King’s Hill Primary School – September 2020

The House System

This year we are introducing a House System across the school to promote the notion of how we operate as a TEAM at King’s Hill. It is also designed to uphold the values and ethos of our school and provide opportunities for our pupils to become involved in team events/activities and gain life skills to support them as they grow. All children strive to have attributes that reflect our school expectations:

• Teamwork
• Achievement
• Challenge/competitiveness
• Leadership
• Individual/collective responsibility
• Confidence
• Communication skills
• Flexibility and resilience

Allocation to Houses

All children are placed into one of the four houses. Each class will have a variety of children who make up the representing body of each House to allow children to work as a team, aiming for the success of the House in all challenges, activities and competitions. All siblings are placed in the same House allowing a sense of unity and togetherness.

When children join Reception they are introduced to the team colours and as they move up into Year 1 they will become familiar with the House names.

The House names selected are inspired by the 4 elements of nature, water, fire, earth and air, translated into Latin, as agreed by our pupils.

The houses have two Captains elected, who are from Year 5 and Year 6. Each term there is one House competition and other smaller House challenges. The House Captains work alongside staff members to help organise events.

Pupils strive to earn as many House points as they can to support their House and to be the House with the most points. Points can be earned through effort for varying situations.

NEWSLETTER

King’s Hill Primary School – 2019/2020

Dear Parents/Carers

As the school year draws to a close we look back to what has happened and how we have adapted to teaching within a difficult environment, which we are still continuing to face.

It has been hugely challenging for all of us but I would like to thank you for your support throughout. It is admirable to see how parents/families have all worked together with staff at the school to ensure the children’s education has been maintained as far as possible.

 Our attention now is very much on all children returning to school. You will have heard of the recent Government announcements regarding schools opening for all pupils from September 2020, which have indicated that schools must make arrangements to accommodate the safe return of increased numbers of children with classes of 30. In order to make this possible and keep everyone safe, a number of changes have had to be implemented.

Please note the following:

• The learning environment, layout of every classroom, intervention room and work space have been given due consideration and equipped, organised and resourced so that children and staff can work within them safely
• Staggered arrival and departure times have been set for each year group to ensure restricted numbers of parents gather outside school at any one time
• Each class will have 2 or 3 adults allocated who will remain in the class bubble
• Class bubbles will remain in their dedicated work spaces for the majority of the lessons with access to plenty of resources that they need
• Tables and work stations in the classrooms have been arranged in accordance with government guidelines with children facing the teacher
• Corridors will continue to have markings and signage so that everyone stays on the left when moving from A to B
• Children will continue to clean their hands more often than usual - washing hands thoroughly for 20 seconds with running water and soap and drying them thoroughly. Adults will supervise this as necessary
• All classes have been equipped with soap dispensers now and hand sanitisers are available around the building
• Cleaning equipment will be available in all classrooms, including disinfectant spray  for adults to use on surfaces
• Children will bring in their own water bottles and we will be providing clear polythene reading book bags
• Packed lunches will be eaten in class to avoid class bubbles crossing over as far as possible
• We encourage hot meals still to be taken as arrangements are in place for children to eat in a safe environment
• Children must not bring in any stationary items from home
• Staff will spend time educating all the children at the start of term about social distancing, following new school routines and guidelines to stay safe and keep everyone else safe
• Outside space will be used for exercise and breaks as much as possible with hand cleaning before going out/coming back into the classroom
• Risk assessments for PE and the use of equipment have been prepared, shared with staff members and will be followed from September – please check the days when your child will have PE in school
• Strict hygiene guidelines will continue to be followed when preparing snacks/toast for children
• Extensive cleaning will continue to take place twice each day as it has been since 1^st June

We are all looking forward to the start of the new academic year 2020/2021 and wish for it to be a happy and successful year for everyone. Stay safe and see you all soon.

Mrs N. Matharu

Headteacher

A goodbye message from Mrs Chauhan

It is with a heavy heart that I say farewell to all staff, parents and of course the wonderful children at Kings Hill Primary School. Although I am excited to start the next chapter in my life, remembering all those wonderful memories over the last 30 years has been emotional.

Kings Hill Primary school with Always remain special to me not only because I work here but also my three children attended the school.

I started volunteering at Kings Hill in early 1990 and from then on my journey began. I had the amazing opportunity to support children and parents who had English as a second language. Along with this I also helped manage smiley club, organise cooking sessions, fundraising events and dance classes.

Over the years I have been so lucky to work with so many beautiful young children as well as colleagues who have inspired me, supported me and encouraged me to reach my full potential.

Thank you to all those parents who have been a big part of my journey here! The gratitude you have given me will always hold a special place in my heart.

To all my wonderful colleagues past and present, thank you for supporting me at my lowest and highest, I will always be grateful.

To all the beautiful children, watching you grow and flourish has been one of my highlights and I thank you for making me smile every day.

I now look forward to the next chapter of my life, spending time with my family, grandchildren, traveling and of course doing lots of cooking.

All my love

Mrs Chauhan 

WELCOME BACK!

June 2020

Dear Parents/Carers

After much preparation to ensure our school was as safe as we possibly could make it for both children and staff, we were absolutely delighted to welcome children in Nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 returning back to school from Monday 1^st June.

Thorough risk assessments had to be undertaken and approval sought from Walsall Local Authority prior to the Governing Body of King’s Hill Primary School agreeing to the phased return of children.

The measures we have put in place include:

• Children organised into suitable groups of no more than 15 as advised by the government and DfE
• Staggered arrival and departure times for each group to ensure that there is social distancing between groups
• Each group remains in their dedicated work space for the majority of the lessons with plenty of resources that they need
• Tables and work stations as far apart as possible in the classrooms
• Corridors marked and signage placed so that everyone stays on the left
• Children clean their hands more often than usual - wash hands thoroughly for 20 seconds with running water and soap and dry them thoroughly. This includes before and after break time and lunch time - An adult supervises this
• Cleaning equipment in the classrooms provided where pupils are present, including disinfectant spray  for adults to use on surfaces
• Children bring in their own water bottle but single-use plastic cups provided for those who have not brought in their water bottles
• Activities planned according to the year group and their needs. Use of independence to encourage social distancing encouraged
• Staff plan to educate the children about social distancing, following new routines and guidelines to stay safe
• Outside space used for exercise and breaks* as much as possible with hand cleaning before going out/coming back into the classroom
• Strict hygiene guidelines followed when preparing snacks/toast for children
• Extensive cleaning taking place twice each day

The children are happy to be back and although things are very different, they are adapting to the new ways of working very well. You will be able to see from the photographs and comments on the class pages, what the children think about returning - It made me smile and feel so proud of them!

For the children in Year 6 who have not returned back yet, please check details of what has been planned regarding transition and end of year activities!

Let’s hope that things get back to normal soon, whatever the new normal may be. I look forward to seeing more children return back to school.

Stay safe and look after yourselves.

Yours sincerely

Mrs N. Matharu

Mrs N. Matharu

Headteacher