Byers Green Primary School

Wear View, Byers Green, Spennymoor, Co Durham, DL16 7PN

Byres Green Primary School
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More online resources

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If you’re looking for something different to do with your children please see the information below from three of our local partners.

Sedgefield School Sports Partnership

We’ve created a new Sports Bingo board to help support children to be happy and healthy at home.  This board includes tasks linked to personal challenge, School Games, Active Curriculum and health and wellbeing.  You can download it from our website:

https://sedgefieldssp.org.uk/

We are also posting daily updates on our Facebook page linked to tasks on the board:

https://www.facebook.com/sedgefieldssp

Durham Music Service

We have launched a YouTube channel which can be accessed from our website:

https://www.durhammusic.org.uk/

Every day we will post a short musical learning video for your pupils suitable for both in and out of school

  • Action Monday (Wake up the week with an Action Song)
  • Rockin Rhythm Tuesday ( Have fun with rhythm with percussion/household objects)
  • Ukulele Wednesday (Sing and strum for Uke Fun!)
  • Singalong Thursday ( Catchy songs for all the family)
  • Signing Friday (Sing and Sign for all)

Durham University

To coincide with the #MuseumFromHome event, the 4Schools team have been hard at work developing new resources for teachers and pupils alike. From Ancient Egyptian board games, to Ancient Greek plays. From a Norman architecture guide to a pack unearthing the mystery of the skeletons buried beneath a cafe! To find out more please visit our online resources section at:

https://www.dur.ac.uk/4schools/learningonline/primaryonline/

New online resources and guidance

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BBC Bitesize

The BBC has launched an education package across TV and online, featuring celebrities and teachers, helping to keep children learning at home and supporting parents.

BBC Bitesize can be accessed here:

Guidance for parents and carers on supporting their children’s education during coronavirus (COVID-19)

The DfE has published information, guidance and support for parents and carers of children who are learning at home during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

Guidance on helping primary school aged children learn at home can be found here:

Guidance on helping children with special educational needs and disabilities learn at home can be found here:

Guidance for parents and carers on keeping children safe online

The DfE has published information for parents and carers on keeping children safe online. It provides links to online resources that will help support parents and carers in keeping their children safe online.

Home learning ideas

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In addition to the home learning packs sent out with your child, teachers have put together a selection of links to relevant websites to support learning in English and maths as well as the wider curriculum. Please see the information below for further details.

Oxford Reading Tree

Oxford Owl has a free ebook library which can be accessed by following the link below. Parents will need to register and login to access these resources.

EYFS – Class 1

Miss Morgan will be providing links to relevant home learning ideas via the Tapestry app. Please check this regularly to ensure you are receiving these updates.

KS1 – Class 2

KS2 – Class 3 & Class 4

 

Coronavirus: 24 March update

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Message from the Local Authority

As the situation with coronavirus continues to develop we are asking you to carefully consider whether or not your child needs to be in school.

We appreciate that the central government guidance around what constitutes a key worker is quite broad, however we would like to remind you that the reason schools are remaining open is primarily to ensure that those frontline workers, who are key to helping this country get through this situation, can get to work.

Each school will have different levels of demand for these places and may handle this situation differently in order to ensure the welfare of all staff and children.  We ask you to respect any restrictions your school may put in place to help them cope during these challenging times.

Finally can we remind you that in line with Public Health England guidance, the best place for your child, wherever possible is at home with you, helping to maintain good social distancing for our wider community.

Coronavirus: 20 March update

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As a country, we all need to do what we can to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

That is why the government has given clear guidance on self-isolation, household isolation and social distancing.

And the most recent scientific advice on how to further limit the spread of COVID-19 is clear. If children can stay safely at home, they should, to limit the chance of the virus spreading.

That is why the government has asked parents to keep their children at home, wherever possible, and asked schools to remain open only for those children who absolutely need to attend.

It is important to underline that schools, colleges and other educational establishments remain safe places for children. But the fewer children making the journey to school, and the fewer children in educational settings, the lower the risk that the virus can spread and infect vulnerable individuals in wider society.

