Three Lane Ends, Escomb, Bishop Auckland, Co Durham, DL14 7SR
We had the opportunity to take part in an ‘All Stars Cricket’ session. The activities concentrated on teaching us the skills we need to play the game. Everyone had lots of fun. Thank you Darren.
Article 29 – Your education should help you use and develop your talents and abilities.
Article 17: We have a right to get information that is important to our well-being
The children have come into school “dressed to express” for the day. They are expressing who they are and what they are interested in. It is part if exploring children’s mental health and well-being during #ChildrensMentalHealthWeek. We took part in activities in our classes which helped us think about our goals and what steps we can take towards reaching them and looked at who, in our lives help us to grow.
I was delighted to be nominated to choose this week’s coffee break songs on Bishop FM! Our children listened in school to the broadcast!
All of my song choices relate to school and echo our school values and ethos! Click below to listen. . .
Article 13: We have a right to find things out
Durham City is celebrating Lunar New Year this Saturday with activities, performances and entertainment throughout the day.
https://www.thisisdurham.com/whats-on/lunar-new-year-celebrations-2022-p1070961
Article 30: We have a right to practice our own culture, language and religion
Article 31 : We have a right to play and rest
Once again Covid-19 has impacted on how we share our Christmas celebrations with you as parents. We have posted videos of the activities that have taken place in school and tried to give you the best version of what we had planned for our Christmas plays without compromising the safety of our children. The last thing that we wanted was for our children to be poorly over Christmas as it is such a magical time of the year.
I am hoping that the videos will allow you to share in your child’s Christmas at school and hopefully they will encapsulate everything that we have done and the fun and enjoyment we have ALL had!
I would also like to take the opportunity to ‘Thank You’ all as parents for your unwavering support throughout this term – we really do appreciate it. I would also like to say ‘Thank You’ (and I am sure you will join me) to all of our wonderful staff here at Escomb. They truly care about our children and do their very best always. I would also like to say a ‘Thank You’ to all of our outside providers who have supported us with after-school clubs and for those who have been in school and delivered workshops. This has certainly supported and helped our children’s emotional and mental well-being and given that the extra ‘boost’ when most needed. All of this is difficult enough for us to comprehend as adults, so I can only imagine how it must be for our little people.
Once again we do not know what the New Year will bring but, we are keeping everything crossed that we will be as ‘normal’ as normal can be with these ever-changing times!
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from me and all of the children, staff and Governors at Escomb Primary School
Dear Year 6 Parents,
Firstly I would like to apologise to you for not being there tonight at the Year 6 party; I can’t tell you how upset I was – this is the first one I have ever missed!
It is always such an emotional occasion for me to see how much our children have achieved and how grown up they are! I know that they will have demonstrated this to you all tonight in the songs and dance that they performed for you.
This year has been unprecedented and our Year 6 have been amazing. They have impressed me with their resilience and positive attitude throughout- even when times have been tough! They have pulled together as a team to make sure their last year at primary has been one to remember.
I know that they are all heading off in different directions but I hope that the friendships that they have built will remain strong and true for years to come. I also hope that in years to come they will look back fondly on their primary years and Escomb will always have a place in their hearts.
Had I been there tonight, I would also have thanked Mrs Collings for her expert teaching and guidance throughout the year and also the fabulous support and care that Miss Cox has given the children – an absolutely cracking team! I know that you will all agree with me on that!
Please will you share all of this email with your children – I have shared my thoughts with them today in a Teams meeting but this will just drive it home for them.
I know that we are saying goodbye to some families who have had long connections with Escomb and that we will still see some of you as you have younger siblings in school. Whichever bracket you fall in, I would also like to say a huge ‘thank you’ to you as parents for your continued support over the years – you have been amazing too! #TeamEscomb is definitely our motto – children, parents and staff!
Once again – thank you all for allowing Escomb Primary School to ‘borrow’ your children for seven years!
Wishing the children and you all the very best; have a fabulous summer and take care!
Yours faithfully
Wendy Gill
Dear Parents and Carers,
This is a letter to inform you about staffing and class organisation for September 2021.
