Please note that if your child has started in Year 3 this term, they are no longer entitled to Universal Free School Meals.  School meals are now £2.25 per day, and are payable in advance. If you are in receipt of certain benefits, your child may still be entitled to free school meals.  Please collect a form from the school office to apply.  Thank you for your co-operation.

We will be going on Parent Mail soon. Please ensure that you have given the school your email address in preparation for using this app.

Welcome back to a new school year! I hope you all have managed to have a lovely summer despite these uncertain time, and that you have all kept safe and well and are ready for the new school year. We understand that you may be feeling anxious about coming back, but just  to reassure that we will do our best to continue to meet your child’s needs.

Dear Parents

As mentioned in the update letter to parents last week, in order to meet the requirements set out by the Government, we will have to change the way lunchtimes work slightly, initially for the first half term, during which time we will review this for moving forward.

This will involve a ‘week on, week off’ rotation for school dinners, meaning that children will be able to have a school dinner every other week, with a grab bag being provided in the weeks either side of this. This will be for children in Year 1 upwards. Children in Reception will be provided with a hot meal each day. These arrangements are only for the short term, and we intend to make hot meals available to all children as soon as possible.

For children in Year 1 & Year 2 who are all in receipt of Universal Free School Meals, we will assume that children will have a school lunch unless parents inform us otherwise (alternate hot meals & grab bags). This will also be the case for children in Years 3 to 6 who are entitled to a Free School Meal (alternate hot meals & grab bags).

If you pay for school meals, your child is in Years 3 to 6 in September and you wish them be on school meals then please email office@marlandhill.rochdale.sch.uk by Thursday 27^th August to allow us to provide our catering provider with numbers required for lunches.

We understand that this is a change from the normal service we offer and we thank you in advance for your support during this time.

Yours sincerely

Mrs Alex Pridgeon                               

Headteacher   

Dear Parents

I hope you are all enjoying your summer. I am sure many of you will be starting to think ahead to September, and I just wanted to provide you with some further information, following that sent out at the end of term in July. As ever, this is subject to change in line with national and local guidance, but is current as things currently stand. All plans and decisions have been made following the most recent information, and with your children at the forefront of our plans. I appreciate that some of the measures may seem quite strict, but they do need to be implemented and followed. A copy of the risk assessment will shortly be available on our website for you to read, and you will be notified of this when it happens.

I, and all the staff, are aware that there will naturally be some apprehension about returning to school, particularly for those who have not been back since March. Please be reassured we are ready to support with this, and do not hesitate to contact us if you feel you need to discuss anything further.

Attendance and punctuality

From September, it will once again be compulsory for all children to be in school, on time, every day. Please help us to support your children by ensuring this is the case. If for any reason your child will not be in school, it is important to contact us as soon as possible to explain why. In addition, no holidays or extended absences will be authorised in line with our policy on this, and fines may be issued for those absent from school for such reason.

Breakfast Club

As previously highlighted in July, the Government guidance on the running of breakfast clubs means that we will be operating on a very much reduced capacity. We will only be able to offer breakfast club provision for a maximum of 15 children, and these places will be offered to key worker parents. Further information will be sent to these parents who have expressed an interest in needing breakfast club. Once the guidance changes, and we are able to open up breakfast club to more families, we will obviously let you now.

Use of childminders

Please see the following advice from the DfE:

This includes schools advising parents to limit the number of different wraparound providers they access, as far as possible. Where parents use childcare providers or out of school activities for their children, schools should encourage them to seek assurance that the providers are carefully considering their own protective measures, and only use those providers that can demonstrate this. As with physical activity during the school day, contact sports should not take place.

School day timings

To support in the minimising of numbers of people on the playground before and after school, we will be operating a slightly staggered start and finish time. Children in class A of each year group will start at 8.40am and finish at 2.55pm, and children in class B or C of a year group will start at 8.50am and finish at 3.05pm. You will be informed whether your child is in class A, B or C for their year group. The teaching time for all children, irrespective of which class they are in, will be equal.  Again, please ensure that as far as possible, you keep to these times, and that your children are brought to school on time, and collected punctually. Please can I ask that at the end of the day in particular, parents do not cluster round the school doors to enable the children to exit quickly, and that social distancing expectations are followed.

