Keep up to date with all the latest news happening in school at the moment.

• Update from Mr. Lee

  Fri 24 Apr 2020 LLEE

  Dear Parents/Carers,

  
  I hope that you have all seen the message from staff which has been sent to you on Class Dojo. I would like to thank Mr. Kitchener and Miss Pancholi for putting the whole thing together and for bringing a 
  little lump to my throat while watching it.  We are all missing the children, from their excited reports 
  about home life, to the daft things which they get up  to in the playground. I for one am looking 
  forward to the time when we can all get back into our usual routines.

  
  You will have read a great deal recently about potential dates for a return to school.  Some articles 
  have cited September while others have hoped for a return date of 1stJune. At present no indication
  has been made to head teachers or the Local Authority about an anticipated reopening of schools.  It 
  may also be worthwhile pointing out that parents, and indeed the rest of the nation, receive the same 
  information as schools  –  that  which comes from  Government’s daily briefings. It is therefore highly 
  likely that we will all be made aware at the same time when school doors will reopen. 

   

  I  have  received  an  increasing  number  of  calls  and  emails  this  week  from  parents  regarding  the possibility of sending their child(ren) into school. I very much sympathise with the stresses and strains 
  of keeping the children engaged with their learning, while also trying to source activities which will 
  keep them active and entertained in the afternoons. I  also realise that many of you are trying to do 
  this while fulfilling your work responsibilities.    Schools must, however, continue to follow the  same 
  instruction  for  children’s attendance which was communicated to us  when we closed. Only  those 
  children of  Key Workers or those with an Education Health Care Plan (EHCP) are entitled to a school 
  place. For children of Key Workers, if there is another adult at home who can supervise the children, 
  then the expectation is for the children to stay at home. 

  
  If you find that your situation has changed or  that your professional role now comes under Key Worker 
  status,  and you have no alternative childcare,  please contact me on llee@glebelands.leicester.sch.uk.

  
  I am sure that everyone is ‘doing their bit’ to try and prevent the spread of the Corona virus and I have 
  no doubt that following government guidelines will enable us to get back to school as soon as possible. 
  In the meantime, I would ask that the children continue to work hard, play hard and keep doing their 
  best while they are away from Glebelands. 

  
  I hope you all get the opportunity to enjoy the good weather this weekend. 

  
  Yours sincerely, 

• Summer Term Begins!

  Fri 17 Apr 2020 LLEE

  Dear Parents/Carers,

  The summer term has almost arrived! I hope you were able to enjoy the warmth and sunshine over the Easter break.  Good weather often allows us to put some of the stresses and strains to the back of our minds (at least for a brief moment) and helps to raise our spirits.  I don’t think it could have come at a better time.

   

  I would like to thank all those parents who sent messages of support for our staff in recognition of good work which they have been doing over the Easter holidays.  I have passed on your emails and your kind words were very much appreciated. I would also like to echo these sentiments and offer my own thanks to our dedicated staff for all of their hard work over the Easter holidays. Whether working from home, in the office,  or coming in to school to work with the children, you are all super stars. 

   

  As I am sure you are aware school closures will continue for at least another three weeks when the national lockdown will be reviewed again. As we approach a new term, I would like to think that the children are preparing to get themselves back into a learning mindset, with daily routines being put in place and class pages being used to source learning activities. Teachers will be reviewing and updating the work which is being set on a regular basis, with a mix of both academic and fun activities being posted. I would also like to remind you that children and families can visit offschool.org.uk, which is a Leicester based website -created by teachers in Leicester- to engage children in a broad range of meaningful learning activities.

   

  I have been contacted by several parents who have been unable to access their (income based) free school meal vouchers.  You may have read on various news feeds that the organisation administering the vouchers on behalf of the government have been overwhelmed by the task. Unfortunately this has resulted in many families, both local and nationwide, being unable to access their vouchers.

   

  The problem has also been compounded by emails containing voucher codes being classed as spam/junk and being found in these folders days later.  Some parents have also not updated us with their new email address and so vouchers have been sent to their old email address.  Fortunately the vast majority of vouchers now seem to be getting through. I would again like to thank Mrs. Pettinger for her hard work in helping to overcome some of the issues related to the voucher scheme over the Easter break.

