Latest News

PARENT/CARER CONSULTATION MEETINGS/PHONE CALLS

Sun 21 Apr 2024

The dates below give the day for your child's class teacher to either meet with you in school or ring you to update you on their learning progress, social interactions and discuss any other areas of strength or concern.

Email office@fordleyprimary.org.uk or pop into the office if:

- you would like an appointment in school
- you will need your appointment on the phone to be within a specific time

Your child's class teacher will ring all families so you don't need to make an appointment.

We will hold an open morning/afternoon after half term so that you can see your child's learning this year with your child.

DATES:
- Wednesday 1st May - 4LM
- Friday 3rd May - 4DG
- Tuesday 7th May - 5NT
- Wednesday 8th May - 5LS
- Thursday 9th May - RHN
- Friday 10th May - RZB
- Monday 13th May - 2EM
- Tuesday 14th May - 2RB
- Wednesday 15th May - 1JR
- Thursday 16th May - 1CH
- Monday 20th May - 6CS
- Tuesday 21st May - 6JF
- Wednesday 22nd May - 3DF
- Thursday 23rd May - 3AW

IMPORTANT UPDATE - Outcome of the structural survey

Mon 11 Mar 2024

Please read the letter below from North Tyneside Council

11 March 2024

RE: Findings from initial structural reports

Dear Parent/Carer,

We have received a report from the Council and their structural engineers Narro who have been investigating what caused the small part of concrete block to fall from the ceiling in December 2023.

Over the past few months, we have worked closely with the Council and engineers to carry out tests including drilling into the core of the building, removing, and testing blocks.

It’s been a lengthy process, and we really appreciate your patience while we allowed these vital checks to take place.

We are pleased to now able to give you a summary of the issue below.

What is the issue?

The report has confirmed that there is currently no concern as to the overall stability of the building or significant collapse. The parts of the school currently open can continue to be used safely.

Early indications from this report suggest the issue is a historical isolated issue connected to the mixture of the concrete used when the school was constructed.

This weak mix was formed into hollow blocks – a common building method in the 1960s when the school was built – and then used as part of a technique which is sometimes referred to as Hollow Concrete Block and Plank.

A crack in a single block can cause weaknesses across the other blocks they are positioned next to. This does not create issues with stability for the whole building, just small, isolated areas, and individual blocks.

This method is no longer used in the UK and no specific information on structural performance or failure of this type of floor slab construction have been found during construction.

This first report allows us to determine the cause and possible solutions to this issue but makes it clear that we don’t expect this to be easily resolved.

We would like to reiterate that all school buildings in North Tyneside followed Health and Safety law, had regular checks and maintenance programmes and the issue identified is not something that showed up in any of the checks or audits.

What happens next?

Working together with the individual schools, the Department for Education, and structural engineers we will start to explore remedial works that will allow two-storey building to reopen when it is safe and appropriate to do so.

As we shared with you late last week, our modular classrooms have been ordered and work will begin to prepare our site for the buildings to be constructed from next week.

These classrooms will have mains lighting and heating, hot and cold water, connection to our fire alarm and security alarm system as well as direct access to toilet facilities.

We hope that today’s information gives you a better understanding of why we’ve had to take the precautionary steps we have.

Thank you once again for your understanding.

Julie Firth Claire Withers

Director Children’s Services Headteacher

North Tyneside Council Fordley Primary School

IMPORTANT UPDATE - Plans for all children to return to our Fordley home school site

Thu 07 Mar 2024

Good afternoon to you all,

Despite the very challenging circumstances we found ourselves in, it feels like we settled into a new routine and way of working very quickly thanks to your support, the hard work of my fantastic team and the amazing adaptability of our lovely Fordley children.

I am very pleased to be able to share an update on the next steps to returning all of our Fordley children back to their home on our Fordley school site.

What will be happening on the Fordley Primary school site?

We have been working closely over the last few months with North Tyneside Council, and a modular buildings company, to plan for brand new bespoke modular classrooms (classrooms and toilet facilities which can be built on our school site) to be designed to fit the educational needs of our children and the layout of our site. It was essential that we took the time needed to do this properly so that they are designed to create an educational environment that our children rightly deserve.

I am now in a position to confirm the fantastic news that the modular classrooms have now been ordered.

What facilities will the new modular buildings have?

All classrooms will have mains lighting and heating, hot and cold water, connection to our fire alarm and security alarm system, WiFi access as well as direct access to toilet facilities.

When will this work begin?

It was confirmed with me yesterday that the ground work needed to prepare our site for the buildings to be constructed will be due to start the week beginning 18^th March. If this is likely to cause any disruption to safe access to our site, I will let you know in advance.

How will the modular buildings be organised?

The layout will be as follows:

A Nursery block for Nursery and Fordley Flyers will be built on the grassed area next to the original Nursery outdoor area. This will mean ease of access for drop offs and collections, security and safety as well as access to the grassed outdoor area shared with Reception
Classroom blocks (with cloakroom and toilet facilities) for Y2, Y3, Y4, Y5 and Y6 will be built around the edge of the KS2 yard in an L-shape
Reception will return to their original classrooms
Y2 will move to their own purpose built classrooms
Y3 will move to their own purpose built classrooms
A structurally safe corridor will be built to link both sides of the main building together
We will repurpose the space left inside the main building for 1:1 and small group activities

What is the likely timeline for all of this to happen?

