Welcome To
Regents Park Community Primary School
Believe in Yourself - Anything is Possible!
Keep up to date with all the latest news happening in school at the moment.
Dear Parents/ Carers,
As you know, earlier this month the Government made some announcements regarding the possible reopening of schools from June 1st. At the time I told you we would look at what the Government was asking schools to do in terms of planning to reopen for Nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 children.
Since then, myself and the leadership team have been busy reading through all of the many documents the Government have published for schools on reopening, looking at and creating risk assessments for reopening and planning what it would look like and also meeting and discussing with governors, other school leaders and the local authority, Birmingham City Council, to decide on what would be safe for all the children and staff of Regents Park.
In addition, I also sent out surveys to the parents of children in the year groups identified by the Government. It was clear that the vast majority of parents feel it is still too soon to be sending children back in to school as in each year group between 60 - 80% of parents said "No" they wouldn't send their children in to school on June 1st and many others said they weren't sure.
Like many of the parents, I also still have concerns and feel there are some questions that need answering before being fully confident that children and staff can return to Regents Park safely. Of course the Government may make a decision not to reopen schools anyway from June 1st but, unfortunately, we will not know this until May 28th at the earliest. As a result, at this time, I have asked the Governing Board to agree that school does not reopen on June 1st, even if the Government announce in the next week that it is safe to do so.
Regents Park will remain closed during the week beginning June 1st whilst we continue to assess the situation at national and local level. We will continue to plan our reopening but this may not be until at least June 8th providing myself and the Governors feel it is safe to do so.
When we do return to school and begin to reopen, it is unlikely that we will have all of the identified year groups in at the same time. We are likely to reintroduce children back in to school slowly in small groups and possibly on a part time basis in order to make sure everyone is safe. I will provide more information about this when we have confirmed the date for our reopening.
In the meantime, we will continue to provide support for all children and signpost you to activities and ideas on the school website so that children can continue their learning at home supported by parents. Teaching staff will continue to call and check up with families on how they are doing in terms of their health and wellbeing and also how children are getting on with their learning. We are continuing to provide support in the form of vouchers for children eligible for Free School Meals and we will also continue to support the key worker/ vulnerable children who have been coming in to school whilst we have been closed.
I am sure all parents will agree that we are doing the right thing at this time for all the children and staff at Regents Park. We do not want to keep the school closed longer than is necessary as we are conscious of the impact it has on our children's learning. However, it is our number one priority to make sure that everyone is safe and healthy and to make the right decision on reopening at the right time.
Just a reminder that whilst school is closed, there may be no one available to answer the school telephone so please email enquiry@rgntpark.bham.sch.uk if you have any questions or require any further information.
If you are celebrating Eid this weekend then I'd like to wish you Eid Mubarak on behalf of all the staff of Regents Park. We hope you continue to stay home as much as you can and stay safe and healthy.
Eid Mubarak everyone,
Mr Beale
Dear Parents/ Carers,
Over the last couple of days, the Government have been sharing their COVID-19 Recovery Strategy and have made some announcements regarding primary schools and how they might reopen from June 1st.
We are still waiting for more information from the Department for Education but what we do know so far is that from June 1st, the Government are hoping that Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 children might be able to return in small groups depending on what the national infection rate is like at that time.
The Government have also said that their ambition is for all primary children to return to school for a month before the summer holiday if feasible.
The Government have published more information for parents here: Opening schools and educational settings to more pupils from 1 June: guidance for parents and carers
As you can tell, nothing is definite about reopening at this stage as it depends on lots of external factors and, here at school, we need to do lots of work to decide on how to manage a phased reopening in order to keep children and staff safe. I will contact you with more information as and when I am able to share it.
In the meantime, nothing has changed for the next three weeks. We are continuing to provide children with ideas and activities for home learning on the school website and school is closed for all children except those whose parents are key workers or who are seen to be vulnerable. Staff will contact families again next week to check on how children are and provide guidance on children's home learning.
Whilst school is closed, there may be no one available to answer the school telephone so please email enquiry@rgntpark.bham.sch.uk if you have any questions or require any further information.
We hope you continue to stay home as much as you can and stay safe and healthy.
Take care everyone,
Mr Beale