Latest News

Keep up to date with all the latest news happening in school at the moment.

• School closed for Staff Training on Wednesday 20th October 2021

  Thu 30 Sep 2021 Mr Beale

  Dear Parents/ Carers,

   

  Please note that school will be closed for all children on Wednesday 20th October. This is one of our five annual staff training days.

   

  School will be open on Thursday 21st and Friday 22nd October as normal.

   

  The following week (Monday 25th October to Friday 29th October) school will be closed for the half term holiday. School will then reopen after the holiday on Monday November 1st.

   

  Thank you

• Updated information for parents on PE kit uniform from Monday 27th September

  Fri 24 Sep 2021 Mr Beale

  Dear Parents/ Carers,

   

  Thank you to all the parents who responded to the survey on children either changing for PE in school or coming to school in PE kit.

   

  I have to say, we didn’t have a huge response (only 86 parents out of 326 families across school, i.e. 26% of the families). It’s possible to suggest that for the other 74% of families this wasn’t a particularly significant issue.

   

  That being said, the majority of the parents that did respond said they would prefer that their children come into school on PE days already in their PE kit rather than change in school.

   

   

  Response	Number of responses
  I would prefer my child to bring their PE kit to school and get changed for PE	8
  I would prefer my child to come to school already in their PE kit on PE days	69
  I have no preference either way	9

   

  Having also spoken to staff, their view is that less time will be wasted if children come to school on PE days already in their PE kit as this means more time teaching PE lessons.

   

  As a result, we have made the decision that from next week (starting Monday 27^th September 2021), we will expect children to come to school already in their PE kit ready for their PE lessons. We will review the impact of this decision on school uniform, so please make sure the children wear the correct uniform on PE days and non-PE days.

   

  Children will wear PE kit to school on the following days:

  DAY	YEAR GROUPS
  Monday	Year 3
  Tuesday	Year 5 and Year 6
  Wednesday	Reception and Year 4
  Thursday	Year 1 and Year 2

   

  Wearing correct uniform on PE days and non-PE days is important – it helps to give our children a shared identity, makes them feel they belong to our school community and prepares them to be ready for learning.

   

  We expect children to wear correct full school uniform on every day except PE days when we expect them to wear correct PE kit uniform.

   

  Please use the following checklist to make sure your child wears the correct uniform on each day:

  Normal school uniform

  PE Kit Uniform

  Bottle green jumper/ sweatshirt/ cardigan WITH a school badge White shirt or polo shirt Grey or black trousers, skirts or pinafore dress Green gingham summer dress Plain bottle green/ grey/ black headscarf Grey/ black socks, tights or leggings worn under skirt or pinafore dress Black school shoes (NOT trainers and NO shoes with heels or open toe sandals) NO jewellery (plain ear studs if absolutely necessary)

  Bottle green jumper/ sweatshirt/ cardigan WITH a school badge (Please do not send children in other tracksuit tops or sweatshirts) White T shirt or polo shirt (preferably not the shirt they wear normally for school Black or grey PE Shorts Black tracksuit trousers/ jogging bottoms White sports socks Plain black trainers for PE outdoors Black plimsolls for PE indoors Old trainers/ shoes/ wellies for use outdoors in the Forest School NO jewellery (ear studs must be removed by the child for PE)

  Please make sure that all your child’s clothes have their name and class written inside them.

   

  Please note the following additional information:

  • ALL children are expected to have a school jumper/ sweatshirt/ cardigan WITH a school badge sewn onto it
  • As parents know, we sell school sweatshirts and cardigans with the school badge already sewn on. These are sold through the school office at cost price only and can be ordered using the sQuid app online
  • Some parents have started buying jumpers, cardigans and sweatshirts from elsewhere and this is acceptable as long as the jumpers match the school colours AND parents buy a school badge and sew it on (school badges are also available to buy from the school office using the sQuid app online)
  • Children will not be able to wear sports sweatshirts/ hoodies/ tracksuit tops on PE days. They should wear their school jumper or sweatshirt which they can then take off whilst doing the PE lesson
  • All other uniform should be plain (no logos or branding) and match the school colours – bottle green/ white/ grey/ black
  • On non-PE days, children should wear plain black shoes, NOT trainers
  • On PE days, children can wear plain black trainers to school which they can wear through the day and also when doing PE outdoors
  • On PE days, children may be working in the hall and outdoors in the Forest School. As such, children will also need black plimsolls for indoor PE (otherwise they will have to do these lessons in bare feet) AND an old pair of trainers/ shoes/ wellies that they can wear during their Forest School session and they don’t mind getting muddy. These plimsolls and old trainers/ shoes/ wellies can be left in a bag and kept in school, hung on the child’s peg
  • Children may only wear PE kit on PE days. If they are taking part in sports activities after school on other days they must bring their kit with them and change into it
  • Children changing for sports activities will change and be supervised appropriately for their age, e.g. Y5 and Y6 boys and girls will change separately for clubs and activities and be supervised by either male or female staff
  • Children in Year 3 will continue to be expected to come to school on swimming days in their school uniform. As they do already, children will change separately at the swimming baths with boys supervised by male staff and girls by female staff.
  • Swimming is part of the PE curriculum and all areas of PE are NOT optional.

• Changes to Nursery classes from Monday 27th September 2021

  Wed 22 Sep 2021 Mr Beale

  Dear Parents/ Carers,

   

  I am writing to let you know that from next Monday 27^th September, we will have to make some changes to the organisation of our Nursery classes.

   

  We currently have very low numbers of children in both the morning session (NAM) and the afternoon session (NPM). We have 16 children in NAM and 13 in NPM which are both very small groups, however, sometimes, with absences, the numbers are a lot less. As a result, unfortunately we have had to make the decision to amalgamate the two groups together into one group.

   

  From Monday 27^th September, children from NPM will be offered a place in the morning and join NAM instead. This will mean we will have one group of 29 children to start with.

   

  With only having one Nursery class in the mornings, we will also make some changes to the timings so that the start is similar to the rest of school. The Nursery will open at 8.40am as does the rest of school and children will be able to come in between 8.40am and 8.55am for start of the day activities.

   

  By 8.55am, all children should have arrived and all parents should have left the Nursery so that the Nursery teachers can begin their Nursery lessons at 9.00am.

   

  The morning session will now end at 12.00pm so parents should begin arriving ready to collect children promptly by 11.55am. This means that children will get a full 3-hour Nursery session everyday.

   

  I understand that rearranging the Nursery sessions like this may cause some inconvenience for some parents and I apologise for that. However, I do feel this will be the best way to manage the sessions for the children and give them a full Nursery experience.

   

  As always, please feel free to speak to a member of staff or ring the office to arrange an appointment to speak to me if you have any concerns.

   

  Mr Beale

• Survey of parents views - Changing for PE in school or wearing PE kit to school on PE days

  Thu 16 Sep 2021 Mr Beale

  Dear Parents/ Carers,

   

  As you know, this term COVID restrictions have been lifted and we have returned to most of the routines and procedures that were in place before the first lockdown in March 2020.

   

  One of these routines has been to return to asking children to bring their PE kit into school and change in class for PE. This has been the procedure at Regents Park and at most primary schools for many years. Children from Nursery to Year 4 have changed together in their own class supervised appropriately by their class teacher or by the teacher who is leading their PE lesson. Children in Year 5 and Year 6 have been organised within the year group into boys and girls groups and changed separately, again supervised appropriately by class teachers or teachers leading PE lessons; this has been because some children in these year groups are beginning to go through puberty and we have been sensitive to how they feel as they become more body conscious.