Miss Maddocks will be in school in September but will be going on maternity leave towards the end of the month. Mrs Susie Johnson will be covering the maternity leave and will work with Miss Maddocks from the start in September to ensure a smooth handover. Mrs Johnson has already been working in school to get to know us.
Miss Clifford is currently on maternity leave and her leave is being covered by Miss Richardson.
After careful and considered discussion with the Governing Body and Senior Leaders in school, class organisation for September is as follows:
| Year group | Class Teachers |
| Reception | Miss Maddocks |
| 1 | Mr Cox |
| 2 | Miss Hope |
| 3 | Mrs Meadows 4 days
Mr Salmon 1 day
|
| 4 | Miss Richardson |
| 5 | Mr Brentnall |
| 6 | Mrs Collings
|
As we all know all restrictions will have been removed by the time we return to school in September.
As a school we feel that some of the systems and procedures we have introduced because of COVID have had a positive impact on how school operates and so some will remain in place when we return in September.
Below are the things that we will continue with and some things we will re-introduce back into our school to hopefully give us back our ‘whole school family feel’.
We will not operate a Breakfast club as we would have very limited capacity and it would be unfair for us to prioritise/refuse parents. We are hopeful that Breakfast club will be back in operation again in by the end of September.
Reminder about School Start times
School will officially start for all children at 8.55a.m. Ideally children should arrive no earlier than 8.45a.m. which was our ‘normal’ practice.
However, if you need to drop your child off earlier than 8.45a.m. due to work commitments and you would normally use Breakfast Club, then you can do so from 8.30a.m. onwards. Teachers will be on duty from 8.30a.m. (no earlier) and will greet children at the point of entry to school. We do not have the space for parents to come into the yard so please hand over your child to the teacher at the gate. Children will go to their designated space on their respective playgrounds to play with their class bubbles until the bell goes at 8.55a.m.
By allowing a ‘drop off’ from 8.30a.m. for those of you who need it; we are hopeful that this will help with parking and traffic outside school and help maintain a steady flow rather than traffic becoming bottle-necked.
START OF THE DAY
| Class | Entry gate |
| Reception | Reception yard gate – closest to classroom. Children will be greeted by a member of staff and come straight into school through the current entry door. |
| Year 1 | Reception yard gate – opposite the hall doors. Children will be greeted by a member of staff and come straight into school through the hall door. |
| Year 2
Year 3 |
Quiet yard. An area will be designated to each class and this is where they will wait for the bell to go at 8.55a.m.
|
| Year 4
Year 5 Year 6 |
Car Park gates. A member of staff will greet the children at the gate and they will then go straight to their designated area of the school playground to wait for the bell to go at 8.55a.m. |
COLLECTING AT THE END OF THE SCHOOL DAY
| Time | Class | Exit |
|
3.15p.m. |
Reception | Reception yard – same door as used now. If parents can wait in the half of the yard that is closest to the classroom and staff will hand children over. |
| Year 1 | Reception yard – hall doors. If parents can wait in the half of the yard that is closest to the hall doors and staff will hand children over. | |
| Year 2
|
Quiet yard. Children will exit from the main door. | |
|
3.25p.m. |
Year 3
|
Quiet yard. Children will exit from the main door. |
| Year 4 & 5
|
Car Park gates. A member of staff will bring the children round from the classroom. | |
| Year 6 | We will dismiss Year 6 children from the car park gates as soon as Year 4 & 5 have left. We will give Year 6 the option to walk home but we will seek your permission when we return in September. We will take those Year 6 children who walk home to the rear of the school to exit school straight onto the black path. |
Obviously, we will continue to review our systems. Any constructive feedback from your perspective as parents would also be appreciated. We will also take account of any local outbreaks of COVID and respond accordingly or as directed by the government.
I hope that you like the leaflet that we have sent home as a celebration of all the whole school activities we have managed to do this year despite the pandemic! It is such a privilege to be Headteacher of school that has such amazing children and a staff team that always want to do their very best for the children in their care. And – of course – we couldn’t do it without your wonderful support! Thank you!
May I take the opportunity to wish you all a restful and enjoyable summer holiday.
