Latest News
Keep up to date with all the news happening in school at the moment.
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End of Year 6 Arrangements for Year 6
Tue 30 Jun 2020Dear Parents/Carers
It has been fantastic being able to welcome the Year Six children back to school before their transition to the various local secondary schools. The children have settled back extremely well, given the safety measures that have been put into place and the school day being different to what they were previously used to. We want the children’s last day to be a positive one, giving the children a chance to say goodbye to the teachers and some of their friends.
Due to the Government guidelines, we are unable to run a last day with the whole of the Year 6 cohort; the end of year arrangements will only involve the children in their Year 6 group. However, we feel strongly that this special time should be celebrated and recognised. Therefore, there will be three different days that we say goodbye to the children. Group A’s last day will be Wednesday 15 July; Group B’s will be Thursday 16 July and Group C’s is Thursday 9 July.
On the children’s last day, we will be running a few activities to make it special for them. They will also be receiving hoodies that this year have been specially donated by the Friends of the School (PTA), leavers’ certificates, leavers’ pen and the children will be able to bring in (not wear) their school shirt, which can be signed by the other children in a safe way.
We would usually be inviting the children to the popular leavers’ disco. This is something we still envisage to put on for the children when the government regulations permit, but as of yet we do not know a date for this - it won’t be until the next academic year. We will contact you via email.
You should have been refunded all monies paid to the school for the cancelled Osmington Bay trip. Please inform the office if this is not the case. You should also have received through the post your child’s annual report, which is in a reduced format due to the current situation where we have not been able to complete the academic year. Again, please inform the office if you have not received it.
We are always very proud of the Year 6 children and even more so this year when faced with such challenging times. They have proven to be fun, resilient, determined and an engaging group of children that have made excellent progress, not just in year 6, but throughout their time at Mudeford Junior School. We will miss each and every one of them dearly but are confident that they will make a very successful transition to their new schools in the next academic year. We would like to take this opportunity to say goodbye to those parents who will also be leaving us. Thank you so much for all your help and support throughout your child’s time at school and in particular over the last few months.
We look forward to seeing you when you collect your child on each of their group’s last days over the coming weeks.
Stay safe and all the best
Mr L. Goodlet and Mrs K. Miller
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Year 5 Application for Secondary School Placement September 2021
Mon 29 Jun 2020 -
Year 3, 4 and 5 Visits into School
Fri 19 Jun 2020Dear Parents/Carers
I hope you are all keeping well.
Over the next few days you will be receiving your child’s annual report which is in a reduced format this year due to the current situation where we have not been able to complete the academic year.
Although the Government has stated that the school does not need to bring in all year groups before the end of the summer term, it has changed the guidance this week to allow Headteachers the discretion to bring in greater numbers of children. At present the school is catering for growing numbers of key worker children, alongside the 61 out of 66 Year 6 children who are attending lessons. With only four weeks of the term remaining, I feel strongly that I would like to give all the children in Years 3,4 and 5, together with the transitioning Year 2 group, the opportunity to return to school. This will allow the children to see their class teachers once more, to reassure them that the school is a safe place to return to and to give them closure for this academic year. This will take the form of one visit of around one and a half hours and will be weather dependant, as all sessions will be taking place outside to minimise risk. The children will not be required to wear school uniform and will only need to bring a coat and a filled water bottle with them. They will be invited in to school in small groups during an allocated time period. Further details will follow.
Things will be a little different for the children as we have put measures in place to keep them and the adults in school safe. To help with the children's return, so they and parents are aware of the new measures and layout around the school, we have put together a presentation showing how the school has changed. This presentation will be on the Year Group section of the school website on the top of the noticeboard.
Only one parent should accompany their child at the start and end of the session. Parents are requested not to congregate at entrances to the school and to move away from the school as soon as possible. Upon arrival to the school, please wait in the designated area with your child, socially distanced from others in the area. They must stay with you at all times until collected by the teacher. Siblings must also remain with their parent and not use the playground. Parents will not be allowed to enter the school building with their child.
We are really looking forward to welcoming the children back in to school!
