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.

• Protecting your child against flu

  Wed 14 Oct 2020 Jacqui Lacey

  Please see the leaflet below regarding flu sprays for children. More information to follow regarding dates and times for flu nasal spray. 

  Protecting your child against flu leaflet

  

• Colder days, what pupils can wear in school

  Tue 13 Oct 2020 Clare Haines

  Pupils are encouraged to wear additional under-layers on colder days during the coronavirus pandemic. Classroom windows will remain open to maintain ventilation to reduce the risk of infection transmission. Our heating will be on but classrooms are likely to be cooler than usual. 

  

• What happens if there is a confirmed case of coronavirus in school?

  Fri 09 Oct 2020 Peter Dunmall

  Rates of coronavirus (COVID-19) infection in Ealing continue to rise. Local schools continue to close 'bubbles' when there is a confirmed case of coronavirus in the school. The number of pupils (and staff) sent home to self-isolate depends on a risk assessment with a DfE and/or local Public Health adviser. Fielding continues to have no confirmed cases of coronavirus in staff or pupils.

   

  With rising infection rates in Ealing, safety of pupils and staff continues to be our top priority. We keep reminding and checking that staff are working safety to protect themselves and pupils in their 'bubble'.

   

  We all also need to be ready in the event of a confirmed case in our school. We want as few members of staff and pupils to be sent home to self-isolate as possible because learning in school is first-best for pupils. This means our protective 'bubbles' are based on classes with known seating plans within each class. Our bubbles stretch to year group size to enable full access to the curriculum and co-curriculum, for example, for phonics teaching in groups by ability, specialist clubs or wrap-around care. This means if we have a confirmed case of coronavirus infection, the number of pupils who might be sent home to self-isolate will depend on the number of 'close-contacts' identified from within and across bubbles.

   

  Parents are encouraged to be ready for your child to self-isolate at home for 14 days at very short-notice, within the school day or overnight. In the event of a confirmed coronavirus case in school, it is likely that:

  • Nursery, whole Nursery because the younger the age, the harder it is for children to maintain social distancing;
  • Reception, at best 1 class 'bubble' but likely to be more class 'bubbles', depending on phonics groups and play time arrangements;
  • Year 1, at best 1 class 'bubble' but likely to be more class 'bubbles' including whole year group, depending on phonics groups and play time arrangements;
  • Year 2, at best 1 class 'bubble' but likely to be more class 'bubbles' including whole year group, depending on phonics groups and play time arrangements;
  • Years 3 - 6, at best less than 1 class 'bubble' and 'close-contacts' only but could be more class bubbles including whole year group, depending on lunchtime seating plans, class seating, wrap-around care, specialist clubs and EMS tutoring. The older the child, the more they are expected to maintain social distancing.

  If there is a confirmed case of coronavirus infection in a pupil, we will ask parents about recent 'play-dates', car-sharing and any other mixing with other Fielding pupils outside of school. This could increase the number of pupils who are sent home to self-isolate from other classes or year group bubbles.

  

• All Laser credits transferred to MyChildatSchool

  Thu 08 Oct 2020 Karen Esprit

  Childcare and Specialist Clubs move to MyChildAtSchool (MCAS)

  All Laser credit balances have been transferred to MCAS ready to be used for childcare. No credit balance has been 'lost'.

  Some parents cannot see this credit balance as a result of a technical glitch. We are working with the software developer to fix this issue:

  • If you have not booked any wrap around childcare for your child using MCAS, the balance does not show;
  • If you have booked at least one session after-school childcare for your child using MCAS, the balance will show.
  • If you have more than one child, the credit balance might show for one child if you have booked a childcare session. The balance will only show for other children in your family if you have booked a session of childcare for them too. 

  If you cannot see you balance because you have not used childcare on MCAS yet this term and would like to know your balance please contact us and we will send you a screen print:

  • E: childcare@fielding.ealing.sch.uk  

  If using childcare vouchers to pay for specialist clubs please pay the exact amount, currently credits in childcare cannot be transferred to pay for specialist clubs.

  Please check your childcare bookings, ignore the ‘next session’ date on the front page you must open up the search icon to see each session booked. If your child is not booked for a session parents will be called then a charged at the higher adhoc rate will be applied.

  

• Book October holiday club now

  Thu 08 Oct 2020 Karen Esprit

  Do you need childcare for October half-term?

  Please book any day(s) needed now and by Monday 12 October, midday so that we can plan our protective 'bubbles' and staffing to match your childcare needs.

