle class |
Mrs K. Olive Murphy class |
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Year 1
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Mrs S. Bratch Ms J. Storey (SCITT) Donaldson class |
Mrs T. Field Mrs J. Urban Jeffers class |
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Year 2
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Mrs E. Taylor Andreae class |
Ms L. Williams Butterworth class |
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Year 3
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Mrs J. Marks Morpurgo class |
Miss H. Barrett Browne class |
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Year 4
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Mr D. Chantler Walliams class |
Miss E. Moore Dahl class |
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Year 5
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Mrs H. Kirkpatrick Dickens class |
Mrs J. Jennings-Payne Ms Z. Kirkpatrick (SCITT) Wilson class |
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Year 6
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Ms R. Lehan Cowell class |
Miss H. Johnson Rowling class |
Mrs S. Rees Shakespeare class |
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Current class (2019-2020) |
New class (2020 -2021) |
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Cambridge |
Mrs T. Field / Mrs J. Urban – Jeffers class |
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Chester |
Mrs S. Bratch – Donaldson class |
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Southbank |
Ms L. Williams - Butterworth class |
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Brighton |
Mrs E. Taylor - Andreae class |
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Leeds |
Mrs J. Marks – Morpurgo class |
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Southampton |
Miss H. Barrett – Browne class |
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Oxford/ Hertfordshire/Aberdeen |
Mr D. Chantler - Walliams class Miss E. Moore – Dahl class |
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York |
Mrs H. Kirkpatrick - Dickens class |
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Goldsmiths |
Mrs J. Jennings-Payne - Wilson class |
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Roehampton |
Miss H. Johnson – Rowling class |
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Bristol |
Ms S. Rees – Shakespeare class |
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Coventry |
Ms R. Lehan - Cowell class |
The school and what we do in it will look different in September. Along with the restrictions in place because of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic we will also be introducing new schemes for the learning of maths (Mathematics Mastery), home reading (Accelerated Reader) and phonics (Read Write Inc.). There will also be a greater emphasis on the completion of homework and a continued drive to raise the levels of attendance for children in our school. We will communicate these changes with you in due course.
Until then, I wish you a wonderful Summer Break and we look forward to seeing you all at school on Monday 7th September.
Yours sincerely,
Mr J Manclark
A video recording of this message can be found HERE.
Dear Parents and Carers,
You will have heard the government announcement that schools will be open for all pupils’ full-time education from September 2020. Our school has been welcoming pupils in different year groups back to school since June. We approached this with great caution, reviewing all the scientific advice to ensure that we could be as safe as possible. This has gone extremely well, as our safety measures and risk assessments were excellent. Thank you to all those parents who sent your children back into school as requested – it has been lovely to see them.
We are delighted that we can now look forward to seeing all our pupils back in September. We will be very busy in the next couple of weeks planning, completing new and detailed risk assessments, and working out exactly what school will look like and feel like when your child returns.
The Government has stated:
‘Given the improved position, the balance of risk is now overwhelmingly in favour of children returning to school. For the vast majority of children, the benefits of being back in school far outweigh the very low risk from coronavirus (COVID-19)’.
All children are therefore expected back in school on Monday 7th September.
We’re working hard to consider how we group pupils together, to ensure that we reduce contact between different groups of pupils, and keep the stringent cleaning and disinfecting processes we already have in place to ensure that our academies are as safe as can be for your child.
In preparation, there are some key points that you need to be aware of to ensure that your child is safe. Please be aware some details may change, we will keep you updated.
1. You must ensure that if anyone in your household has COVID-19 symptoms, your child does NOT attend school. Any child or staff member who develops symptoms in the school day will be sent home immediately. If anyone in your household, or your child, tests positive for COVID-19 you MUST inform your school.
2. The government has advised walking or cycling to school wherever possible to reduce the use of public transport.
3. Attendance at school. The government has relaxed the rules on attendance during lockdown. However, this will change in September. The government guidance says: ‘Missing out on more time in the classroom risks pupils falling further behind. Those with higher overall absence tend to achieve less well in both primary and secondary school. School attendance will therefore be mandatory again from the beginning of the autumn term’.
4. Pupils and staff will not be wearing face coverings in school. The government advice is quite clear that this is not necessary. If face coverings are used on public transport to get to school, children will be asked to remove them upon arrival at school, safely disposing of them if they are disposable masks and putting them in a sealed plastic bag if it can be reused.
5. Your child will be expected to follow strict behaviour rules relating to physical contact with other pupils, and keeping their hands clean. Pupils will be expected to wash their hands regularly, and/or use hand sanitiser.
6. If your child has Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND) we will contact you shortly to explain what provision will look like from September.
7. Our School kitchens will re-open in September. We are hoping to re-introduce hot school dinners as soon as possible but until then all children will need to bring a packed lunch to school each day. Children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 and those children entitled to Free School Meals will be provided a packed lunch by the school. Pupils eligible for free school meals will therefore no longer receive lunch vouchers.
8. In order to maintain social distancing during social times, year groups will have break times at either different times or on a different playground to others.
9. It will be more important than ever that your child has their own equipment in school to ensure that this does not need to be shared. Children will be provided with pencils and pens for their sole use but if your child has items that they may want to use in school then they can bring them in and store them in their own ‘pencil cases’.