As always, stay safe,
M. Partridge
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Mr Partridge Message - 2nd Half Summer Term
Tue 02 Jun 2020Dear Parents/Carers
I hope you are keeping safe and well.
I would like to thank you for what you are already doing to help your child in their home learning. It is very important to do the best you can to support your child with their home learning and keeping learning habits going will greatly help the children when they return to school.
The teachers continue to set weekly tasks, found on the school website. You may wish to undertake additional tasks such as the Oak National Academy online classroom lessons, which can also be found on the website.
It is essential that the children continue to read regularly at home during any period of school closure. We would highly recommend that all children read a range of genre during this period – there is a free range of age-
related e-books available at https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/books/free-ebooks/.
Please remember, however, that there is no pressure to do all the tasks on the website, you cannot replicate ‘school’ at home. We aim to provide some learning to help keep structure and focus for your children at home through this difficult and challenging time. We understand and appreciate what you are having to do at home with your own children is not easy and many of you will have siblings of different ages and still be expected to work from home yourselves.
Enjoy the video, thinking of you all, stay safe as always,
M Partridge
Headteacher
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A welcome back message from Mr. Partridge for the second half of the summer term
Mon 01 Jun 2020To watch a welcome back message from Mr. Partidge for the second half of the summer term click here. -
Phased Reopening of the school - Year 6
Wed 20 May 2020Dear Year 6 Parents / Carers
As a follow up to my newsletter sent last night I am providing information for the Year 6 cohort.
Preparations have been ongoing with regard to Year 6 children returning to school and end of year transition arrangements. The Year 6 teachers have already been in contact with the secondary schools, sharing information in order to assist in a smooth transition for September.
Unfortunately, we have received confirmation from PGL that they have cancelled our residential trip to Osmington Bay next month. At this point we will be refunding any payments made in excess of the £100 deposit. We are awaiting financial reimbursement from PGL for the balance of the monies paid, at which time the school will be able to refund parents fully.
The Leavers Disco has been postponed. After speaking to the Friends of the School, we are hoping to reschedule this at a future date if circumstances allow. Information about Leavers Hoodies will be coming out shortly, we know these are very popular. This year the Friends of the School have generously offered to pay for every child to receive a hoodie. Our traditional end of year class and year group photographs will take a slightly different form, but will still be a memento of the children’s year in school. We are keen to keep this tradition and are currently researching different options.
As you are aware, since the Prime Minister’s announcement on Sunday 10th May we are following government guidance in planning for a 1st June transition phase to welcome in children to our school, prioritising this as follows: 1. Providing childcare for parents who are key workers and vulnerable children. 2. Providing education for the Year 6 cohort.
Over the last week the School Leadership Team has carefully compiled an extensive risk assessment with the sole focus being both the safety of the children and the staff. Detailed discussions have focused on how to split the children into suitable class sizes factoring in the varying capacities of our classrooms, access to toilets, staggered entry into, and exit from school, usage of corridors and walkways, lunch provision, use of equipment in the school and cleaning and maintaining hygiene. Children will be washing their hands upon entry to the school, before and after eating, after using the toilet and at regular intervals throughout the day. Staff will ensure that surfaces are cleaned throughout the day and there will be a thorough clean at the end of each day.
The government guidance stipulates that no more than 15 children can be taught in a classroom and that we should assume all eligible children will attend school for the purposes of the first stage of planning, even if we think that this is unlikely. As a result, with 33 children in each class, it has been essential to split each Year 6 class into three classes of eleven with seating arrangements adhering to social distancing guidance for schools. Each group of children will be invited into school on a two weekly rolling programme, with three consecutive days of education followed by seven days of home learning.The office will be sending out details of the dates your child will be invited into school as a member of the Year 6 cohort via email on ParentMail. Alternatively, those Year 6 parents who are key workers can opt for continued childcare on a daily basis, however children cannot be placed in both groups, due to the Governments guidance on minimising contact between groups of children. Once your child is allocated a group they will remain with them and this will not be able to change under any circumstance until further guidance from government on group sizing and social distance measures are updated. Parents will not be able to request for their child to be in a specific group. There will also be a form on ParentMail that we ask each parent to submit back to us by Monday 25th May, indicating if your child will be returning to school. This will assist us in our planning. Please look out for these communications.
