St Bridget's Catholic Primary School

Dear Parents,

 Your child is due to start primary school in September 2020 and has been offered a place at St. Bridget’s. We look forward to welcoming you and your child to our school.

Starting a new school can be a daunting experience for children and an anxious time for parents. I am sure that you have lots of questions – from practical ones about drop off and pick up, uniform and lunches to concerns about meeting the teacher, making friends and settling in. These unprecedented times will have brought more challenges for us all. Due to the restrictions that are in place because of Coronavirus, we are unable to hold our usual Stay and Play Sessions, Information Meetings and Home Visits. However, we will do everything that we can to ensure that your child’s transition to school is as smooth as possible.

Over the next few weeks we will be planning alternative ways of helping your child get ready for school:

• A Pupil Welcome Pack will be sent to help your child feel at ease with their new school.
• An online Meet the Teacher and a virtual tour of our school and Early Years Department will be arranged.
• We will set up an online Information Sharing Session where parents can post questions.
• Home visits will be replaced with a phone call or an online video chat so that your child can get to know their teacher. Any concerns and additional needs can be discussed and catered for.

At St. Bridget’s our mission is that Christ is at the centre and children are at the heart of everything we do. We teach the children to, ‘learn to love and love to learn.’ At home, your child is loved and feels safe. As a Catholic school, we will work in partnership with you to ensure that your child is nurtured and continues to feel safe and loved in our care. It is our aim that your child feels this so that they can be confident and happy so that they can thrive.

Getting ready for school might be a new challenge for parents but please do not worry about completing what you might think of as ‘school work’ at home. BBC Bitesize Starting Primary School has lots of resources to help you and your child have fun together at the same time as supporting their learning and sense of independence.

It is important to remember that developing independent key skills like: dressing and undressing, using the toilet and speaking and listening are all important. There are lots of good tips on the BBC site as well as advice like getting in to good sleeping habits.

 One of the biggest barriers to learning is speaking & listening. Never underestimate the power of talking to your child.  Talk, talk, talk and read, read, read! Opportunities for pupils to develop their reading skills and foster a genuine love of reading is given the highest priority at St. Bridget’s.

‘The more you read, the more things you will know. The more you learn the more places you’ll go.” Dr Seuss 

Read a bedtime story every night, watch stories online or make CBeebies Bedtime Stories part of your routine

Talking, especially during these uncertain times is important for all of us. Your child may have lots of questions too. There is no need for you or them to worry about starting school. Children are very resilient and your child will be ready to start to school. This is an exciting time and we can’t wait to meet them.

We will be in touch soon with our exciting transition plans.

Take care and stay safe.

Kind Regards,

C. Dobson