   

  One of the reasons that children have been asked to change into PE kit at school for PE has been for reasons of hygiene, i.e. the children learn that when they exercise, they sweat and it is not healthy to wear sweaty clothes or PE kit all day. Children can develop fungal and bacterial infections wearing sweaty clothes; there can also be problems with body odour, especially for older children, and staying in sweaty clothes can cause chills and make children susceptible to cold and body aches.

   

  It has also been the case that changing for PE in school allows younger children to develop their independence from parents and learn how to dress themselves, e.g. putting jumpers on, buttoning up shirts, putting shoes on and tying up laces, etc.

   

  When children began to return to school after the lockdown in June 2020, we followed advice from the local authority on how to miminise the risk of transmitting the COVID-19 virus between home and school. To help with this, children were discouraged from bringing bags, lunchboxes, books and PE bags to and from home. A decision was made that at Regents Park, as well as at other schools, whilst COVID restrictions were in place, we would allow children to come into school on PE days in their PE kits and this is what children did throughout the 2020-21 school year.

   

  Whilst we had some concerns about children’s hygiene, there were some benefits, the most important of which was the increased time available for teaching PE. Children can be quite slow at getting changed for PE at the start and end of lessons; being already changed for PE meant there was more time available for children to be learning in their PE lesson. It also meant that there was less opportunity for some children to misbehave when changing.

   

  Whilst these are positive benefits of coming into school already dressed for PE, there were some drawbacks. During the last year we have seen a slow and steady drop off in standards of children wearing school uniform. As the year went on, some children began coming to school in tracksuits, t-shirts, leggings and trainers every day. Even on PE days, some children weren’t wearing our PE kit uniform. The lines between what is correct school uniform and what is correct PE kit uniform were being blurred.

   

  Another issue was that if a PE lesson needed to be postponed at the last minute, it made it difficult to move PE to another day if children didn’t have their PE kit in school, e.g. if PE is postponed outside because of bad weather.

   

  With COVID restrictions lifted, we weighed up the pros and cons of asking children to either continue wearing PE kit on PE days or return to what was in place before March 2020 with children coming into school with their PE bag and getting changed in class. We decided that due to the concerns about children’s hygiene and also due to the impact that children coming in to school in PE kit was having on the standards of school uniform, we would return to asking children to bring PE kit in and change for PE in school.

   

  Last week I spoke to a parent who explained to me that she feels uncomfortable about her child changing for PE with other children and being supervised by teachers whilst doing so. She asked why it was not possible that children continue to come to school in PE kit on PE days as they did last year. I explained the reasons including hygiene and the impact on school uniform and why we had gone back to what we had always done before. However, the parent’s view was that children changing together at any age and being supervised by a teacher in school was a safeguarding concern.

   

  I am aware that this is a view that the parent has shared at the school gate with other parents and I have to make it clear that I completely disagree that there is any safeguarding concern regarding children changing together in school and being supervised by teachers. As you know, we take our safeguarding duty in school extremely seriously and are committed to ensuring all of our children are safe and protected from harm of any kind. All of our staff and any adults that work in school are carefully vetted and we continue to ensure that no one is ever put in a vulnerable position in terms of safeguarding. At our last inspection, Ofsted were very complimentary about the safeguarding procedures we have in place and the checks we undertake to keep all our children safe.

   

  In terms of children changing for PE in school, these arrangements have been in place during the whole of the 7 years that I have been at Regents Park. There has never previously been an issue brought to my attention by parents about these arrangements or a safeguarding concern raised around children changing together or staff supervising them whilst changing. These arrangements were in place when Ofsted carried out their last inspection and inspectors would have observed these procedures in place.

   

  That being said, I have had time to consider the parent’s view, as well as take advice from the local authority, speak to other Head teachers in the local area and across Birmingham and speak to staff within school. I think it may be possible to go back to what we did last year and allow children to come to school in PE kit but I would like to get the views of ALL parents on this issue before making a decision so I will be sending out a link to a short survey which I would ask you to complete so you can give me your opinion.

   

  The question I’m asking you is whether, as a parent, you would prefer your child to change into PE kit on PE days in school or come to school already in PE kit on PE days.