During this time there will not be a hot lunch provision, however you will still be able to order a cold packed lunch by ParentMail, if required. Those Year 6 children eligible for Free School Meals will also be able to order using ParentMail.
Start and finish times for the school day will vary for each group. 6GT will have an arrival time of 8:40 to 8:45 and 6MR will be 9:10 to 9:15. There will be a one way drop off and collection route which will be clearly marked around the school, the entry point for all children being the main gate on Mudeford Lane.
Only one parent should accompany their child at the start and end of the day. Parents are requested not to congregate at entrances to the school and to move away from the school as soon as possible.
Upon arrival to the school, please wait in the designated area with your child. They must stay with you at all times until called to enter the school. Siblings must also remain with their parent and not use the playground. Parents will not be allowed to enter the school building with their child.
We ask you to only come to the school office if it is vitally important but would prefer you to contact us by phone or email. If you wish to speak to a teaching member of staff we would ask you to phone the office at the end of the day and not approach teachers on the playground.
Your child will need to come to school in a clean set of clothes each day and for convenience will NOT need to wear school uniform. Comfortable and appropriate clothes and footwear must be worn at all times. Trainers are allowed but please, no sandals or flip flops.
In their rucksack, please do not allow your child to bring anything other than a clean and filled water bottle and packed lunch (in a plastic bag unless you are ordering lunch from school). All other equipment for the day will be provided. We will be unable to give home reading books and library books out at this time.
At the end of the school day, we ask you to enter the school through the main gates on Mudeford Lane and wait to collect your child in the designated area on the Upper Junior playground, respecting social distancing guidance. The class teacher will then send your child to you and then we ask you to leave the premises promptly following the one-way system out of the school, which will be clearly marked. 6GT’s collection time is 2:45 and 6MR’s is 3:15.
As always, stay safe,
Kind regards
Mr. Partridge
Headteacher -
Mudeford's Virtual Sports Day 2020
Mon 18 May 2020Tuesday 19th May should have been our annual Sports Day. As we are unable to be together this year, Miss Armstrong has organised a sports day you can complete from the comfort of your own home!
Please click on the link to see Mudeford's first ever virtual Sports Day.
https://www.mudefordjun.dorset.sch.uk/pe-and-sport/
Remember to take lots of photos and share with us - email Miss Armstrong on:
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Phased Reopening of Mudeford Junior School
Mon 18 May 2020Dear Parent/Carers
I hope you are all keeping safe and well.
The school has been busy providing childcare for the children of key workers and delivering food hampers to those families in need. Mudeford Junior School has been open throughout the Covid-19 lockdown and will continue to be open during half term week for those key worker families.
We have continued to provide a Free School Meal provision for those eligible children in the form of a food hamper every two weeks. If your circumstances have changed and your household income has reduced, you may be eligible for Free School Meals. For more information go to www.gov.uk/apply-free-school-meals. Christchurch Food Bank have also contacted us to say that they are there to help if you are finding it difficult to feed your family. Please contact them on christchurchfoodbank@gmail.com or 07587371088 and they can arrange for a food delivery or for you to collect.
On 10th May, the Prime Minister announced a road map towards recovery, including plans for the phased return of children back to school. The indicators are that the school will be open from 1st June for Year 6 children and that the remaining year groups will return to school four weeks before the end of the summer term.
The government guidance stipulates that no more than 15 children can be taught in a classroom and that we should assume all eligible children will attend school for the purposes of the first stage of planning, even if we think that this is unlikely. Over the last week the School Leadership Team has carefully compiled an extensive risk assessment with the sole focus being both the safety of the children and the staff. Detailed discussions have focused on how to split the children into suitable class sizes factoring in the varying capacities of our classrooms, access to toilets, staggered entry into, and exit from school, usage of corridors and walkways, lunch provision, use of equipment in the school and cleaning and maintaining hygiene.
