Keep up to date with all the news happening in the school at the moment. Articles are added during the week. Parents are encouraged to check regularly. Our weekly bulletin, emailed directly to parents, summarises content for the week.

• April Values at home

  Wed 22 Apr 2020

  Unfortunately, most of us are not in school during April so to learn more about our focus values of Reflection and Self-regulation please see the Reflection webpage. This explains what these Values are and includes our lesson resources for these Values. We have also started a home values challenge. On the webpage for Reflection, there is a set of 8 tasks linked to Reflection. The children’s challenge is to try and complete at least 5 of these over the month. Miss Stabler is leading the challenge and has updated the page to show her progress (including some interesting attempts at yoga!). How are you getting on? Have you beaten Miss Stabler and already completed 5 activities?

   

  There is further information on our Values-based Education on our Values page.  This page also has the task cards for our Values Baccalaureate if children in years 4-6 would like to keep working on these.  Lots of the activities such as writing a letter work well at home.

• Your child's medical needs - please check details

  Tue 21 Apr 2020 Clare Haines

  During this time of school closure we are continuing to work behind the scenes to get My Child at School (Bromcom) ready to use for booking trips, music lessons and clubs when we reopen.

  It is vital that the information we hold in the system is up-to-date. We have transferred all of your child's medical details from Laser to Bromcom. The 'medical' section in your child's details has been switched on in My Child at School.

  Please could you log on and check the information we have. If any details need to be changed, please email us at admin@fielding.ealing.sch.uk for the attention of Jacqui Lacey.

  To check details:

  1. Long on to My child at school, desktop version

  2. Click on user profile (top right of screen (small person)

  3. Click student details

  4. scroll down to 'medical' at the bottom of the page

   

  Please note, during this transition time we will continue to run Laser and Bromcom alongside each other. So please continue to keep medical details in Laser up-to-date.

   

  Please email any changes by 5th May 2020.

• Home learning for summer term begins

  Mon 20 Apr 2020 Peter Dunmall

  The government has launched a new website, Oak National Academy, today to enable children who are at home to learn on-line. The academy was created in response to the coronavirus lockdown. The academy offers recorded video lessons, quizzes and worksheets.

   

  Our teachers will use the Oak National Academy resources as our main way to provide learning at home while Fielding is closed.  Sometimes we will add extra links from BBC Bitesize and other websites to support the Oak National Academy material.

   

  From today, for children in Year 1-6, we suggest that they complete:

  • an English lesson, every day, from Oak National Academy
  • a maths lesson, every day, from Oak National Academy
  • our own links to 'foundation' subjects , including science, art, history, geography, every week

   

  Every family and household is different and will have their own different competing demands. The daily English and maths lessons can take place any time in the day. Other subjects can be covered at any time in the week. Parents are best placed to decide when the learning best fits in their own household.

   

  Children of key workers and those who are vulnerable and are in school for childcare will be given the chance to complete the same learning during the day.

   

  Children in Reception and Nursery should continue to use the links provided on Year Group Noticeboards.

   

  Teachers will publish links to the learning on the Oak National Academy and other web-sites each week on Year Group Noticeboards.

   

  Some of the learning will revisit topics that we have already covered in school. Some of it will be new. When schools re-open, we will find out what children know and remember. We will then adjust our teaching to fill gaps for some and stretch others based on their individual needs.

• Welcome back

  Mon 20 Apr 2020 Peter Dunmall

  I hope you have taken the chance to have a good break over Easter. I'm sure that there have been some uncertainties for us all whether health, finance, missing usual routines, or worry about 'missed learning'.

   

  I'd like to welcome you all back to school - something Mrs Haines and I would usually do to pupils in the first assemblies of the term.

   

  Senior leaders have taken the Easter break as a chance to reflect on the school's closure and look forward to the new term. So far pupils have missed only 10 school days, although as a parent and teacher it feels much longer! From the start of school closure, the government indicated that online teaching tools and content would be available after the Easter holidays, we didn’t quite know what this would look like, our noticeboards have provided a needed stopgap.

   

  Feedback from parents has been mixed. As time has gone on more parents have told us that they would like more structure in their child’s day. They would like taught content provided that their children can access. Some have fed back that they are finding our noticeboards a little overwhelming and that they are finding it difficult to navigate their way through the content.

   

  You will have seen in the media that the 'reopen schools' debate is as much of a hot topic as the 'close schools' discussion was a few weeks ago. We have no idea when this might happen. The most important thing for us now, is to offer some continuity in learning for our pupils.

