An Acts of Kindness video, made by the staff, as part of Mental Health Awareness Week
Welcome to Dovecote Primary and Nursery School - Where children come first. Rated "Good" - Ofsted 2019
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#kindnessmatters
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#kindnessmatters
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#kindnessmatters
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#kindnessmatters
Letter from Nottingham City Council, regarding school remaining closed.
Nottingham City Council
Loxley House
Station Street
Nottingham
NG2 3NG
www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk
29 May 2020
Dear parent/carer
Return of more children to schools, nurseries and early years settings
We are writing to you regarding the phased reopening of schools to pupils from Reception, Year 1, and Year 6 in Nottingham schools from Monday 1 June.
The City Council has been working with schools to understand how we might gradually increase the number of children while keeping them as safe as possible.
We have previously said that there was no pressure from the council for headteachers to reopen until they felt they were ready to do. We also made it clear that we would not issue fines for parents who chose not to send their children back to school.
Earlier this week, our council decided that we had growing concerns that the right conditions for a phased return might not be in place by 1 June.
Today, we would like to make it clear, unequivocally, that we do NOT feel it is the right time to bring children back to schools and nurseries on Monday.
We are advising schools run by the council through the Nottingham Schools Trust that they should not reopen to wider numbers at this time.
This is not a reflection of our schools in Nottingham. They have done a tremendous job of working towards opening to more pupils while continuing to look after the children of critical workers and those pupils with additional needs and vulnerabilities. We would like to praise them for their efforts over the last 10 weeks of lockdown.
This is as much about the right conditions being in place – for example, the effective introduction of the ‘Test and Trace’ system that would give additional reassurance on how best to manage the spread of the virus.
We know this is short notice, but we have been monitoring the situation and wanted to wait until we were certain that it was not too soon to bring more children back. We want our parents to be confident that all steps are being taken to minimise the risk to their children. We know that this is the number one priority for our parents, for our schools and nurseries, as well as for the City Council.
Councillor David Mellen Councillor Neghat Khan
Leader of the Council Portfolio Holder for Early Years,
Nottingham City Council Employment and Education
Update regarding phased opening...
Nottingham City Council has just released a statement, which states that they are making an 'unequivocal recommendation' that all schools DO NOT open on Monday.
As a maintained school, this means that Dovecote will not be opening for any pupil, except keyworkers, on Monday 1st June 2020.
NO DATE has been indicated as to a possible return from the Council; however, we will let parents know as we find out.
Please note, this decision has been made by Nottingham City Council for all Nottingham City Schools, which includes Dovecote.
More details to follow...
Social Distancing for phased return
Some of you have asked what the rooms will look like for year 6, reception and year 1 if and when we begin to extend opening. I have been into school and set up a couple of rooms to give everyone an idea of what school will look like. Please take a look at the photographs and short video.
There will be 9 pupils and 2 adults in each room. Pupils will spend all their time either in that room, or outside. Remember, the groups will not mix. There will be no access to any other part of the school, except to go to the toilet one pupil at a time.
There will be handwashing facilities outside each room as well as the sinks inside the rooms.
There is still more to do in preparation but this should give you an idea.
Please reply to the survey for years 6, nursery, reception, and year 1. If we do not receive a reply by Thursday 28th May, we will assume you do not require a place this term.
The decision as to when we can begin to extend opening will be taken at a governor meeting on Friday morning following the government announcement on Thursday evening.
Headteacher update - 22nd May 2020
So, half term it is. Next week is half term week and sees the 4th bank holiday since we started home learning.
If you are looking for activities to keep everyone busy next week, check the whole school learning activities for ideas. Staff will also be putting some fun holiday activities in the year group areas.
Thank you to families with children in nursery, reception, year 1, and year 6 who have let us know their thoughts about returning to school. We have had replies from about 1/3 of families. Please continue to contact the school with your current thoughts so we can keep updating our plans. For example, if no nursery families request a place, we do not have to spend time and resources re-planning the nursery provision. Can I reassure you all that the home learning activities will continue until the end of term for years 2,3,4 and 5, and for pupils who do not return to school.