The government has informed schools that most classes should be split into two with 15 children in a group. This figure is based on infant school classes of 30 children. This cannot be the case in our school where we have 33 children in every class. I feel confident that the school’s risk assessment will minimise the risk, allowing the children to return to school in smaller groups and in a phased manner. As year 6 will be the first cohort returning to school, more detailed information will be sent over the next couple of days.
As it is predicted that normal schooling will not resume for some time, the significance of home based learning becomes more important and we appreciate every effort you are making to support and encourage your child.
As always, stay safe,
Kind regards
Mr. Partridge
Headteacher
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Mr Partridge's video message
Wed 13 May 2020Please click on the link to see a video message from Mr. Partridge to the children.
https://www.mudefordjun.dorset.sch.uk/mr-partridges-video-message/
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School Closure Update - 28 April
Tue 28 Apr 2020Dear Parents/Carers,
It would have been nice to have started off the summer term with all the children having returned to school ready for a packed term of learning and activities. Unfortunately, we may have to wait a while before returning to school but I very much look forward to the day I can welcome the school community back together.
Even without all of the children, the school has continued to be a busy place. We have remained open throughout the Easter holidays providing childcare for those children of key workers, in order to support them in their critical roles in the community.
We have continued to provide a Free School Meal provision for those eligible children in the form of a food hamper every two weeks. If your circumstances have changed and your household income has reduced, you may be eligible for Free School Meals. For more information go to www.gov.uk/apply-free-school-meals.
Christchurch Food Bank have also contacted us to say that they are there to help if you are finding it difficult to feed your family. Please contact them on christchurchfoodbank@gmail.com or 07587371088 and they can arrange for a food delivery or for you to collect.
Home-based Learning
It is very important to do the best you can to support your child with their home learning in every year group and I would like to thank you for what you are already doing to help your child. Year 6 pupils for example will transfer to Secondary schools in September and will start a Year 7 curriculum. Like all year groups, keeping learning habits going will greatly help the return to school (hopefully before the end of this academic year).
The teachers have set weekly tasks, found on the school website. You may wish to undertake additional tasks such as the National Academy lessons, which can also be found on the website.
Please remember, however, that there is no pressure to do all the tasks on the website, you cannot replicate ‘school’ at home. We aim to provide some learning to help keep structure and focus for your children at home through this difficult and challenging time. We understand and appreciate what you are having to do at home with your own children is not easy and many of you will have siblings of different ages and still be expected to work from home yourselves.
It can be a particularly challenging time for children with SEND and if those parents have any concerns or questions regarding the weekly on going home based learning, please do not hesitate to phone the school or email the office office@mudefordjun.dorset.sch.uk. If you would specifically like to speak to Mrs Crutchley, as SENDCo, please call the school on Thursday 30th April and Thursday 14th May.
We have set up year group email addresses
year3@mudefordjun.dorset.sch.uk, year4@mudefordjun.dorset.sch.uk, year5@mudefordjun.dorset.sch.uk, year6@mudefordjun.dorset.sch.uk and musicandmfl@mudefordjun.dorset.sch.uk where the children can send in their work or achievements for their teacher to view, although there will not be an opportunity for personalised feedback.
However, work which has been submitted may be uploaded by teachers on to the school website. Look out also for the video messages from the teachers appearing on the website this week.
Lastly, I include a list of when the teachers will be in school. Parents will be able to make contact with their child’s teacher to discuss any of the home learning on these days.
Wednesday 29 April Mrs Burton and Mrs Skorge
Thursday 30 April Miss Egan and Mrs Donaldson
Friday 1 May Miss McKinley and Mrs Scott-Thomas
Monday 4 May Miss Touchin and Miss Armstrong
Tuesday 5 May Miss Touchin and Mrs Miller
Wednesday 6 May Mrs Burton, Mr Goodlet and Mrs Skorge
Thursday 7 May Miss Egan and Mrs Donaldson
Friday 8 May Miss McKinley and Mrs Scott-Thomas
Please stay safe and healthy.
Kind regards
M Partridge
Headteacher