We plan to return year groups in this order:

Fordley Flyers and Nursery will be the first block to be built and we are hopeful this should be ready to use after the Easter break
The following year groups will return in this order and we hope to do this as quickly as possible over the first half of the summer term:
1. Y2 will be moved into their new purpose built classrooms so that Reception will be able to return to their original classrooms
2. Y3, Y4 , Y5 and Y6 will then be moved into their new purpose built classrooms as soon as they are ready
We are hopeful that all of our children will be back on our school site by the start of the last half of the summer term (all being well with the construction of the buildings)

Once the works start I will have a better idea of expected dates of return for each of the different year groups.

In the meantime, I have assurances from the Headteachers of both Greenfields Primary and North Gosforth Academy that our children are extremely welcome to stay until their classrooms are ready.

And finally

As always, the education, wellbeing and care of your child is the very first thing we think about whenever we make decisions and plan how to make sure they are well looked after every day.

I will keep you updated on the next steps for each year group as soon as I have them and I appreciate your patience and understanding whilst you have been waiting for this information.

If you have any direct questions, please send me a message on here or email office@fordleyprimary.org.uk. Either I, or one of our senior leaders (Mr Maule, Mrs Boyes, Mrs Langley, Mrs Miller or Mrs Butler), will be in touch with you directly to answer your query.

As always, we will respond as quickly as we can.

Yours sincerely,

Claire Withers

Headteacher

WORLD BOOK DAY - 7th March 2024

Tue 27 Feb 2024

WORLD BOOK DAY - Thursday 7th March

Next Thursday is World Book Day and all children will have time throughout the day to enjoy some special book related activities.

Our theme this year is Favourite Bedtime Stories so we would love the children to share theirs with the class.

What does my child need to wear?

Your child can come to school in any of these options:

pyjamas (and suitable footwear for the weather) for the theme of Bedtime Stories
dressed as their favourite book character
in non-uniform (no theme)
in school uniform

We prefer to be able to give families (and children) the choice as not all children enjoy dressing up and it can be an unnecessary additional cost to have to buy a special costume.

REMINDERS FOR MONDAY 15th JANUARY

Sun 14 Jan 2024

REMINDERS FOR TOMORROW - Monday 15th January

NO parking on Dudley Drive between 8:30-9:30 AND 3:00pm-4:00pm. Coaches to pick up our children MUST be able to get onto our school site for the safety of all children travelling to other schools.

Gates - the main school gates at the front of the building, KS1 gate at the back and all gates around the building will be open. The only one closed (shown with a cross on the map) is the KS2 yard gate. This is to avoid any possible accidents as vehicles need to access this yard.

Flyers, Nursery, Reception, Y4, Y5 and Y6 must be dropped off at the hall doors (not the main entrance)

Y1 and Y2 to KS1 entrance as normal.
Y3 to KS2 entrance as normal.

Lates - coaches will need to leave on time (around 9am) to avoid children missing their learning time.

Thank you for your support in making this run as smoothly as possible 😁

IMPORTANT UPDATE ABOUT RETURN TO FACE TO FACE LEARNING ON MONDAY 15th JANUARY

Wed 10 Jan 2024

IMPORTANT UPDATE ABOUT OUR SCHOOL

Good afternoon,

As promised, here is the update regarding our school and the return to face to face learning for our children from Monday 15th January.

This was posted on Seesaw on Wednesday.

We know this has been a challenging time for you all, as it has been for us, and not the start to 2024 that we would have ever hoped or wished for.

We have worked tirelessly over the last two and half weeks to have a solution for your children to be back to learning with their friends and their school adults. The letter attached explains how we will do this.

I have sent a letter on Seesaw for your child's year group which will give more details about how we will organise everything on Monday and anything else you need to know.

If you have any questions, we will be able to follow them up tomorrow and Friday. I ask for your patience as I am sure you will appreciate we may have many questions coming into school.

We very much appreciate and value your support as always.

Claire Withers
Headteacher

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

Wed 03 Jan 2024

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

Good afternoon to you all,

The attached letter should give you a full update around the premises issue identified just before the Christmas holidays.

We have been working throughout the holidays, with North Tyneside Council, to deal with the situation as quickly as possible.

I ask that you read the letter carefully as we will not have the normal return to school that we had hoped for.

If you have any questions, feel free to send a message on here or email office@fordleyprimary.org.uk

I will respond as quickly as I can to any queries.

As always, your children are at the heart of every decision we make at Fordley and will continue to be our main focus.

Kindest regards

Claire Withers

Headteacher

A clearer version of the letter can be seen by clicking this link https://primarysite-prod-sorted.s3.amazonaws.com/fordley/UploadedDocument/c5ab869c-232b-443c-8557-52df7ff7c3da/important-announcement.pdf

Flu Immunisation Information

Wed 13 Sep 2023

Dear Parent/Carer

Your child’s annual flu vaccination is now due.

