**Update from Durham County Council regarding their ‘Fun and Food’ programme over the Easter break, which provides fun holiday activities with healthy snacks and meals for children and young people**

Whether it’s finding fun things for the kids to do, paying for extra childcare, or even just all that extra food they seem to eat, the school holidays can be a struggle for many families. Covid-19 has meant that many people’s incomes have been reduced and children and young people are keen to get out and spend time with their friends.

We want to make sure no young people go hungry during the holidays. That’s why we launched our Fun and Food programme, providing fun activities with healthy snacks and meals for children and young people. Activities are provided by range of partners including voluntary and community sector groups, sport and leisure services and our Family Centres.

For information on Fun and Food activities during the Easter holidays check out:

www.durham.gov.uk/FunAndFood

**COVID-19 REPORTING AND CONTACT TRACIING DURING THE EASTER BREAK – THIS INFORMATION IS ONLY FOR PARENTS/ CARERS OF CHILDREN WHO HAVE BEEN IN SCHOOL W/C MONDAY 22nd MARCH**

Morning everyone,

I hope that you are all well and looking forward to the Easter break and the loosening of more social restrictions, as we work through the roadmap out of lockdown.

I have attached information relating to contact tracing during the first days of the Easter break. These instructions are very similar to those issued prior to the February half-term break. Please review the information if your child has been in school this week so that you are aware of required actions in the case of your child receiving a positive COVID-19 test result.

As we head towards the Easter break, I want to make special mention to children in Team Cowell. These children are currently isolating due to a positive COVID-19 case in their Team last week. So soon after a full return to school, it was incredibly frustrating to have to close the ‘bubble’; however, those children in Team Cowell have engaged superbly well with their home/ remote learning and wellbeing sessions this week. Feedback I have received from staff in Team Cowell – as well as parents/ carers of children in that Team – has been extremely positive. Thank you to all children (and parents/ carers!) in that Team for their efforts this week and I hope that, when their period of isolation ends, they are all able to begin to enjoy their well-deserved Easter break!

In school, each Team is planning a fun day of Easter activities tomorrow. I know Team Cowell staff are also planning a lot of remote ‘virtual’ Easter fun for their children!

To welcome the Easter break, tomorrow will be a ‘non-uniform day’ for the children – I am sure that whether in school or virtually, the children will have lots of fun! Each child will also come home with a chocolate Easter Egg from school (Team Cowell children will have theirs delivered) to thank them for their hard work, resilience and positive attitudes over the last term!

Thank you for your continued support.

Mr C.

COVID19 Contact Tracing Easter 2021

*TEAM COWELL BUBBLE CLOSURE WITH IMMEDIATE EFFECTDUE TO POSITIVE COVID-19 CASE**

Dear Parents and Carers,

We have been notified this morning of a confirmed positive PCR test result for COVID-19, in Team Cowell.

We have been in consultation with the Health Protection Team atPublic Health England and have taken theiradvice. As a result, the children in the Team Cowell bubble – who attended school lastweek – will now beisolating until 0:01AM Monday 29th March. The bubble can reopen following the Easter break on Monday 12th April. School breaks up for Easter on Friday 26th March.

After just returning to class, following the full reopening of schoolon the 8th March, I am incredibly frustrated for the children inTeam Cowell. All children in that Team will move to remote/ home education and we will do all that we can to minimise further disruption to the children. Team Cowell staff will update parents/carers soon on plans and timetables for next week.

This is a precautionary measure in order to reduce the possible spread of the virus to family, friends and thewider school community. Others in the same household as Team Cowell children, including siblings, will notneed to self-isolate unless theTeam Cowell child becomes symptomatic themselves.

All other Teams will remain open.

Parents must not bring any Team Cowell pupils to the school when dropping or collecting siblings from other teams. This is in contravention of the government guidelines as all Team Cowellpupils must now isolate for 10days from the last close contact.

We know that you may find this concerning, and I want to reassureyou that we are continuing to take all thenecessary steps, as setout in our risk assessment, to reduce the risk of transmission within and between bubbles. Our bubbles remain very separate from each other throughout the day,and we are rigorously applying our cleaning and hygiene measures within and outside the bubbles. Our school risk assessments is available on our website.

If you have a child in Team Cowell, we will have contacted you separately regarding information on the closure of the bubble.

Please remember that if the pupil or any household member develops symptoms, you and all householdmembers must then remain at home and do not send your child to school. Do not go outside your home forany reason i.e. to work, school, or publicareas, and do not use public transport or taxis. The guidance for households with possible coronavirus infection page has more information on self-isolation.

If your child, or anyone in your household, starts to develop any ofthe symptoms associated with Covid-19 (areminder of these is setout below), please follow government advice and seek a PCR test.

As a reminder, we have summarised the Government guidance regarding Coronavirus symptoms and ways in which to reduce the transmission.

Symptoms of COVID19
The most important symptoms of coronavirus (COVID19) are recent onset of any of the following:
 a new continuous cough
 a high temperature
 a loss of, or change in, your normal sense of taste or smell

Thank you for your continued co-operation and support.

Mr C.

Children have Wien red to school today to celebrate Comic Relief 2021!
Everyone should be very proud of their fundraising efforts after school raised almost £300 for this charity.

Great work, TEAM Stanley Crook!

Children in Team Walliams have begun their literacy unit of work, centred around Journey to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotson.

Great work, everyone!

Reading is central to our curriculum design at Stanley Crook. On Thursday, children in each Team enjoyed a range of fun and engaging activities linked to their favourite books, as part of World Book Day 2021.

As we welcome all children back to school this week, the focus in every Team returns to the implementation of the Curriculum Recovery Strategy. Supporting children’s mental and physical health and wellbeing is central to this strategy and the children have enjoyed participating in Apple’s Friends this week, exploring issues around bullying and friendship!

Absolutely fantastic to have all children back in school today and to see so many happy, smiling faces! As usual, the children have demonstrated great confidence, resilience and adaptability in slotting back into their school routines.

Thank you to all parents/ carers for your continued support!

Mr C

Have a good half term break, everyone.

The last six weeks have presented many challenges and I know how testing this period has been for many of you.

Huge thanks to my staff for their professionalism and commitment over the half term and thank you to parents/ carers and the wider school community for their continued support.

I hope that you can all enjoy a restful and safe half term break with your families.

This weeks newsletter contains a special message for all of our children at Stanley Crook.

Newsletter – Volume 3 Issue 6