Latest News
Keep up to date with all the news happening in school at the moment.
-
Stay at Home Guidance
Tue 24 Mar 2020Latest guidance on Staying at Home can be found here: Stay At Home Guidance -
Support from Autism West Midlands
Sun 22 Mar 2020Autism West Midlands will continue to offer advice appointments and support throughout the ongoing outbreak over the phone and via email. Parents and carers can contact our small team directly as follows;
Mon, Tue, Weds = Wendy Cowton 07900784186
Weds, Thu, Fri = Emma Hegenbarth 07881109480
Email = shropshire@autismwestmidlands.org.uk
During this unpredictable and unsettling period we can offer guidance around;
- Supporting children who are anxious and upset about the virus
- Coping with change and uncertainty
- Suggestions to keep them active and engaged
-
Home Learning
Sun 22 Mar 2020We have sent home packs of materials to help children with their Home Learning and they have access to all the websites we use in school – to access these please go to the Children’s section on our website and then go to Useful Websites for Children.
We will continue to add more information to our Home Learning Page – found under Children – as we progress through this period of school closure, so please keep checking. Thank you for your help at this time and keep safe.
-
School Closed to Most Pupils
Thu 19 Mar 2020As you will be aware, schools have now been instructed to close the school to almost all children after this Friday until further notice. As advised by the government, we will do all we can to stay open for the children of key workers and vulnerable children.
Please look at the letter saved here if you are a key worker and will require a place for your children from Monday 23rd March. Thank you.
-
New guidance for households with symptoms
Tue 17 Mar 2020Yesterday 16 March, the Government introduced new guidance on whole household isolation in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak:
• if you live alone and you have symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19), however mild, stay at home for 7 days from when your symptoms started
• if you live with others and you or another member of the household have symptoms of coronavirus, then all household members must stay at home and not leave the house for 14 days. The 14-day period starts from the day when the first person in the house became ill. It is likely that people living within a household will infect each other or be infected already. Staying at home for 14 days will greatly reduce the overall amount of infection the household could pass on to others in the community
• for anyone in the household who starts displaying symptoms, they need to stay at home for 7 days from when the symptoms appeared, regardless of what day they are on in the original 14-day isolation period.
The symptoms are:
• A high temperature (37.8 degrees and above)
• A new, continuous cough
The full stay at home guidance for households with these symptoms can be found here:
• https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-stay-at-home-guidance
The Prime Minister’s statement from Monday 16 March can be found here:
• https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/pm-statement-on-coronavirus-16-march-2020
Handwashing advice
The most important thing individuals can do to protect themselves is to wash their hands more often, for at least 20 seconds, with soap and water. Public Health England recommends that in addition to handwashing before eating, and after coughing and sneezing, everyone should also wash hands after using toilets and travelling on public transport.
Watch this short NHS film for guidance:
• https://youtu.be/bQCP7waTRWU
Department for Education coronavirus helpline
The Department for Education coronavirus helpline is available to answer questions about COVID-19 relating to education and children’s social care. Staff, parents and young people can contact this helpline as follows:
Phone: 0800 046 8687
Opening hours: 8am to 6pm (Monday to Friday), 10am to 4pm (Saturday to Sunday)
Please note, we are currently experiencing high volumes of calls. We appreciate your patience at this time and apologise for any wait that you may experience. To ensure that we answer your calls as quickly as possible, we have now extended our opening hours to cover weekends and are increasing the number of call handlers available to answer your calls.
Where to find the latest information
Updates on COVID-19:
• https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus -
British Science Week - Our Diverse World 2020
Fri 13 Mar 2020During the week beginning Monday 9th March, Market Drayton Junior School celebrated our third British Science Week. This year the theme was “Our Diverse Planet”. As a school, we used this focus to raise our concerns about Plastic Awareness, with all children working in their PSHE groups to analyse different types of plastics and deepening their understanding of single use plastics and their potential consumers in oceans around the world.
Our PSHE morning, was launched by an interactive assembly by Fun Science, who also ran a range of workshops during the morning, all focusing on different elements of science.
A plastic-free picnic was organised by the Eco-Warriors, Science Ambassadors and catering staff working collaboratively to encourage children to avoid using single use plastic in their lunch boxes. A concept that we aim to continue beyond British Science Week.
As a school we have aimed to make cross-curricular links during British Science Week, such as Science related orienteering, Colour Chaos, linking art and light, reading activities linked to Our Diverse Planet and design technology.
During the week, we very fortunate to attract two STEM ambassadors to the school to talk to the children. Richard Cheal, a hydrogeologist and Andy Fox, an engineer, came into school, sharing their enthusiasm for STEM subjects, bringing them to life and demonstrating the value of them in their life and careers.
We are already making plans for next year’s British Science Week, aiming to build upon the enthusiasm and engagement that children have for science within our school.
-
Coronavirus Update to Parents
Fri 13 Mar 2020Following the Government's announcement and new advice yesterday, any adult or child with a new persistent cough and /or fever should not come into school and should stay at home for 7 days. A further period of self-isolation may be required should symptoms develop further.
Should any child develop any symptoms whilst at school, parents will be called and asked to collect them as soon as possible, to avoid spreading any potential infection.
Thank you for your cooperation.
-
Coronavirus Department for Education Updates
Thu 27 Feb 2020Please follow the below link to view the Department for Education's regular Coronavirus updates and advice. https://www.marketdraytonjunior.co.uk/letters/ -
Coronavirus - Medical Advice
Tue 04 Feb 2020The government is closely monitoring the spread of the Coronavirus and is taking action at home and abroad.
The overall risk of Coronavirus to the UK remains moderate.
Public Health England and the Foreign Office have issued advice for anyone travelling to the area. This can be found at:
Latest information and advice can also be found at:
Advice for parents/guardians
You should not be unduly worried about the possibility of your children catching the Coronavirus.
There is no reason why your children should not continue to attend their early years, school or further education setting as normal.
We recognise that some families or children may be planning to travel to China during the forthcoming half term period. If so, please refer to the FCO’s latest travel advice via the link above.
-
5WJ Parent Lunch
Sat 01 Feb 2020Many thanks to the parents who attended Mr Jones' Parent Lunch on Friday 31st January. This is the feedback given to Miss Kynaston after their reading comprehension session with her:
Do you find it hard to get your child to read at home?
Varies - some yes, some no. Can depend on work commitments and clubs, more difficult at weekends, sometimes they always want to read the same thing, online gaming can get in the way.
Do you feel more confident in helping your child with reading?
Yes
Was there a particular part of the session you found interesting?
The comprehension section, seeing how massively their vocabulary an improve with their reading time, that they need to know 95% of a text, working through the comprehension with them, watching my child answer the questions and how much she understood, how much the children are pushed to reach a certain level, how much of an impact 20 minutes a day can have, how much they’re supposed to read in a minute.
Can you think of ways to improve the session moving forward?
At the start or the end of the day to make it easier to attend with work. Really enjoyed the session, think it works well in this format, useful to touch base with reading, maybe a bit more time.