This vaccination programme is in place to help protect your child against flu. The vaccine will help prevent them catching the flu. Vaccinating your child will also help protect vulnerable friends and family by reducing the spread of flu.

The intra-nasal flu vaccine is the most effective protection for your child against flu.

The online consent can be accessed via any online device. Please click on the following link https://www.northumbriaimmunisations.co.uk/Forms/Flu which will direct you to an online consent form for you to complete using the following school code NB108611

If you decide you do not want your child to receive the flu vaccination, please complete a non consent form.

If in the past you have refused the intra-nasal flu due to porcine gelatin content, please complete the online IM consent form. The IM flu vaccination can be given in school from year 7 upwards, younger years will be invited to receive it in one of our clinic venues.

Please note children in Reception up to and including year 11 and Reception up to and including year 13 in SEND schools are currently eligible to receive the nasal flu vaccine up to the age of 17.

If you have any queries regarding the online consent form or the Flu vaccine please contact the Northumbria Healthcare School Aged Immunisation Service.

Yours sincerely,

Northumbria Healthcare School Aged Immunisation Service.

Is my child too ill for school? Useful information for parents and carers

Tue 12 Sep 2023

The following information has been shared with all schools by the Chief Medical Officer to help support children to have amazing attendance.

It can be tricky deciding whether or not to keep your child off school, nursery or playgroup when they're unwell.

There are government guidelines for schools and nurseries about managing specific infectious diseases at GOV.UK. These say when children should be kept off school and when they shouldn't.

If you do keep your child at home, it's important to phone or email school on the first day. Let us know that your child won't be in and give them the reason.

If your child is well enough to go to school but has an infection that could be passed on, such as a cold sore or head lice, speak to the main office, Mr Maule (Early Years lead), Mrs Boyes (KS1 Lead) or Mrs Langley (KS2 Lead). Mrs Withers or Mrs Latimer can support with this too.

Other illnesses

Follow this advice for other illnesses:

Coughs and colds

It's fine to send your child to school with a minor cough or common cold. But if they have a fever, keep them off school until the fever goes.

Encourage your child to throw away any used tissues and to wash their hands regularly.

High temperature

If your child has a high temperature, keep them off school until it goes away.

Chickenpox

If your child has chickenpox, keep them off school until all the spots have crusted over.

This is usually about 5 days after the spots first appeared.

Cold sores

There's no need to keep your child off school if they have a cold sore.

Encourage them not to touch the blister or kiss anyone while they have the cold sore, or to share things like cups and towels.

Conjunctivitis

You don't need to keep your child away from school if they have conjunctivitis.

Do get advice from your pharmacist. Encourage your child not to rub their eyes and to wash their hands regularly.

COVID-19

If your child has mild symptoms, such as a runny nose, sore throat, or slight cough, and feels well enough, they can go to school.

Your child should try to stay at home and avoid contact with other people if they have symptoms of COVID-19 and they either:

have a high temperature
do not feel well enough to go to school or do their normal activities

Ear infection

If your child has an ear infection and a high temperature or severe earache, keep them off school until they're feeling better or their high temperature goes away.

Hand, foot and mouth disease

If your child has hand, foot and mouth disease but seems well enough to go to school, there's no need to keep them off.

Encourage your child to throw away any used tissues straight away and to wash their hands regularly.

Head lice and nits

There's no need to keep your child off school if they have head lice.

You can treat head lice and nits without seeing a GP.

Impetigo

If your child has impetigo, they'll need treatment from a GP, often with antibiotics.

Keep them off school until all the sores have crusted over and healed, or for 48 hours after they start antibiotic treatment.

Encourage your child to wash their hands regularly and not to share things like towels and cups with other children at school.

Ringworm

If your child has ringworm, see your pharmacist unless it's on their scalp, in which case you should see a GP.

It's fine for your child to go to school once they have started treatment.

Scarlet fever

If your child has scarlet fever, they'll need treatment with antibiotics from a GP. Otherwise they'll be infectious for 2 to 3 weeks.

Your child can go back to school 24 hours after starting antibiotics.

Slapped cheek syndrome (fifth disease)

You don't need to keep your child off school if they have slapped cheek syndrome because, once the rash appears, they're no longer infectious.

But let the school or teacher know if you think your child has slapped cheek syndrome.

Sore throat

You can still send your child to school if they have a sore throat. But if they also have a high temperature, they should stay at home until it goes away.

A sore throat and a high temperature can be symptoms of tonsillitis.

Threadworms

You don't need to keep your child off school if they have threadworms.

Speak to your pharmacist, who can recommend a treatment.

Vomiting and diarrhoea

Children with diarrhoea or vomiting should stay away from school until they have not been sick or had diarrhoea for at least 2 days (48 hours).

The link below takes you to the NHS website where you will find more help and guidance.

https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/is-my-child-too-ill-for-school/

School Meals Information

Wed 07 Sep 2022

Please follow the link below to information on our website about school meals provided by North Tyneside Catering Services.

https://www.fordleyschool.com/school-meals/