   

  Holiday club at half-term will be organised by year group 'bubbles' to keep everyone in school as safe as possible. Children will be able to spend time playing with friends from their age group. A full programme of activities has been planned and shared here ready for the children to enjoy at school:

  • October half-term holiday club activity programme

   

  Bookings are open in MyChildAtSchool (MCAS) on your desktop by mobile app. Please do be careful when booking sessions, as we are unable to cancel, swap days or refund once holiday club bookings are made. ​Payment must be made in full by Friday 23 October 2020

  

• October Values

  Thu 08 Oct 2020 L Stabler

  October sees the Core Value focus changing from respect to resilience with Key Stage 2 looking at the linked value of determination. These are always very important values to develop in our children and are particularly relevant with the return to school and focussing on any learning gaps. Our Values lessons in school will be about encouraging the pupils to not give up and to embrace challenges.

   

  To ensure a deep understanding, Reception and Nursery pupils will continue to focus on respect, focussing on being kind to themselves and their friends.

  Please continue to talk about our Values with your children as they help them develop both morally and support their academic work. Please see our Values page and the specific webpages on Resilience and Respect for our resources. 

• PTFA Chair request: Please help maintain our parent community

  Thu 08 Oct 2020 Nolan O'Connor, PTFA Chair

  At our last PTFA meeting on 21 September, one of the hot topics of discussion was about the importance of maintaining our parent community, especially at this time when face-to-face contact remains very limited. Our community has always been strong and supportive, and described by many leaving parents as the thing they’ll remember most about Fielding. We think holding onto that is more important now than ever.

  The PTFA's support for the school is more important now than ever before with the need to continue to fund the running of the Kitchen Garden, the Library Box Service and other bulk funding we traditionally provide the school, which amounts to nearly £30,000.

  In addition, these uncertain times give us little prospect of gathering together at physical events, so it’s important to find alternative ways to support each other and the school. We have new parents joining in Nursery and Reception that will have to find new ways to get to know each other without kid’s parties or drinks at the pub, and our Year 6 parents are looking at ways to celebrate their child's final year at the school in a memorable and safe way.

  We want to continue to help support our children’s education while also helping make every family’s experience at Fielding feel special. To that end, we’re exploring some safe and fun fundraising ideas over the coming months. Our simple ask is, for those who are financially able, please show your support when you see/hear about PTFA activity by donating and taking part. It will go a long way to supporting our school and our parent community. And who knows, you might just have fun – goodness knows we all need a bit of that right now.

  If you would like to know more, please join our annual general meeting on Monday 12 October at 8.30pm which will be held virtually via Zoom. Register to join at https://bit.ly/33dUuS8. Thank you in advance for helping us continue to foster our strong and vibrant community.

   

  Nolan O'Connor, PTFA Chair  

  

• Can you help on the PTFA Committee if you are not commuting?

  Thu 08 Oct 2020

  The annual PTFA AGM is being held virtually on Monday 12 October at 8.30pm via Zoom.  
  We are still looking to fill a number of places on the committee (which we legally need as a charity) and in these covid pandemic times you might find that you have a bit more time on your hands with a reduction in commuting patterns! The roles that we are looking to fill include a Vice-Chair, Co-Secretary and a Co-events coordinator.

  If you are new to volunteering there is plenty of guidance from the rest of the team. We'll happily explain the roles in more detail either face-to-face or via fieldingPTFA@gmail.com

• Chicken obituary

  Thu 08 Oct 2020 Ellie Lock and Peter Dunmall

  We have some very sad news to report. Last night our beloved hens were killed by a fox, which managed to dig under the fence into the chicken coop. 

   

  Victoria, Elizabeth, Rosa, Florence, Danutia, Nicola and Kelly were the funniest, most charismatic chickens you could wish to meet. We will miss them all terribly. Never was a flock of hens more beloved, more cuddled, or better fed. A heartfelt thank you to everyone who looked after them in the holidays.

   

  We learned so much from our chickens - about gravity and gyroscopes, how to speak chicken, how to balance them on our shoulders... and who could forget the infamous poo patrol? In caring for the chickens we also learned about kindness, perseverance, and resilience. So many children had a wonderful confidence boost when they finally managed to pick one up. 

   

  Now our chickens have taught us a final lesson about the circle of life. 

   

  ​Thank you for so many happy memories, ladies. Sleep well.

   

  Teachers have started to talk to pupils in class about the sad loss of our chickens. Teachers are taking special care of children in Year 2 and Year 1 who have gardening and cooking for the rest of this week and into next week. Our approach has been factual and honest while being sensitive. Parents please be ready to listen to your child and support them at home, if needed. 

  

• World Mental Health Day 2020

  Thu 08 Oct 2020 Narinder Reehal

   

  World Mental Health Day 2020 (Saturday 10th October 2020) is the most important one yet. The months of lockdown have had a huge impact on us all, and prioritising mental health has never been more important than it is now. Take a look at the following websites for some information and advice on how to look after ourselves. There is also a useful link advising parents on how to make a worry box for anxious children. 

  Young minds Mental Health Day

  Time to change mental health day

  How to make a worry box for anxious children