And so we come to the end of week 3 of this strange period when school is shut to most children.

We remain very conscious of the fact that parents have so much to juggle at the moment. Please let me say again that, if you find any aspect of the home learning to be difficult, you must let us know. We have spoken to some parents about this and been able to help them with managing the load. Please get in touch if you need to.

The Education Secretary yesterday announced that there would be two weeks’ notice of schools’ reopening to all pupils. We’ll let you know as soon as we hear anything.

Whole school assembly

I hope you enjoyed the first ever whole-school virtual assembly. The plan is to keep them coming every Friday at 9.30 while we remain partially closed. While our school community is so fragmented at the moment, it’s great knowing that children at home and at school are watching together at the same time.

Staff testing

For your information and added peace of mind, I’d like you to know that the staff begin twice-weekly testing for coronavirus from Monday. This means we’ll be able to keep asymptomatic carriers of the virus at home, so keeping school even safer for everyone.

Teacher touchdowns

Key Stage 2 teachers are beginning a series of individual meetings with children at home with the aim of maintaining their engagement with school and helping with any home learning problems. You will be sent a link and an appointment through your child’s Google Classroom. We’re hoping you find these meetings useful and that your child enjoys seeing their teacher.

If your child is in Reception and Key Stage 1, we think a virtual meeting wouldn’t work so well, so the class teacher will telephone you instead to make sure everything’s ok and to help with any home learning issues. The teacher will be in touch to organise a time.

Class Meets

As well as individual meetings, teachers are also arranging times when they can get their whole class together online at home and at school. Those that have taken place so far have been a lot of fun – the children really enjoy seeing each other.

Safeguarding rules for virtual meetings

To keep everyone safe, we have some safeguarding rules for all virtual meetings which we need everyone to stick to please:

• An adult should remain in earshot and in the same room as their child during a meeting
• Room backgrounds should be as plain as possible
• Children should be in a communal area of the home – not a bedroom – and should be properly dressed
• Parents or children must not film, photograph or screenshot any part of the meeting

Thank you for your help with this.

Coronavirus book for children

A kindly parent has sent us a link to a book on Amazon called Coronavirus: A Book for Children. It aims to explain the virus to children aged between 5 and 10 as is available for free as an ebook or audiobook. There’s also some sample audio if you want to check it out before downloading.

Dorset Local Plan consultation

Dorset Council have asked us to circulate the following information to you.

Planning affects us all. The Council’s planning policies are set out in Local Plans which are the legal starting point in determining planning applications. Public and stakeholder engagement is an important part of the plan making process. Involving residents, businesses, organisations, experts, infrastructure providers and town and parish councils allows local knowledge and expertise to be gathered from a wide range of perspectives. This consultation sets out recommended strategies and policies meeting the requirements of Regulation 18 of the Town and Country Planning Act (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012.

Dorset Council have produced a draft Local Plan containing proposals for guiding future development in the Dorset Council area up to 2038. The plan outlines the strategy for meeting the needs of the area such as housing, employment, and community services including schools, retail, leisure and community facilities. The plan directs development to the most suitable locations near to existing facilities, and detailed policies promote high quality development that respects and enhances the character of each area. The plan also protects Dorset’s natural environment and contributes towards the mitigation and adaptation to climate change.

View the Dorset Council Local Plan consultation on the council’s website at www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/Dorset-council-local-plan

Paper copies of the plan are available for loan via click and collect from your local Dorset Council library (Covid-19 permitting) https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/libraries-history-culture/libraries/find-your-local-library/dorset-libraries.aspx.

If you are shielding volunteers can help you pick up a paper copy of the plan for you from your local library. Find out more about support for those shielding at https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/emergencies-severe-weather/emergencies/coronavirus/community-response/communities-and-volunteering.aspx