   

  To summarise the arguments for changing into PE kit in school or wearing PE kit to school on PE days, see below:

   

  Bringing and changing into PE kit in school

  Wearing PE kit to school on PE days

  More hygienic – children don’t have to spend all day in sweaty PE clothes Helps younger children to be more independent and learn how to dress/ undress themselves, do buttons up, tie laces, etc Clear expectations about school uniform – children look smarter coming into school in uniform and when not doing PE If there is bad weather or a last-minute timetable change, teachers can be flexible about when PE takes place during the week

  Removes time taken up changing in school and means more teaching time for PE Less opportunity for misbehaviour when changing Supports children who may feel anxious changing in front of others Supports parents who may have concerns about children changing in front of others.

   

  Should we decide to allow children to wear PE kit to school on PE days, please note the following:

  • There will be clear expectations about what children are expected to wear on PE days and on non-PE days and all children will be expected to wear correct school uniform and PE kit uniform
  • Children in Year 3 (or in any other year group) who go swimming will have to change together (although in separate male/ female changing areas) and be appropriately supervised by school staff
  • Children taking part in clubs and sports teams may have to change together after school – some children take part in lots of after-school activities but it will not be possible to wear sports kit to school every day, only on PE days
  • We will review any change to our routines and procedures and may alter them again with notice to parents.

   

  Thank you for your continued support - Please take the time to complete the short survey by clicking the following link: https://bit.ly/3ChtgZB

   

• Plans for restarting Breakfast Club from 13th September

  Fri 03 Sep 2021 Mr Beale

  Plans for restarting Breakfast Club from 13th September

   

  Due to COVID restrictions, unfortunately we had to suspend our Breakfast Club provision. However, from Monday 13^th September, we are hoping to start this back up again. We have had some time to review how Breakfast Club was organised previously and have decided to make some changes in order to make sure it can take place in a way which is more manageable, supports those pupils who need wraparound provision and those that are Pupil Premium eligible and ensures the safety and wellbeing of all those children attending.

  • Breakfast Club will be available for children in Reception to Year 6
  • There will now be a cap put on the number of places available for Breakfast Club. The cap will be for 60 places and these will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. We will keep a waiting list if there are more than 60 children wanting places.
  • There will be a fee of £1 per day introduced for children who attend Breakfast Club to contribute to the cost of staffing and the cost of providing breakfast.
  • There will be no charge for those children who are eligible for Free School Meals – this will be subsidised from Pupil Premium funding.
  • Parents who wish to send their children to Breakfast Club will need to sign an agreement and will be asked to pay for each half term in advance, e.g. a 6 week half term will be £30 paid on sQuid
  • We will keep a register of children that attend. If children do not attend regularly, their place may be allocated to a child on the waiting list instead.
  • Parents that no longer wish their child to attend Breakfast Club will be refunded the remaining balance for the half term and their place offered to a child on the waiting list.
  • Unfortunately, we will not be able to give refunds for children who are absent or only wish to use the Breakfast Club on certain days of the week.
  • Breakfast Club will begin at 8.00am.
  • Children should be dropped off by parents at the Dixon Road entrance where they will be met by a member of staff.
  • Please note that the Dixon Road gate will be locked at 8.15am and no children will be allowed to enter after this time until the gates reopen at 8.40am.
  • Parents must make sure that children have arrived on time and that they have been met at the gate – please do not leave children outside the locked gates.

   

  If you wish to reserve a place at Breakfast Club for your child, please contact the school office from Monday 6^th September (preferably by phone or email) to put your child’s name down on the list. We will confirm places to start on Monday 13^th September by Friday 10^th September.

• Information about swimming for Y3, Y4 and Y5 parents

  Fri 03 Sep 2021 Mr Beale

  Swimming in Year 3, Year 4 and Year 5 this half term

   

  Yet again this summer we have read stories of young children and even adults getting into difficulties in the sea, lakes, rivers and canals around the UK. Many of these stories have ended in tragedy with the loss of life.