We look forward to welcoming our children back on Thursday 2nd September.
Wendy Gill
Headteacher
Dear Parents,
We have been so lucky as a school to only have 3 bubbles isolate since return to school in September 2020. However, since restrictions have started to ease we have had an increase in the number of children and families having to self isolate because they have been identified as a close contact.
Yesterday saw the highest absence we have had due to self isolation. This tells us how rife the virus still is and how quickly it is spreading still.
As we approach the summer holidays, I am sure that none of us want to be isolating as I know many of you will have plans.
We are asking that you remain extra vigilant over the next few days as we approach the end of the school year. I have copied the link below which gives Durham County Council’s latest advice and guidance especially around the full lifting of restrictions on Monday 19th July. However if you have been a close contact of a positive case, you still have to self isolate – this restriction does not get lifted until 16th August.
Today we have staff who are self isolating because they have been a close contact. We will try our very best to cover classes as best as we possibly can without compromising the integrity of our class bubbles.
Thank you for your support in helping to keep our school community as safe as we possibly can in such difficult times.
Wendy Gill
Headteacher
This is the link to Durham County Council’s advice. http://ow.ly/uWTd50Fv798
Dear Parents and Carers,
As the government are gradually easing restrictions, it has given us the opportunity to review the systems and procedures we have implemented in school. Although infection rates are dropping, it does not mean that we can become complacent however, it does allow us to begin to think about returning to some ‘normality’ gradually over the next half term so that we are well-prepared for September.
Below are the things that we are going to re-introduce back into our school to hopefully give us back our ‘whole school family feel’.
We will continue with the Rob Proud after-school club and will operate this on the same basis of a class per session. There will be no charge for this as it is to support our children’s physical well-being.
We will not operate a Breakfast club as we would have very limited capacity and it would be unfair for us to prioritise/refuse parents. We are hopeful that Breakfast club will be back in operation again in September.
School Start times from 7th June 2021
School will officially start for all children at 8.55a.m. Ideally children should arrive no earlier than 8.45a.m. which was our ‘normal’ practice.
However, if you need to drop your child off earlier than 8.45a.m. due to work commitments and you would normally use Breakfast Club, then you can do so from 8.30a.m. onwards. Teachers will be on duty from 8.30a.m. (no earlier) and will greet children at the point of entry to school. We do not have the space for parents to come into the yard so please hand over your child to the teacher at the gate. Children will go to their designated space on their respective playgrounds to play with their class bubbles until the bell goes at 8.55a.m.
By allowing a ‘drop off’ from 8.30a.m. for those of you who need it; we are hopeful that this will help with parking and traffic outside school and help maintain a steady flow rather than traffic becoming bottle-necked.
To maintain the integrity of our class bubbles as best as we possibly can, this is how children will enter school and leave at the end of the day.
START OF THE DAY
| Class | Entry gate |
| Reception | Reception yard gate – closest to classroom. Children will be greeted by a member of staff and come straight into school through the current entry door. |
| Year 1 | Reception yard gate – opposite the hall doors. Children will be greeted by a member of staff and come straight into school through the hall door. |
| Year 2
Year 3 |
Quiet yard. An area will be designated to each class and this is where they will wait for the bell to go at 8.55a.m.
|
| Year 4
Year 5 Year 6 |
Car Park gates. A member of staff will greet the children at the gate and they will then go straight to their designated area of the school playground to wait for the bell to go at 8.55a.m. |
COLLECTING AT THE END OF THE SCHOOL DAY
| Time | Class | Exit |
|
3.15p.m. |
Reception | Reception yard – same door as used now. If parents can wait in the half of the yard that is closest to the classroom and staff will hand children over. |
| Year 1 | Reception yard – hall doors. If parents can wait in the half of the yard that is closest to the hall doors and staff will hand children over. | |
| Year 2
|
Quiet yard. Children will exit from the main door. | |
| Year 4 | Car Park gates. A member of staff will bring the children round from the classroom. | |
|
3.25p.m. |
Year 3
|
Quiet yard. Children will exit from the main door. |
| Year 5
|
Car Park gates. A member of staff will bring the children round from the classroom. | |
| Year 6 | The majority of Year 6 are walking home. Those who are being collected will be dismissed via car park gates as soon as Year 5 have left.