You may have seen that the government intends to publish the ‘science’ behind their decision later today, so you may wish to wait for that. We are also waiting for the final government decision in their 3-week review on Thursday 28th May. Due to this late date, the number of physical changes that need to be made to the school and the need to access and have available all the washing, cleaning and sanitising equipment, and PPE, the governors feel it is very unlikely that the extended opening will happen on 1st June. We will, of course, keep you updated as things progress.
Once we have set up the school and rooms for social distancing, I will put some photographs on the website. What I can say is that it will look very similar to the pictures you will have seen on TV. Just to remind you, pupils will be in small groups and will spend all their time in one room with one teacher. The number of pupils in a group will be determined by the safe capacity of each room. They will have separate break and lunchtimes and will eat a packed lunch in their classroom. There will be no access to any other part of school. Pupils will only leave the room to go to the toilet, one at a time. No adults will be allowed in the building apart from staff. All rooms will be accessed from the fire doors and there will be no access through any other doors. All access to the site will be through the pedestrian gate at the front of the school. Only one adult (if needed) can accompany a child to the school site.
If any pupil or member of staff displays symptoms, or tests positive, all pupils and staff in that group will have to self-isolate at home for 14 days, or until a negative test has been received for the affected person.
Some people have asked for clarification of the 2-week booking system. You have been given three options. A place as soon as one is available, telling us that your child will not be returning until September or waiting to see how things develop. If you have selected the wait and see option, we will contact you every two weeks to see if you want a place. Once your child has started, they will keep a place until the end of term.
It is not for me to tell you what to do, or even advise you. What I will do is pinch a quote from a colleague’s letter to their families;
If you choose to send your child back to school, that does not make you a bad parent.
If you choose not to send them back, that does not make you a bad parent.
If you don’t know what to do and want to wait, that does not make you a bad parent.’
Take care and have a good week, let’s hope for more sunshine.
Phased re-opening of School (Year 6, Nursery, Reception & Year 1)
Headteacher update - School Re-opening in June
In common with local and national primary schools, it is our ambition to try and meet the Government’s request to open Dovecote to some pupils. Initially, this will be for pupils in Year 6, Year 1, Reception, and possibly Nursery as well. The earliest this can begin to happen is Monday 1st June and will be dependent on Government advice at the time. Please be assured that we will only proceed if we are satisfied that it is safe to do so.
Even with classes restricted to a maximum of 15 pupils in a class, we know that we will never be able to guarantee that every child will be able to maintain social distancing at all times. However, we can guarantee that regular handwashing, sanitising, and cleaning will take place. We will stagger drop off and pick up times, as well as breaks and lunchtimes, to minimise contact with other adults and children. Children will play, eat, and learn together in the same small groups in order to limit the risk of the spread of germs. They will have the same teacher all day, but this is unlikely to be their current class teacher. The work will be based on the online learning that we continue to provide from the school’s website, so we will not be following the usual school curriculum.
Children who cannot bring themselves to school can only be accompanied to school by one adult and there will be no adult access to the school building. The playground will be clearly marked out to show where parents must wait with their child until a member of staff comes to greet them and take them into school.
This will be extremely challenging for us to staff and we will only be able to finalise our plans when we know which children will be coming back to school.
We recognise that some of you will decide not to send your children back to school. That is your right and you won’t be fined for making this choice.
However, the Government is strongly encouraging all eligible children to attend (where there are no shielding concerns in their households) so that they can gain the educational and well-being benefits of attending. If you do decide to keep your child at home, we would still expect your child to engage with the work on the school website and to keep in regular contact with us.
These are very challenging times for everyone, but we remain committed to giving your child the best provision we can. Please do not contact school about this at the moment as we will be sending further information to the families of children in Nursery, Reception, Years 1 and 6 to gauge possible numbers and see if it is possible to re-open. We will advise you as soon as possible of any further updates from the Government on places for other year groups.
