Dear Parents and Carers,

Firstly, can we thank you again for your amazing support over the past few months. The Woodrow Community really is the best. This continues to be a time of uncertainty, but following the government announcement this week we do know that some children will not be returning to school this term.

We appreciate that this may be upsetting or even frustrating for some of you. We miss all of the children and can’t wait until Woodrow is full of their smiles, laughter and learning. We know that they are missing their friends, but we need to continue to stay safe.

We have done as the government asked and changed Woodrow so that children in Nursery, Reception and Year 1 can be in school in small bubbles. This means that already we are using Nursery, Reception, Year 1, Year 2 and Year 3 classrooms. There are already 14 members of staff working directly with these 56 children and a further 3 in the hall with the children of key workers. These “bubbles” are very nearly full. Other available staff are either working in essential tasks in school or working from home.

Therefore, we do not have the capacity - space, staff or time wise to have Year 2, Year 3, and Year 4 children in school right now. When thinking about what might be possible, we believe it is right to prioritise organising some provision for Year 4 children before they move on to middle school. It will be important for them to finish their time at Woodrow as positively as we can manage.

Next week, we will be asking parents of Year 4 children for their thoughts on our draft plans. These will also need to be approved by our governors. We will need definite numbers of children who would like to return so that we can get everything prepared. Please make sure we have your email address and that you check our website or Facebook page.

We will also continue to support Year 2 and Year 3 children with Home Learning and keep in touch as much as we can. Meanwhile, we wait for government TV announcements and subsequent guidelines on what school will be like in September. We will keep you up to date via our website and Facebook page.

We are in the process of collecting parent and carer emails so that we can send out information to Year Groups efficiently. This information will include end of year reports and details of classes for next year. Please check the Useful Information section of the Parent area on our website. https://www.woodrowfirstschool.co.uk/useful-information/

We have been overwhelmed by the support from our community. Kindness has shone through in words and deeds. The challenges we have faced have been met with understanding by you. The frustrations that have angered us as a school have been met with calm by yourselves. We appreciate this and value your tremendous support. We will be back in September laughing, joking and smiling again - which is what we do at Woodrow.

Thank you all

Richard Kieran and teamwoodrow