Doors

The doors for most year groups to use at the beginning and end of the day remain as they were before lockdown for most year groups. The only exception to this is for year 1 and 2, who have effectively swapped classrooms, meaning that year 2 will use the doors that they used as year 1s, and year 1 children will use the doors next to the red wall, opposite the field. We will put signs up on all doors to support parents in finding the right door[s] for their children, and staff will be available to support. Nursery parents will be contacted about the doors they will use.

Masks

In line with the Government guidance, children will not be able to wear masks in school, or during the school day. Any child who comes to school wearing a mask will need to remove it before entering school, and if necessary, be supported in disposing it if it is a disposable mask, or storing it safely if it is a reusable one. Ideally, parents will need to support this and take masks home.

Lunchtime arrangements

In order to meet the requirements set out by the Government, we will have to change the way lunchtimes work slightly. This may need to involve a ‘week on, week off’ rotation for school dinners, meaning that children will be able to have a school dinner every other week, with a grab bag being provided in the weeks either side of this. This will be for children in year 1 upwards. Children in Reception will have a hot meal each day. These arrangements are only for the short term, and we intend to make hot meals available to all children as soon as possible.  Further information will be sent out about this next week.

Uniform

It is the expectation that from September, full school uniform will once again be worn by all children. There is also no longer the requirement that this is replaced each day, or for any special laundering arrangements to be implemented. May I ask that you fully support us in ensuring your child is wearing full uniform, including wearing black school shoes, and no jeans or jogging bottoms. Jewellery will also be limited to a single pair of stud earrings, and a wrist watch. Children will also need to have a PE kit in school each day, ideally suitable for outdoor PE, as PE lessons will need to take place outside wherever possible. Please also ensure this is in line with the school’s PE kit guidelines. 

Can I also remind you that hairstyles should be appropriate for school, and that children should not have patterns shaved into their hair or eyebrows.

Resources/ equipment

Children will once again be able to bring school bags to school. They will not, however, be allowed to bring pencil cases. All children will be provided with their own pencil case and equipment to be used in school.

Travelling to and from school

As requested by the Government, please can I ask that wherever possible, families walk to and from school each day, instead of using public or private transport.

Remote/ home learning

Further information about this will be shared in September.

Expectations in relation to illness

A separate letter detailing expectations around this will be sent home shortly.

We are very much looking forward to seeing you and your children again in September, and returning to a more normal version of school than we have had over recent months. Thank you again for your support during this time, and for the work you have done at home with your children.

Yours sincerely

Mrs Alex Pridgeon                               

Headteacher   

School will re-open for children in Years 1 - 6 on Thursday 3rd September.

Classes 1A, 2A, 3A, 4A, 5A & 6A will start at 8.40am and finish at 2.55pm.

Classes 1B, 2B, 3B, 4B, 5B, 5C & 6B will start at 8.50am and finish at 3.05pm.

Parents of Nursery and Reception children have been sent an email regarding their start dates and times.

Nursery & Reception parents - you will have received an email about your child’s start date and the start and finish times for September.
Unfortunately there will be no Breakfast or After School. Clubs until further notice.

As this academic year draws to a close, can I thank you all for all the support you have given to us and more importantly, your children, over recent months in particular. I know this has been a very challenging time for everyone. I want to reassure you that we are very thoroughly planning what things will look like next year, and have been able to share some of the plans already with you. As we get closer to September, we will be able to share further information with you.  Have a lovely summer, stay safe, and we will see you all back again in school in September.

 Year 6. Well what a year has it been! When you came through our doors in September, nervous and a little bit shy, who knew we would face such adversity. We would have liked to have seen you grow though the whole year but we know that you are ready for your next exciting step in your journey. No matter how nervous you will be before going  to Year 7, just remember how far you have come. It’s an exciting time where you can make new friends, learn and have new experiences. Good luck, take care and have fun! From: Mrs Cassell, Miss Bingham, Miss Hughes, Miss Long,, Mrs Greenwood, Mrs Paskin, and Mrs Bashir.

I know this year has turned into a very unusual one, and has not ended in the way any of us expected it to. To those of you who have been in school, it has been lovely to see you, and I know the teachers have been very impressed with you throughout this time. For those of you who were unable to join us in school, I know you will have been busy at home – many of you have continued to work hard, and you have been missed in school.  All the staff in school would like to wish you well on your next adventure – secondary school holds many exciting opportunities for you, and you all deserve to do fantastically well. You should all be very proud of yourselves – we certainly are, and we look forward to hearing how you are getting on. Good bye and good luck! Mrs Pridgeon.

Some of our children got very creative making hot air balloons! Looks like so much fun! Well done everyone!