The alternative provision currently in place for pupils of key workers and other identified pupils will continue in its current form and will continue to be available for pupils in Years 2, 3, 4, and 5 if we are able to open for the other year groups.
Stay safe and take care.
Andy Jenkins
Family Support and Wellbeing
For information on family support and wellbeing, please click on the image below to take you to the relevant page.
Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) information (Multi Language)
Our colleagues at NST (Nottingham Schools Trust), have provided a wonderful link, to explain what COVID 19 is, and what steps we should all take to avoid spreading this disease.
This information has been translated into English, Albanian, Amharic, Arabic, Bengali, Dari, Farsi, French, Hindi, Kurdish Sorani, Malayalam, Mandarin, Pashto, Portuguese, Somali, Spanish, Tigrinya, Turkish, Urdu, Vietnamese.
https://www.doctorsoftheworld.org.uk/coronavirus-information/
Our World Class Library
We are so proud of our library space that we have access to. Inspired by the Harry Potter books, and the descriptions of the Hogwarts library within, our library is like a portal to a new world. Stocked with books provided by the ELS, children always have a relaxing and exciting environment to enjoy their reading. We host Reading Cafes, have lessons and enjoy lunchtimes in the library; so it is used nearly all day long.
We Love Our New Nursery
It’s amazing what removing a wall and adding a lick of paint can do to a Nursery. We are thrilled with the work that has been done to improve our learning environment for the children. They are having lots of fun playing in it and we are already seeing a difference in the way the children are using the workshop areas, learning and looking after things. They also love their outdoor shelter and their new sandpit and mud kitchen.
What the children say...
RJ- Age 3- “It’s big!”
Azelia- Age 3 "I feel happy."
Heidi Age 3- I like the carpet. I like sitting on the butterfly”
River Age 3- “Roll on my new rug!”
Isabelle age 3- "I like playing outside."
Ellison Age 3- “Its clean and has lots of toys”
What the staff say...
Miss Woodward- “The children are calmer and so much more focussed. A much better place to learn”
Mrs Macarron- “I actually jumped about and cried when I saw it. It is going to make such a difference to us all. Already the children are using the classroom in a different way and there is so much less mess.
Miss Archer- "It's brighter, more soacious and a nicer place to work with the children."
Miss Morrell-"We have more areas for the children to learn in and they are using them more than before.
What the Governors say...
Emma Craine- Parent Governor ''An amazing transformation, more space ,more resources, more potential to teach little minds"
Ed Williams- Head governor “The refurbishment has exceeded my expectations and truly transformed both the indoor and outdoor space. This, along with all the new equipment, will dramatically enhance Dovecote’s provision for our Nursery children.”
What the parents have said...
Michaela Ingle- "Went in today to have a look and its a fantastic space. The staff have commented how much the learning has improved since the re-design and how much calmer it is now."
Other people who have visited...
Maggie- Speech and Language Therapist “Wow I can’t believe the difference. I want to stay in here all day.”
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Welcome to Dovecote Primary & Nursery School
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I am delighted to welcome you to our school website. We hope you find it useful, informative and interesting. The pupils, staff, governors and parents are rightly proud of the school and the exciting opportunities that we offer. Our school motto is ‘Children First’ and we place that at the heart of all the decisions we make.
Our aim is
You will be able to find out about Lab_13, our In Harmony project, the Secret Garden, Spanish, ICT, sports activities,
Enjoy exploring the site and getting a flavour of all the great things that happen at Dovecote.
Dovecote is at the heart of its community and we see your child’s education very much as a partnership. We want to involve families from before the start of
On the website, we have tried to include all the practical information that you could want to know about our school. If you have a question that is not answered, please get in touch and we will get back to you.
Dovecote is a 'Good' school
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We are proud to announce the results of our recent Ofsted inspection. We have been judged 'Good' in all areas of the school. This is a fantastic result and testament to the hard work of the staff, children and parents/carers.
Next, we need to aim higher for an Outstanding result.
Upcoming Events
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