St Anne's Catholic Primary School

ST ANNE'S CATHOLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL, CAVERSHAM 

'SIMPLY THE BEST SCHOOL IN THE WORLD!'

Are you a prospective parent looking for a school place in September 2021? 

Please email me on head@st-annes.reading.sch.uk and I would be delighted to organise a virtual meeting to tell you all about our fantastic school!

Learning to live by faith and to be known by love

We are a Voluntary Aided school in Caversham , Reading, serving the Catholic parish of Our Lady and St Anne, which is part of the Archdiocese of Birmingham.  We welcome children of any faith and no faith.

Basing our work on the Gospel values of Love and Service, we recognise that every child is a gift from God and that the first and best teachers of any child are his or her own parents.  As a result, we welcome the opportunity to work closely in partnership with the amazing community that we serve.  We are extremely proud of our children and their achievements, our academic standards and the selfless commitment of our staff and of our Parent/Staff Association.

Currently, we have 197 children across 7 year groups.    We also have a 26 place Nursery.  Children come into our Reception class in the year that they are 5 and move up to secondary school at the end of Year 6, when they are 11.

Our school day starts at 8.50am and finishes at 3.25pm.  However, we do also have a super Before and After School Club, run by school staff which opens at 8.00 and ends at 18.00.

Do contact the school office and pop in for a visit!

Mrs Sarah Bernto

Headteacher 

Contact details for enquiries

If you have any questions or queries about our school, please contact the Head - Mrs Bernto - via email on head@st-annes.reading.sch.uk or phone the school office on 01189375537.

For enquires regarding SEND, please email our SENCO - Mrs Gemma Burnitt on senco@st-annes.reading.sch.uk or phone the school office on 01189375537.

Wednesday 24 February, 2021

Please see below a letter regarding sacramental preparation for Years 3, 4 and 6.

Dear parents and carers,

Fr Patrick has requested that the school commence preparation for First Holy Communion and Confirmation.  We do not have any dates as yet for either sacrament but will advise you of this when we have further information.

This year’s First Holy Communion classes will run for both Year 3 and Year 4 pupils whilst Confirmation will run for Year 6 only. 

Lessons for First Holy Communion will run on Thursdays at 12.45-1.15 alternate weeks for each class commencing with Year 3 on 11 March.  Year 4 will therefore have their first session on Thursday 18^th March.

Lessons for Confirmation will run on alternate Mondays at 12.15-12.45 commencing Monday 15^th March.

Many parents have already advised me that their child would like to participate.  If you have not done so, please email me on head@st-annes.reading.sch.uk by Friday 5^th March.  You will need to bring your child’s original baptismal certificate into school (when we return) in order to present them for the sacrament.

Please note that, throughout the period of sacramental preparation, it is expected that the children

• attend church every week; places need to be pre-booked using this link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/our-lady-and-st-annes-rc-church-caversham-30676591436
• undertake some extra study/periods of reflection each week at home supported by their family. 
• attend a number of sessions after Mass (Covid-permitting) led by Fr Patrick

Fr will also (Covid-permitting) arrange 1:1 meetings with parents and carers.

This programme requires a long-term, meaningful commitment and we hope all our families embrace this opportunity with home, school and parish working together positively.

Kind regards,

Sarah.

Monday 22 February 2021 

Please check out our amazing plans for World Book Day 2021. 

World Book Day 2021

Dear Parents or carers,

We are excited to announce our plans for World Book Day on Thursday 4^th March, 2021.

Dress up!

Here at St. Anne’s, we simply love to dress up and this year is no exception. If you are at home or in school, children are encouraged to choose either to dress up as a book character or to wear pyjamas in time for their morning Google Meet. Additionally, we would love to see pictures of children dressed up with their favourite book posted on the Google Classroom site or emailed to the teacher. 

A whole school book

This year, for World Book Day, every class from Nursey to Year 6 will be learning and reading from the same book: Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth by Oliver Jeffers. The children will be engaging in discussion based on the book about being a part of the global and local community and will be undertaking exciting activities. All children - at home and in school - will be joining in with these activities. Activities will be posted on Google Classroom for those at home and there will be a focus on World Book Day in the children’s Google Meet session.