   

  Today, the Oak National Academy has been launched by the government in response to the coronavirus lockdown, as well as expected updates to the BBC Bitesize website. We will be switching to the Oak National Academy as our main source of learning at home. I hope this better meets parents' expectations. Find out more:

  • Latest News, Home Learning

   

  School continues to be open for childcare for children of keyworkers and those who are vulnerable. 146 pupils were registered by their parents as children of key-workers, according to government criteria.  Many parents registered but told us that they did not anticipate needing to use the provision

   

  We are welcoming between 30 - 40 pupils every day, from 7.30am until 6pm.

   

  The school is operating a skeleton staff arrangement to minimise travel to work and maintain social distancing. Teachers, teaching assistants and playworkers work together to plan and provide activities similar to Early Years, after-school and/or holiday childcare. They are supported by leaders, first-aiders, premises and admin colleagues. Teams work on a shift pattern, week on, followed by 1,3 or 5 weeks away from school (depending on role) to reduce risk of infection.

   

  Pupils entitled to free school meals have all been offered e-vouchers to use in supermarkets, although there were initially delays with the governments national scheme.

   

  Staff health is mixed.  Nearly one-third of our 102 members of staff are not available for work. Of these,

  • 5 self-isolating as a result of COVID-19 symptoms in themselves or a member of their household,
  • 8 shielding as a result of themselves or a member of their household receiving a high risk, vulnerable letter from the NHS,
  • 18 have underlying medical conditions and are ‘strongly advised’ to work from home to maintain social distancing.

  16 out of 102 members of staff have not been available for work as a result of self-isolation but have now returned to work. These figures change daily.

   

  This level of availability for work would severely impact on the ability of the school to open and operate normally.

   

  Behind the scenes, year group teams meets virtually to maintain Year Group Noticeboards and plan the content for pupils who are at home.  A programme of on-line continuing professional development, equivalent to 5 hours per week has been created for every member of staff, covering safeguarding updates, teaching pedagogy, English, maths, science and knowledge in other subject areas. For those members of staff who are not available for work, line managers keep-in-touch by telephone weekly to maintain a sense of contact and support from school.

   

  Please start the new home learning as soon as you can, whilst staying happy, safe and healthy.

   

• Fielding's Always Active - Challenge 3 and Game of the Week

  Mon 13 Apr 2020 Dan Thomas

  Well done to all of those who had a go at last weeks challenge of the week and thank you very much to those of you who shared your attempts. Remember you don't have to share if your attempts if you don't want to. just have a go!

   

  This week's challenge is the Speed Bounce and is now up on the website. A very simple challenge, but quite addictive! We also have a new game of the week which is Active Wordsearch. Have a look at the Game of the Week page to see how to play that one.

   

  We have also had our first 'Isolation' Sporting Stars sharing what they have been up to. Have you been keeping active at home and would like to share how? Check out the Fielding Sporting Stars page to find out how.

   

  Have fun trying out our challenges and games this week.

• Fielding's Always Active - Challenge 2 and introducing 'Game of the Week'

  Mon 06 Apr 2020 Dan Thomas

  Well done to everybody who had a go at last weeks challenge and thank you to those of you who shared your attempt. It made a big difference to my week watching all of the videos!

   

  Challenge 2 is the 'Throw, Bounce, Catch' challenge and is now up and ready for you try at home. Remember you don't have to send in a video to take part in the challenge if you don't want to, just have a go! If you do want to share a video or photo send them to me at dthomas88.307@lgflmail.org (keep your files below 75mb)

   

  Also new this week is the 'Game of the Week'. On this page we will be posting a series of active games you can play against other people in your household. This week's game has been posted by one of our Year 4 pupils - check out the 'Fielding's Always Active' page to see how to play.

   

  Throw, Bounce, Catch

  Find a wall in your household if you have one available and stand 1 big step away from it. If you don't have a wall that is useable for the challenge you can do it using the floor instead. Check with the adults in your household which walls you are allowed to use before you try the challenge! Once you have your space you need a ball of some description. Your challenge is to throw the ball against the wall (or floor) so that it bounces back to you for you to catch as many times as you can in 30 seconds. If you drop the ball, just pick it up and keep going.

   

  Make it harder

  • Use a smaller/different shape ball
  • Throw and catch with 1 hand or alternating hands
  • Clap or spin before you catch the ball

   

  Make it easier

  • Use a bigger/slower ball
  • Throw and catch with 2 hands
  • Take a further step back and allow the ball to bounce on the floor after the wall

   

  Get on the 'Fielding's Always Active' page to see a demo video and all of the shared video attempts.

• Coronavirus, COVID-19. Home learning after the ‘Easter Holidays’ BBC Bitesize daily lessons coming soon

  Thu 02 Apr 2020 Clare Haines

  BBC Bitesize website is an excellent website that currently provides resources and materials to use at home for all age-groups. I know some have you have been using this website already through the links that we have provided on year group noticeboards. This website is just about to get even better! You may recall that we mentioned that the DfE were working with the BBC to produce home learning activities.  It has been confirmed that after the ‘Easter break’ the BBC will provide daily home learning for pupils across the UK to take part in.

