The ‘Oliver’ Journey
Sports Day Superstars
The Invasion is Here!
Oliver Production Ready for the Last Week of Term!
Our ‘bloomin’ lovely school!
Beckley CE Primary School is a popular and successful village school with high standards of teaching & learning and behaviour. We have a strong community ethos and a lively and progressive approach to classroom practice.
Our school is in the picturesque village of Beckley, nestling in the rolling 1066 countryside, 5½ miles northwest of the ancient Cinque Ports town of Rye in East Sussex.
Oliver!
Our amazing Key Stage 2 pupils put on three fantastic performances of Oliver in the final week of school. We are incredibly passionate about these opportunities for children to be involved in a large production – it can truly be a life changing experience for many of them! So, in spite of the on-going complexities of putting on performances with many COVID-19 restrictions still in place, we were absolutely determined to find a way – after all, ‘the show must go on!’ One issue faced was that we could only have limited numbers in the audience, in order to maintain appropriate social distancing. Whilst those parents and family member who did come along had a real treat, watching the wonderful production live, we were very aware that many friends and family members had to miss out. The good news is that we did film a performance and so we hope people can enjoy watching the production by clicking below:
Act 1:
Act 2:
Plans for September 2021
As we finish the current school year, we have already been looking ahead to September. There have been many routines and protocols introduced over the last 18 months and staff, pupils and parents have been asked the following question to help inform our plans for September: ‘What do we revert back to? What to we keep hold of, and what do we need to introduce as a new approach?’ This review has been a really interesting process to work through and as a result, a number of decisions were taken:
- Staggered drop-off and pick-up times will remain
- This decision is partially due to the ongoing uncertainty about how our community will be fairing in September, given that the COVID virus is still a serious concern in our region. However, we have found that the staggered start has also created opportunities for small group follow-up and individual support at the start and end of the day. This has proved to be a very useful time that supports learning in quite a personalised way for many pupils.
- One-way system for parents at drop-off and pick-up will remain
- We have found that the one-way system for parents coming on site through the school gate and leaving through the gate to the field created a much better ‘flow’ at the busiest times of the school day. However, we were very conscious of the ‘puddle problem’ by the gate to the field during times of wet weather and so we will be addressing this.
- Pupils coming to school in their PE kit will remain
- On the days that pupils have PE, quite a lot of PE lesson time was being taken up by the children changing into PE kit, or back into school uniform. In addition, coat pegs were very cluttered with PE bags and lots of uniform or PE kit was being misplaced and ‘lost’. We have seen a significant improvement in all of these areas by asking children to come to school in their PE kit of their PE days.
- Pupil toilets will revert back to ‘boys’ and ‘girls’ toilets for Years 1 – 6, from September
- The design of the toilets in the main school building has meant that it was never ideal to have ‘class’ toilets. Reverting back to single gender toilets was always our intention, once is is safe and appropriate to do so.
- We will be reverting back to inviting visors to our School Celebration on Fridays
- We have really missed not being able to gather together as a whole school for school worship times and also our School Celebration every week. As soon as we feel it is appropriate, we will be reverting to gathering as a whole school and also inviting parents and families to attend our weekly celebration times.
With all of our routines and procedures, we will of course look at the appropriateness of them and continue to carry out regular risk assessments to make sure that we remain as safe as we can.
COVID-19 Beckley School Update – 2021
As the government slowly begin to ‘unlock’ the country and we begin to emerge after lockdown, there are a few changes to the guidelines and recommendations for schools. We follow the recommended advice issued from both the Department of Education and East Sussex County Council to support us making our own risk assessments and our latest assessment can be seen by clicking on the link below.
In summary, we will:
- Continue to have staggered drop-off and pick-up times for the start and end of the day
- Continue to have staggered lunchtime arrangements
- Continue to run breakfast club and some after-school clubs
- Continue to have classes operating in their bubbles for most of the school day
- Continue to have designated toilets for each class
- Continue to have regular hand washing for all people in school, several times every day
- Maintain appropriate ventilation in the school building and use the heater/air conditioning units according to the guidelines issued by the DfE, ESCC and the Health and Safety Executive
We have introduced:
- A mixed playtime every morning for Key Stage 1 and every afternoon for KS2
- Lunchtimes in the school orchard or the school field, weather permitting
- Plans for an end of year KS2 production in July
- Plans for some local class trips and off-site visits in Term 6
Here is a copy of our latest risk assessment, for your information:
Beckley – Risk Assessment – 17.5.2021
Our Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing:
As we continue to manage social distancing and other restrictions in our lives, our mental health and emotional wellbeing is becoming an increasingly important issue for us all. The following links will take you to some excellent resources that the school recommend using to support this important area of our lives.
Taking Care of Our Mental Health
Website – Action Your Potential (password Neocortex123)
Andrew’s video – how our brain responds to uncertainty and anxiety
Poster – 12 Rocks of Wellbeing
Here are some really great well-being activities to have a go at doing.
The Genesis Federation:
Beckley CE Primary School is part of The Genesis Federation with Peasmarsh CE Primary School. Our two schools still both maintain their unique identities, however our federation links allow staff to work together to support the teaching and learning in both schools by sharing resources, facilities and staff training opportunities, wherever appropriate.
Our Federation embraces the creation and development of ‘human flourishing’ through wisdom, hope, community and dignity. We nourish our community on a journey of spiritual, moral, physical, intellectual, emotional and social growth that helps everyone fulfil their potential through the promises and love of God. We work in harmony to promote ‘Life in all its fullness’.
Pupils, staff and parents are proud of their school and value the caring ethos. Pupils are polite, caring and respectful and get on very well with each other. They actively support each other’s learning. Staff are relentless and passionate in their desire to provide the best possible learning experiences and outcomes for their pupils. Parents and carers are very supportive and extremely positive about the school.
We maintain very close ties with the Church and local community and make full use of all local facilities to provide a high quality learning experience for all our pupils.
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