   

  It is vital then that all our children are given the opportunity to develop their confidence in water and to learn some of the basics of swimming at a young age.

   

  This is why we encourage all children in Year 3 to learn to swim and why we take them every week to Sparkhill Baths for lessons with qualified instructors. We will be beginning weekly swimming lessons for all our Year 3 children again this term from the week beginning 13^th September – please make sure they come to school with their swimming kit and a towel on their allocated day.

   

  We are aware that, because of COVID, children who are now in Years 4 and 5 have missed out on their swimming teaching when they were in Year 3. As such, we have organised some intensive daily swimming sessions for each of these year groups over a two-week period to help them catch up starting with Year 4 from next Monday 6^th September.

   

  We have had a training swimming pool delivered to school which you will see in the playground next week (please see pictures below). The pool is heated and covered under a marquee and will be on-site for 4 weeks. Trained instructors will be working with small groups of 10-12 children in 30 minute sessions. The children in Year 4 and Year 5 will have one of these sessions every day for two weeks (10 sessions in total). We have organised separate areas for boys and girls to change in school and, as children will need their swimming kits and towels every day, areas to hang and dry their kit.

   

  All children in Year 4 will have swimming every day for two weeks starting from next Monday 6^th September.

   

  All children in Year 5 will have swimming every day for two weeks starting from Monday 20^th September.

   

  Please support your child’s learning and promote their water safety by ensuring that they have a swimming kit in school every day.

  

• Welcome Back - General info for parents including lifting of COVID restrictions

  Fri 03 Sep 2021 Mr Beale

  Dear Parents/ Carers,

   

  We hope you have all had a wonderful summer holiday and that you are all healthy, safe and well. We are looking forward to welcoming back all the children to Regents Park next Monday 6^th September at 8.40am.

   

  Obviously there are some changes to tell you about below now that the Government have lifted many of the COVID restrictions that were in place last year. We hope that life in school can return to normal as much as possible, although there will still be some things that we keep in place, at least temporarily in order to keep children, families and staff safe. There are other changes we are putting in place that we feel help with the running of the school and we hope you will support us during this period.

   

  COVID restrictions

   

  Many of the Government’s general COVID restrictions were lifted at the end of July with further restrictions ending during August. For schools, one of the most significant changes is that children no longer need to stay separated from each other in class bubbles.

   

  This means that from the start of this term:

  • There will no longer be staggered starts and finishes to the day – all children are expected to arrive at school by 8.40am and no later than 8.55am and all children will be released at the end of the day at 3.00pm
  • Staff do not need to wear face coverings when working with children around school
  • All children can have lunch in the hall
  • We will be able to reintroduce Breakfast Club and After-School Clubs this term
  • Children will be able to take part in assemblies together in the hall
  • Children will be able to change for PE in school

   

  Having said that, we know there is still some concern about what impact returning to school may have on COVID cases so there are still some precautions that we will be taking until at least the end of September:

  • Staff will be using Lateral Flow tests twice a week to test for asymptomatic COVID cases
  • We will be monitoring classrooms and teaching spaces to make sure there is always good ventilation and continuing to encourage outdoor learning where possible
  • Children will be expected to wash hands and use hand gel regularly and maintain good health and hygiene routines
  • We will continue to encourage parents and staff to use test and trace, to take up offers of vaccination and to self-isolate when requested to do so
  • We will continue to limit face to face contact between parents and staff where possible – for now, there will be limited opportunities for parents to come into the school building. Where they do come into the building, parents will be asked to wear a face covering.

   

  Another significant change is to do with requirements for self-isolation. Previously, all those who came into contact with someone who had COVID symptoms were expected to self-isolate. This meant that we had many children and staff that had to self-isolate last year. The Government have now changed this to reduce the numbers of children being sent home so it doesn’t interrupt their learning.