  What will this look like?

  From Monday 20 April, you’ll be able to access regular daily lessons in English and mathematics, as well as other National Curriculum subjects. This will be provided through an expanded version of the BBC Bitesize website and on special programmes shown on BBC iPlayer and BBC Red Button.

  The BBC have worked with education experts from around the UK to make sure everyone who needs it can access learning resources during this uncertain time.

  BBC iPlayer and the Red Button service will host 'Bitesize Daily'.

  This will include six different 20 minute shows, each designed to target a specific age group, from ages 5 to 14. Experts and teachers will be involved, covering what should be learned that day for the different year groups and key stages. Mathematics, Science and English will be covered in dedicated programmes, and other subjects such as History, Geography, Music and Art will also be covered. 

  On the BBC Bitesize website, daily mathematics and English lessons will be available for all ages. These will be created with resources from Bitesize, other parts of the BBC and other education providers. The content of these lessons will be backed up by new videos, practice tests, educational games and articles. Regular lessons on other subjects will also be available. There will be advice on how you can support your child at home. There will also be guides for pupils with SEN (special educational needs).

  I’m sure over the next two weeks more information about what will be broadcast and when will become available. I’ll make sure we share this with you.

  • BBC Bitesize

  We know that co-ordinating home working with home-schooling and everyday life in these unusual times can be a difficult task, especially if you have more than one child, or share devices. These BBC daily mathematics and English lessons are suggestions. You may already have your child in a routine that works for you. That is okay.  However, if you would like to structure your child’s days or week a little more and think about what learning activities they take part in and when, why not use our timetables that are published in the curriculum area of our website. (Use the link below, scroll to the bottom).

  • Curriculum

  Don’t forget you can also find out what your child has learned this year so far and what we were planning to teach by looking at our curriculum map and knowledge organisers You can find these on the curriculum area of our website too.

   

  As the BBC Bitesize website and broadcasts become more established we will reduce the links we provide on our year group noticeboards to streamline what is available for the children.

  

• Coronavirus, COVID-19. Easter holiday, childcare and learning at home

  Thu 02 Apr 2020 Peter Dunmall

  Easter childcare

  The school continues to be open for childcare for children of key workers and vulnerable pupils. Parents of these pupils should continue to book the childcare that you need using Laser. The school will be closed to everyone during the Easter bank holiday period.

   

  Learning at home

  The Spring term was due to end tomorrow, Friday 3rd April. Teachers will not publish links to Year Group Noticeboards for the next 2 weeks to reflect the Easter school holiday period.

   

  A few parents have written to me about our approach to learning at home while the school is closed, including comparing us to other local schools. Some parents would like us to provide more guidance and structure. I'm in regular contact with Head teacher colleagues across the borough. There's mixed views about learning at home. Some schools have taken a very similar approach to us: others are using technology in different ways.

   

  It's challenging navigating government expectations, recommendations from the local authority, guidance from teacher unions and a wide range of family backgrounds, circumstances, wishes and needs.

   

  There is no expectation that pupils are taught at home by parents. When schools re-open, it will be for us to catch-up on the curriculum content that has been missed while closed.

   

  The holiday period will give me some time to reflect and review our approach with other school leaders, while we continue working in school. Meanwhile, the BBC announced a new home learning programme today, starting 20 April:

  • BBC Bitesize, supporting you while learning at home

   

  For those celebrating while being mindful of social distancing guidance, 'Happy Easter', and for everyone, keep safe, healthy and well.

• Chicken News

  Wed 01 Apr 2020

  The chickens have taken over the Garden Diary. Don't read it, you'll only encourage them.

  Diary Of A Wise And Beautiful Chicken.

  

• Values at home during April

  Wed 01 Apr 2020 Miss L Stabler

  Each month at Fielding we learn about a value in depth, thinking about what the value looks like and what actions both show and don’t show that value. The core Value for April is Reflection with KS2 also thinking about Self-regulation. These continue to be important values, particularly at the moment where lots of us are experiencing lots of emotions. To support the children’s Values education, we are starting a monthly home values challenge. On the webpage for Reflection, there is a set of 8 tasks linked to Reflection. The children’s challenge is to try and complete 5 of these over the month. Miss Stabler will be leading the challenge and sharing her progress as the month goes on.  The Reflection page also has the teaching resources we would use with Key Stage 1 and Key stage 2 children.

   

  There is further information on our Value-based Education on our Values page.  This page also has the task cards for our Values Baccalaureate if children in years 4-6 would like to keep working on these.  Lots of the activities such as preparing a recipe work well at home.