Dear Parents/ Carers,

I am writing to inform you of a support package being offered by BT in partnership with the Department for Education. The Lockdown Learning Kids support package aims to give free, unlimited mobile data to disadvantaged families in England until July 2021.

This new programme is a continuation of the work they have been doing since March to support their customers who need it most, and it supports their Skills for Tomorrow ambition to give millions of school children the digital skills they need for a brighter future.

Families can apply through their children’s school. You can find more details here: https://get-help-with-tech.education.gov.uk/start

https://newsroom.bt.com/bt-announces-lockdown-learning-support-scheme-for-kids-and-families/

As a school, we can apply for help for any disadvantaged children to get online using free mobile data increases or 4G wireless routers provided by the Department for Education. We can request this support for children and young people who meet all 3 of these criteria:

• do not have fixed broadband at home
• cannot afford additional data for their devices
• are experiencing disruption to their face-to-face education

Furthermore, there is a scheme to temporarily increase data allowances for mobile phone users on certain networks. This will allow other devices to connect to the internet via a mobile phone so children and young people can access remote education if their face-to-face education is disrupted. This support is now available to all schools with children in years 3 to 11.

Schools in England can also request more 4G wireless routers for disadvantaged children in years 3 to 13 who are experiencing disruption to face-to-face education and do not have a broadband connection or access to the internet at home.

If you believe you meet the criteria above and would like us to make an application on your behalf, please email Mrs Nash who will get in touch with you to complete the necessary application paperwork. Thank you.

Rebecca Nash

Executive Head Teacher

St Lawrence and Tibberton Primary Schools

Dear Parents and Carers,

We would like to inform you that St Lawrence CE Primary School is now on Twitter.

We will be using this platform to keep you informed about some of the work being done in school, sharing with you useful sites and activities, setting optional tasks for those of you working from home, for example a recycling challenge or a nature hunt, and just keeping in touch in general.

During this lockdown while the school community is not together, if your child completes a brilliant piece of work or a fun activity which you would like to share, please email it to h3091@telford.gov.uk and we can consider including this on our page as well.

May we take this opportunity to draw your attention to the Parent Code of Conduct and the Social Media Policy, both of which outline the expectations around the use of social media sites. We are sure that you will understand the importance of respecting one another and using this online tool as a positive way of sharing and staying in touch. Any disrespectful behaviour and not following of the policies will be dealt with seriously.

We hope you enjoy this opportunity to connect with the school, especially in the current circumstances, and find some useful and fun Tweets. To find us on Twitter, use the tag @StLawrenceCEPr2 if you already have a Twitter account. You do not need a Twitter account to be able to view the page, just search for St Lawrence CE Primary School.

With best wishes,

Alison Moore                                                                                        Rebecca Nash

Head of School                                                                                     Executive Head Teacher

Dear Parents and Carers,

 Firstly, may we take the time to thank you all so very much for the kind Christmas wishes, cards and gifts at the end of term, it was greatly appreciated. We do hope that you all managed to have a special time with your nearest and dearest even though your celebrations might have been slightly more low key this year. Christmas seems but a distant memory now and the New Year has certainly brought with it yet more uncertainty!

Please understand that once again, school has been put in a reactive situation, we have been working under pressure over the last two days to make the necessary changes in order to fulfil the preparations for our key worker/vulnerable pupils and facilitate home learning with very little notice.

Remote Learning will be accessed via SeeSaw and teachers will be uploading activities for children to access. Teaching staff are working hard to teach key worker groups and continue with remote learning so please be patient if you do not receive an immediate response.

We have a much larger number of children who are registered to attend school as a child of a key worker or a vulnerable pupil throughout this second national lockdown and closure of schools. We really do appreciate that many parents want their children in school (as we all do in normal circumstances), to support work commitments and children’s mental health and wellbeing but the number attending means that group sizes are significantly larger than we were anticipating. Guidance suggests that the number of children will be around 10% of the pupils on roll, which for us would be around 9 children, at present we have three times as many pupils. If you are eligible for your child to attend school then we ask that you only send them in to school when you need the required place, for instance on the days you are working. This will really help the spread of the virus and support the national lockdown.

We do understand how difficult life is in the current climate and that each family will have its own set of challenges whether it is financial burden, stress of shielding or unwell relatives or just getting by everyday, juggling work and home life in the best way we can. Know that you are not alone. School is here to serve its community so please do get in touch with us, either by phone or email if you want to discuss anything and we can offer help and support. If we are unable to, we may be able to signpost you in the direction of someone who could help.

I will be in touch with more information regarding home learning and keep you updated over any new guidance as it comes into school.

Stay safe, stay well, with my best wishes

Mrs Moore