   

  Individuals are not required to self-isolate if they live in the same household as someone with COVID-19, or are a close contact with someone with COVID-19, if any of the following apply:

  • They are fully vaccinated (i.e. they have had two vaccination jabs)
  • They are below the age of 18 years and 6 months

   

  There is still a recommendation that anyone who has had contact with someone who has COVID-19 should get a PCR test however.

   

  This means that if a parent or another family member has tested positive for COVID-19, everyone in the family should get a PCR test but the children can still come to school.

   

  It is very unlikely that we will be advised to send children home because of possible contact with others who have COVID-19 or that we would have to partially close school unless there is a significant breakout of cases and we are advised to do so by Public Health England.

   

  However, anyone who has COVID-19 symptoms would still be expected to self-isolate and take a PCR test to confirm. If it is positive they would need to self-isolate for 10 days. If it is negative they can return to school.

   

  Arrangements for collecting children at the end of the day

   

  One of the changes we made when children returned last year was to organise for different collection points for children at the end of the school day. This was to help reduce contact between pupils and between adults and staff.

   

  We feel this arrangement helped to reduce crowding around entrances and exits and made it much more manageable to ensure children were collected safely so, although we are moving away from a staggered finish back to one collection time of 3.00pm, we want to keep this organisation in place.

   

  So, continuing from Monday 6^th September, all children will be released at the end of the day from a designated exit.

  • All pupils with siblings in school will be released from the main playground; Parents collecting siblings may enter the playground from either the Dixon Road or Arthur Street entrance but are expected to wait behind the marked line until children are sent to them.
  • Nursery, Reception, Year 1 , Year 5 and Year 6 pupils with no siblings will be released from the Camelot Way entrance
  • Year 2, Year 3 and Year 4 pupils with no siblings will be released from the Arthur Street entrance.
  • Wherever children are collected from, the children should tell staff when an adult is there so they can be released.
  • Parents should collect children and then leave the school site as quickly as possible
  • Parents no longer need to wear a face covering when entering the school playground; there will be limited opportunities for parents to speak to members of staff, however, if they do so they should keep a distance and preferably wear a face covering
  • Children in Y5/Y6 classes can go home alone but only if parents have informed the class teacher.
  • Parents should make every effort to pick children up on time. Parents that are not collected at 3.00pm will be taken to the school office and parents will need to come to the Arthur Street entrance to collect them
  • We will monitor late collection of children and, if necessary, we may charge parents who are regularly late £1 for every 15 minutes if their children are not collected from the office by 3.15pm

   

  We will confirm with you by text on Monday where your child/ children will be collected from.

   

  Uniform

   

  Just a reminder for parents that we expect children to start the new year wearing correct school uniform. Last year children were sometimes allowed to come to school in PE kit or in clothes to wear in the Forest School; however, some children took to wearing clothes which were not school uniform on days that they weren’t supposed to.

   

  It is an expectation that children wear correct Regents Park school uniform and have at least a jumper/ cardigan/ sweatshirt with the school badge on to wear when on trips or off-site.

   

  Please make sure that you have correct school uniform for your child at the start of the new term with your child’s name written or sewn into it:

  • White shirts or polo shirts
  • Bottle green jumpers, cardigans or sweatshirts with the school badge on
  • Grey or black trousers or skirts
  • White or grey socks
  • Black shoes (not trainers)
  • Bottle green, black or grey headscarves
  • No jewellery

   

  Children should bring PE kit to school in a bag which can be left in the classroom. They will change into their PE kit in school. PE kit should also have your child’s name written or sewn into it.

   

  Correct PE kit is:

  • A plain white t-shirt
  • Plain black or grey shorts or tracksuit trousers
  • White socks
  • Plimsolls

   

  Uniform such as sweatshirts, cardigans and shirts with the school badge on can be ordered and bought from the school office. Alternatively, parents can buy a sew-on school badge to attach to sweatshirts, cardigans or polo shirts bought elsewhere. Please contact the school office for more information.