10. Pupils will be expected to wear school uniform. On the days they have PE, children will be asked to come into school wearing a school PE kit (details HERE). Your teacher will tell you which day your child has PE when they return in September.
To avoid a congregation of parents, the window for dropping your children off each day has been extended from 8.30 until 9.00 and the collecting window will now be anytime between 3.00pm and 3.15pm. We ask that only one adult brings the children into school each day. This should reduce the waiting time that a parent has whilst on the school grounds.
Anyone who does not arrive on time will need to drop their children off via the main office. We respectfully ask that everyone makes every effort to arrive during these time-slots. If you are late, please do not use the signing in systems – we will sign the children in. If you arrive after 3:15pm to collect your children, the children will wait on the playground with an adult from their group until a parent arrives. They can no longer be collected from the office.
To reduce congestion and to allow us to enforce social distancing at the start and end of each day, every gate into the school will be used.
1. The normal gates by the pedestrian crossing.
2. The double gate by the school office (ideal for Nursery, Reception and Key Stage 1 children) .
3. The gates by the allotments by the KS2 playground (ideal for Key Stage 2 children).
We will shortly be sharing two separate guides, one for parents and one for children outlining the changes we are putting in place to keep members of the school community safe.
We understand that some of you and your children will be anxious about returning in September, after some months out of school. Please be reassured that we are taking exceptional measures to make our schools as safe as can be. We will be providing additional emotional and wellbeing support for any pupils that need it, and will also be providing additional opportunities to support learning where this is required. Although very many of our pupils have worked hard using our remote learning resources provided by our dedicated teachers, we are fully aware that learning has been lost. We are all determined that your sons and daughters will absolutely not be ‘a lost generation’ and we’re adapting our curriculum to make sure that they get the learning and knowledge that they need to achieve success in the future.
Your children deserve a great, and safe education – we will not let them down.
See you in September!
Mr J Manclark
Headteacher
In this morning's assembly, the children will be discussing the
importance of singing.
They watched this video and discussed the points below ...
* Why did these performers put this video together for people during lockdown?
* How did it make you feel?
* Singing is known to lift people’s moods and make them feel better. During this time of lockdown, many people have used the time to produce recordings of people singing together, to make them happy and to cheer others up.
* Why do people sing?
* Do you have a favourite song?
* Have you ever listened to music through headphones and sung along without realizing?
* Do you sing in the bath or shower? Do you sing in any other ‘strange’ places?
* Why do people sing in church and/or assembly?
REFLECTION
* How important is singing to you?
* Is there anything else you do to ‘cheer yourself up’?
* How do you make others happy?
Dear Parents and Carers,
I hope you and your families remain safe and well.
As a school we are proud of the part we have been able to play during the COVID crisis. Despite all of the challenges we have been able to keep our school open and safe for the children of Key workers and vulnerable pupils. In addition, we have been able to provide remote learning and regular contact for all our pupils. More recently we have been delighted that we have been able to welcome more children back to school.
We have just received guidance from the Government about the arrangements for the reopening of schools in September. When we know what this will look like for Drapers Mills, we will let you know our plans.
The Kemnal Academies Trust (TKAT), based on Government guidance, has advised us that we should close our school for the summer break. The school will therefore be closed for all children - including Key Worker children - from the end of the day on Wednesday 22nd July.
The first day back at school will be Monday 7th September.
I will be writing to you again before the end of term, but in the meantime, you may be interested in the Government’s latest guidance to parents What parents and carers need to know about schools during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak
Thank you for your continued support.
J Manclark
Headteacher
Free School Meal vouchers will continue to be sent throughout the summer holidays. You will not need to reapply for these. The dates these will be sent are as follows: -
13th July - 2 weeks
27th July - 2 weeks
10th August - 1 week
14th August - 3 weeks
After the 14th August no further vouchers will be issued.
J Manclark
Headteacher
Please find detailed below the rota for Groups A and B for the week beginning Monday 6th July 2020.
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Date |
Group A |
Group B |
Key Worker Group |
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Monday 6th July |
In School |
Home Learning |
In School |
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Tuesday 7th July |
In School |
Home Learning |
In School |
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Weds 8th July AM |
In School |
Home Learning |
In School |
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Weds 8th July PM |
Home Learning |
Home Learning |
In School |
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Thursday 9th July |
Home Learning |
In School |
In School |
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Friday 10th July |
Home Learning |
In School |
In School |
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The school has been informed by KCC that as from Monday (6th July) until the end of term, St Peters Footpath will be closed to traffic between the hours of 8.00am - 9.30am and 2.00pm - 3.30pm. This is part of a pilot "School Street" scheme - full details which can be found HERE.
All school gates will still remain open for children to access school in their normal way.
We have been working closely with KCC for a number of years now to try and make the school a safer place and to reduce the number of cars using the roads around school at key times of the school day. Although I appreciate this may inconvenience some members of our school community, I am delighted that the school have been invited to participate in this initiative and anything that can improve safety around the school and supports the well-being of our children needs to be explored.
Members of the school community are encouraged to complete the surveys to feedback to KCC.
I thank you in advance for your support and tolerance whilst this pilot initiative takes place and I look forward to sharing the feedback with you in due course.
J Manclark
Headteacher