Thursday 14 May 2020

Possible return to school in June.....

Dear Parent/carers,
You will have seen in the news that schools may reopen on 1st June to Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 pupils, if the government thinks it is safe to do so. We are waiting for further guidance and clarification from the government right now, which will hopefully help us create a detailed action plan to make sure that we can safely welcome these year groups back. We will include you in the planning process and share this with you as soon as possible, so you know what the school’s reopening will look like in practice.
It is a very unsettling time for us all, but rest assured that the safety of staff, children and our community is our main priority, and we will be doing everything we can to ensure that school reopens when it is safe to do so.
As parents, you will know your children and personal situation best, therefore we want to reassure you that we will not be pressuring anyone to send their children to school. We will provide you with more details on the arrangements for reopening in the coming weeks, so you can make an informed decision. We will also be seeking your views and communication will be sent out to parents shortly.
We would like to thank you for your continuing support, and the great work that you are doing in helping your child learn from home. We will need to keep going with this for a while yet, so please do continue to do what you can and keep in touch.
If you have any questions please email: enquiries@childwallvalley.org
Your sincerely
Mrs. Lynn Scott (Deputy Head teacher) Dr. Cate Cropper (Chair of Governors)

Wednesday 29 April 2020

Supporting children's mental health and emotional well being..

Dear Parents. 

As you are aware, we use PATHS (Promoting Alternative thinking strategies)  Programme for Schools. During school closure, we don’t want children’s social and emotional learning to end just because they aren’t in school, so we are doing our best to provide as many opportunities on our classroom platforms to support our children’s Mental health and Wellbeing at home. We have also posted links to resources on our website. 

This is a difficult time for all of us, and it’s understandable that it will raise a lot of feelings and behaviours for children as they adjust to a new ‘normal’. As you are aware, PATHS aim is to help children learn about their feelings, behaviours, relationships and problem-solving. As well as providing opportunities for raising the self-esteem of children, and providing a forum for communication and connection. In order to support you at home school. PATHS education are currently providing lots of opportunities for you to explore Social Emotional Learning at home. This will help children to manage those ‘big feelings’ that are surrounding them right now. Each week they will be sharing materials across social media, providing a range of resources that will also promote other areas of the curriculum such as literacy, world around us, STEM etc. All these materials are completely optional, and you are welcome to join in as many or as few as you and your children can manage. On a Friday each week PATHS education will provide a blog for parents (http://www.pathseducation.co.uk/paths-blog/ ) which will give some further information. These blogs are intended to help you understand some of the background to Social Emotional Learning and help you to help your children. They will also provide some additional activities and tools you can use to support your children. 

The first in the new blog series is a jargon-busting blog to help you understand some of the key terms surrounding Social Emotional Learning. http://www.pathseducation.co.uk/pdfs/public/Jargon_Buster_Glossary.pdf 

Urgent Needs Fund Information...

URGENT NEEDS FUND Information 
https://liverpool.gov.uk/benefits/help-in-a-crisis/liverpool-citizens-support-scheme/
The Liverpool City Council have an ‘Urgent Needs’ Fund for people who are currently experiencing hardship, due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The fund is open to anyone who is experiencing the following issues:
  • People who have no food, gas or electricity
  • People who have received benefit sanctions or who have applied for benefits but haven’t received an award yet
  • People who have been put on Furlough by their employer and are experiencing hardship as a result of the 20% reduction in their salary
  • People who have a number of children at home and are unable to feed them due to school closures
  • Any other issues that cause hardship
Process
The support worker or the person experiencing hardship should call telephone number: 0151 233 3053 to speak to an operator. A series of questions will be asked to determine if the person is eligible for support.  If they are, they or you will be supported over the phone to complete an online application form.  A decision will be given within 2 days of the application being accepted.
The award given does not need to be paid back.

Friday 24 April 2020

SEND support for families

Helplines for Settings and Families
In response to the current coronavirus pandemic, Liverpool Local Authority’s SEND Support Services would like to offer advice and support to our settings and families during this difficult time.
SENISS Helpline: 07591837693
If your child has special educational needs and you are wanting to know more on how to support their learning at home then please ring for professional advice, support or practical strategies.
Monday: 1pm – 4pm, Wednesday: 9am – 4pm, Friday: 9am – 12pm
Alternatively, you can email your concern to seniss@liverpool.gov.uk
Educational Psychology Service Helpline: 0151 233 5978
If you are concerned about your child’s emotional wellbeing or managing their behaviour then please ring for professional advice, support or practical strategies. 
Monday to Friday: 9am – 4.30pm
Alternatively, you can email your concern to epsadmin@liverpool.gov.uk
Speech and Language Helpline: 07540707541
If you need advice or support regarding your child’s speech and language then please contact Christine Taylor, Principal Speech and Language Therapist.
Tuesday to Friday: 9am – 12pm
Alternatively, you can email your concern to christine.taylor@liverpool.gov.uk
ASD Training Team: 07522800193/07515501854
Advice and strategies for families of children and young people with autism or social communication needs.
Monday to Friday: 9am – 12pm
Alternatively, you can email your concern to ASDtrainingteam@liverpool.gov.uk

Monday 20 April 2020

Headteacher - Retirement

Sunday 19th April 2020

Dear Parents and Carers

Today is my final day as Headteacher of Childwall Valley Primary School. Tomorrow my retirement begins. 

I was appointed Headteacher of CVP before it officially opened in September 2003, as a Fresh Start school. 

The Fresh Start aspect being that it replaced Craighurst Primary, a school that had serious underperformance and behaviour issues across a number of years. A new PFI build replaced the old school.

I think it is probably true to say that I didn’t expect to be at CVP almost 17 years later.

It has been an incredible journey. It gives me great pride and satisfaction looking back, that as Headteacher, I am leaving a thriving, innovative and highly successful school. 

Our most recent Ofsted inspection judged behaviour at CVP to be outstanding.

The last academic end of year results across all key stages, put CVP not only above Liverpool schools, but above all schools nationally.

But schools are more than SATs scores and Ofsted grades. They are about children, the staff and its community. 

A school’s core purpose is to serve its children, and every key decision made during my time at CVP always put the children first, second and third. 

Visitors to the school often comment on the happy and purposeful atmosphere at CVP and the polite and well mannered children.

When CVP opened as a Fresh Start school, the Local Authority had identified ICT to be a feature of the new school. 

So it is particularly pleasing that CVP was judged to be the best whole school for ICT in the UK. 

The school is recognised nationally and internationally for its creative use of new technologies to promote new ways of learning. CVP was one of the first UK primary schools to adopt a 1:1 device for every pupil across the whole school.

I have been very fortunate to work with a number of dedicated and talented teachers during my time at CVP. 

I thank them for all they have done for the children. I must give a special thank you to Mrs Scott for her support as Deputy Headteacher and her devotion to the children and their families.

Mrs Scott joined the school at the same time as myself, Mr Greggs and Mrs Brand actually joined CVP form the original school. 

We are living through times that only recently would have been unimaginable. 

Please take care and follow the stay safe guidelines and hope that we return to some sort of normality soon.

Obviously due to the school closure, I have been unable to say goodbye to the children. 

Please do this on my behalf. Tell them I will miss ALL of them, and I am expecting them to go on and do great things with their lives.

Kind regards

Kevin Basnett
Headteacher 
Childwall Valley Primary School