We will take those Year 6 children who walk home to the rear of the school to exit school straight onto the black path. |
Obviously, we will need to see how this plan works in reality and, if we need to make tweaks to it, then we will. Any constructive feedback from your perspective as parents would also be appreciated.
Time table for Rob Proud after school club:
Rob Proud will continue to provide 2 after school sessions per week. This is part of our ‘Health & Well-Being’ offer for our children and there will be no charge. We are offering most classes 2 sessions each across the 6 week half term except for Year 3 and 4. This is because there aren’t enough weeks and both classes do have a session in school every week with Rob. Sessions are open to all children in each class. They will run from 3.30-4.30p.m. School staff will be joining in/supervising all sessions too!
The sessions for each class are:
| Class | 1st session | 2nd session |
| Reception | Monday 14th June | Thursday 1st July |
| Year 1 | Monday 7th June (Our first day back!!!) | Thursday 8th July |
| Year 2 | Monday 21st June | Monday 5th July |
| Year 3 | Thursday 10th June | |
| Year 4 | Thursday 17th June | |
| Year 5 | Thursday 24th June | Thursday 15th July |
| Year 6 | Monday 28th June | Monday 12th July |
School Trips
There will be no trips/visits this summer term. The most recent risk assessment indicates that we would be unable to take volunteers and staff from other class bubbles or even ask for parental support, this means that we would have insufficient adults to accompany as well as all the other COVID associated risks when visiting places. Therefore, to keep things simple, we will be arranging some enrichment activities in school as well as organising events such as a whole school ‘Beach Day’ and a ‘Teddy Bear’s picnic.’ We will keep you posted with dates and details.
Sports Day
We will have a sports day but, unfortunately, we will not be able to invite parents due to restrictions.
Staffing information:
Congratulations to Miss Roe who has started her journey to become a teacher. She is doing her teacher training on-site with us as well as some university days.
Congratulations to Miss Maddocks too who is expecting a baby in Autumn. Mrs Susie Johnson will cover Miss Maddock’s maternity leave in the autumn term but she is joining us after half term on a part-time basis to acquaint herself with our school and to cover some classes where needed.
Social Media
Social media is a wonderful tool and has been a lifeline during the pandemic in helping people to stay connected. I know that lots of our children kept in touch during lockdown on social media chat groups and facetime etc. However, please make sure that you monitor your child’s social media activity as some disagreements that children are having on these forums are spilling into school.
I know that there are parent chat groups for various classes and this is a really positive way of staying connected but, please can I ask that if you have any concerns about anything that happens in school, can you contact school to discuss so we are aware and can deal with things in the appropriate way.
I am sure you aware of the recent changes to WhatsApp. If you use WhatsApp, from a safeguarding perspective, you need to reset your privacy settings as they have been opened up to ‘everyone’!
Reports and Parents Evenings
Reports will go out to you on Friday 2nd July. Parents evenings will be telephone appointments except for Year 6 where we will operate face to face appointments spaced out over two nights and hopefully held outside. For some of our families this is their last connection with our school and we feel it is only fitting that we try our very best to have face to face contact at the end of their primary schooling and wish them well for the future. Further information will be sent to you in due course.
News and information:
We are trying to keep you as up-to-date as we possibly can with activities that are going on in school and are using the school website and Facebook page to share and celebrate all the positives that are happening in school. Please find attached to this letter a calendar outlining some of the events that we have planned for next half term.
Being able to go into classrooms is the best part of my job and as restrictions have eased I have been able to get into classrooms more regularly. Seeing our children working hard and enjoying their learning has been an absolute delight. I think they are generally feeling happier and being able to see friends and family is certainly helping. They have all been wonderful this half term and I know that all staff are very proud of the children in their classes.
May I take the opportunity to wish you all a restful half term holiday and hope that we have some long- awaited sunshine!
We look forward to welcoming our children back on Monday 7th June!
Wendy Gill & Staff