   

  A number of parents have also enquired about refunds for dinner money.  This is a particularly difficult and time consuming process which we are currently working on in conjunction Parent Pay. For those parents who have contacted us about refunds, we will keep you informed of our progress.

   

  Finally, some of you may be interested to know that I was contacted recently by our previous Head teacher, Mr. Dix. He was keen to know how the school community has been coping with the current difficulties and wanted me to pass on his best wishes. Mr. Dix narrowly escaped a lock-down in Mauritius where he was holidaying with family.  (I suppose there are worse places he could have been stranded!)

   

  In the meantime, I would like to wish you all the best for the coming weeks ahead and I look forward to seeing you all again very soon.

  Yours sincerely

• Learning Platform - offschool.org.uk

  Thu 09 Apr 2020 LLEE

   

  Dear Parents/Carers,

   

  I am pleased to inform you that offschool.org.uk, a new home learning website, has been launched. The learning platform has been created thanks largely to the efforts of teachers in Leicester City schools.

   

  Off School is free for all families. Throughout the school closure period local teachers and authors will be creating short films of fun learning activities for families at home to keep children excited and enthusiastic about learning.  Off School also helps parents and carers navigate their way through the maze of activities that are available. There is also a competition zone.

   

  The School Development Support Agency (SDSA), which is a local organisation,  has been working with city schools to develop Off School and have dedicated their team’s expertise to provide this positive response to the needs of families alongside local schools. 

  To ensure as many families as possible have the opportunity to benefit from Off School, the resources are also active on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter - @OffSchoolUK. The SDSA have asked that you get involved by tagging, sharing and tweeting their website to spread the word far and wide and get more families involved!

  I do hope you will be able to make full use of the resources and have some fun at the same time. 

  Yours sincerely

   

  L. Lee

• Easter Opening - Update

  Wed 08 Apr 2020 LLEE

  Dear Parents/Carers

  Due to a significant reduction in demand for childcare on Friday 10th and Monday 13th April, I have taken the decision to close the school on both days.   We have contacted those parents whose children have been regularly attending and confirmed with them that childcare will not be required. 

   

  I mentioned in my previous letter that we would be remaining open on Good Friday and Easter Monday, however, given that a number of parents have since let us know that they have changed their plans, a decision has been made to shut the school.

   

  As always, we will continue to remain as flexible as possible for the children of our Key Workers.

   

  Yours sincerely 

   

  L. Lee

• An Easter Message

  Fri 03 Apr 2020 LLEE

   

  Dear All,

  Thankfully we have got through the first full two weeks of partial closure and isolation. I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone at this very unprecedented time and the situation we find ourselves in.

  Teachers have been amazing in the way they have calmly transitioned into virtual teaching and ensuring work has been available regularly and responding to you all. Thank you to all my fabulous staff.

   

  The leadership team have been busy dealing with all of the government’s overwhelming correspondence and ensured that we have been following legislation and making the right decisions. Our office staff have been extremely busy with organising free school meal vouchers (incredibly difficult), reporting to the Local Authority and trying to wade through paperwork in preparation for the new financial year – again, you have been amazing!

   

  Parents and carers, I know you have been fully supporting your child/children at home with their work, with teachers reporting that you have sent some very supportive comments on Class Dojo. I hope that some positives might come out of this and that you have time to really get involved with what your child does at school instead of the usual shrug at home-time when they say they haven't done anything!!

   

  The school will continue to function over the Easter holiday period, including the bank holiday weekend, for key workers and children with an EHCP.  I would again like to thank my staff for volunteering to offer their time in order to support our parents who are on the front line.    During the Easter period, school will be run as a fun/holiday club and will not be educational as it is the holidays, and regular work will not be set by teachers over this time for any children. After the two-week Easter break we will resume with the virtual learning.

   

  I hope that you are all able to find new routines over the holiday period. I realise that this is difficult as you are unable to take the children out and about. Hopefully the weather will be kind and allow you to get out into the garden and dust off the BBQ!

   

  Finally, to all our pupils at Glebelands, we miss you all incredibly and we are looking forward to the time when your excited faces and chatter once again brighten our corridors. Until then, keep safe, work hard and try to be on your best behaviour.  Whatever happens, we will see you all again later this year – hopefully sooner rather than later.

   

  Yours Sincerely

  Lawrence Lee