Schools are, therefore, being asked to continue to provide care for a limited number of children – children who are vulnerable and children whose parents are critical to the Covid-19 response and cannot be safely cared for at home.

Vulnerable children include children who are supported by social care, those with safeguarding and welfare needs, including child in need plans, on child protection plans, ‘looked after’ children, young carers, disabled children and those with education, health and care (EHC) plans.

We know that schools will also want to support other children facing social difficulties and we will support head teachers to do so.

Parents whose work is critical to the COVID-19 response include those who work in health and social care and in other key sectors outlined below. Many parents working in these sectors may be able to ensure their child is kept at home. And every child who can be safely cared for at home should be.

Please, therefore, follow these key principles:

  1. If it is at all possible for children to be at home, then they should be.
  2. If a child needs specialist support, is vulnerable or has a parent who is a critical worker, then educational provision will be available for them.
  3. Parents should not rely for childcare upon those who are advised to be in the stringent social distancing category such as grandparents, friends, or family members with underlying conditions.
  4. Parents should also do everything they can to ensure children are not mixing socially in a way which can continue to spread the virus. They should observe the same social distancing principles as adults.
  5. Residential special schools, boarding schools and special settings continue to care for children wherever possible.

If your work is critical to the COVID-19 response, or you work in one of the critical sectors listed below, and you cannot keep your child safe at home then your children will be prioritised for education provision:

Health and social care

This includes but is not limited to doctors, nurses, midwives, paramedics, social workers, care workers, and other frontline health and social care staff including volunteers; the support and specialist staff required to maintain the UK’s health and social care sector; those working as part of the health and social care supply chain, including producers and distributers of medicines and medical and personal protective equipment.

Education and childcare

This includes nursery and teaching staff, social workers and those specialist education professionals who must remain active during the COVID-19 response to deliver this approach.

Key public services

This includes those essential to the running of the justice system, religious staff, charities and workers delivering key frontline services, those responsible for the management of the deceased, and journalists and broadcasters who are providing public service broadcasting.

Local and national government

This only includes those administrative occupations essential to the effective delivery of the COVID-19 response or delivering essential public services such as the payment of benefits, including in government agencies and arms length bodies.

Food and other necessary goods

This includes those involved in food production, processing, distribution, sale and delivery as well as those essential to the provision of other key goods (for example hygienic and veterinary medicines).

Public safety and national security

This includes police and support staff, Ministry of Defence civilians, contractor and armed forces personnel (those critical to the delivery of key defence and national security outputs and essential to the response to the COVID-19 pandemic), fire and rescue service employees (including support staff), National Crime Agency staff, those maintaining border security, prison and probation staff and other national security roles, including those overseas.

Transport

This includes those who will keep the air, water, road and rail passenger and freight transport modes operating during the COVID-19 response, including those working on transport systems through which supply chains pass.

Utilities, communication and financial services

This includes staff needed for essential financial services provision (including but not limited to workers in banks, building societies and financial market infrastructure), the oil, gas, electricity and water sectors (including sewerage), information technology and data infrastructure sector and primary industry supplies to continue during the COVID-19 response, as well as key staff working in the civil nuclear, chemicals, telecommunications (including but not limited to network operations, field engineering, call centre staff, IT and data infrastructure, 999 and 111 critical services), postal services and delivery, payments providers and waste disposal sectors.

If workers think they fall within the critical categories above they should confirm with their employer that, based on their business continuity arrangements, their specific role is necessary for the continuation of this essential public service.

If your school is closed then please contact your local authority, who will seek to redirect you to a local school in your area that your child, or children, can attend.

We are grateful for the work of teachers and workers in educational settings for continuing to provide for the children of the other critical workers of our country. It is an essential part of our national effort to combat this disease.

Coronavirus scam emails

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We have been informed that some parents have received an email stating the following:

‘As schools will be closing, if you’re entitled to free school meals, please send your bank details and we’ll make sure you’re supported’.

We would just like to confirm this is a scam email and is not from the local authority.  We urge parents that if you receive an email like this, please do not respond and delete it immediately.