World book day voucher

The National Book voucher will be offered digitally; this can be exchanged for any World Book Day £1 book or £1 off a book of choice in participating bookshops and supermarkets. The book token is valid from Thursday 18 February – Sunday 28 March 2021. To receive the voucher, please copy and paste the link below into your web browser or follow the link on the school website and print off your voucher. https://www.worldbookday.com/wpcontent/uploads/2021/01/booktoken_PrimaryUK.pdf

Please contact your child’s class teacher if you would like a printed version of the voucher which can be left in the school office. There are also many free audio books for children on the World Book Day website: https://www.worldbookday.com/world-of-stories/

Competition time!

In addition to all these exciting activities, there is also a competition. Simply design a cover for a book about the Caversham community. There will be three categories: EYFS, KS1 and KS2. KS2 entries should also include a book blurb as part of the design. See below the template for the book design.  Copies of the template will also be available at the front office.

Entries for the competition should be dropped off in the World Book Day box by 5^th March 2021. Winners will be announced in the school newsletter on March 12^th and will receive a book voucher for £5.

Many Thanks,

Mrs King

Literacy and Phonics Coordinator

Thursday 18th February, 2021

Do check out the latest government publication for parents on remote education.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/supporting-your-childrens-education-during-coronavirus-covid-19?utm_source=16%20February%202021%20C19&utm_medium=Daily%20Email%20C19&utm_campaign=DfE%20C19

Watch Dr Elizabeth Kilbey's video on how to support your child's learning at home.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZaC3Jsgb4Q&feature=youtu.be

The Education Endowment Fund has lots of great resources also for parents.

https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/covid-19-resources/support-resources-for-schools/?mc_cid=28ab38d3ec&mc_eid=a6866aabbb

Wednesday 17th February, 2021

Today is Ash Wednesday!  If you would like to listen to Mass today, you can watch the children's Mass from Cannock by clicking on the link below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPOso3Mh0t4

15th February, 2021

Happy Half Term Holiday!

I hope you are all having a lovely rest and getting lots of fresh air.  I came across this offer today from local libraries and wanted to share.

Library Service

Caversham and Central Library are open for ordering and collection and will be over half term – they have loads of children’s books.

Tilehurst, Caversham and Central libraries are all open for the order and collect service, by appointment.  Order books via the catalogue at https://library.reading.gov.uk/ or call 0118 937 5950.  All the information is at www.reading.gov.uk/libraryrestart

They also have ebooks, eaudio and emagazines at www.reading.gov.uk/elibrary

 Libraires are essential services and are open to support you during this lockdown. All returned books are quarantined and then selected for you by staff; you just need to order and confirm an appointment. 

12th February, 2021

Half term holiday is here!  Please see above this week's newsletter which contains updates regarding the improvements that we have been undertaking to school facilities.

5th February, 2021

Please see above this week's newsletter which is packed with photos of work done during Mental Health Week.  Do check out also our Justgiving page at

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/st-annes-walk-for-water

and help the Year 5 and 6 children raise money to end water poverty.

2 February, 2021 

PE with Matthias! Well Done Matthias, from Year 2, for this fabulous home-made exercise video. Simply amazing!

Extract from the government publication Supporting your children's remote education

Found at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/supporting-your-childrens-education-during-coronavirus-covid-19?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications&utm_source=93574ea8-d560-4b8f-8b16-67f5d71ef7ff&utm_content=daily

Parents and carers should not feel that they need to set work for their child.

However, the resources below can help you plan your child’s days during this period. These resources may also be useful for pupils and students to use alongside the work provided by their school or college.

If you need further support, we encourage you to speak to your child’s school or college about their remote education offer.

Engaging children at home

The Education Endowment Fund has produced support resources for parents. These include:

• ways to support your child’s reading at home
• advice on how to establish a routine with your child

Mental health and wellbeing

You can read guidance for parents and carers on supporting children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Guidance for the public on the mental health and wellbeing aspects of coronavirus (COVID-19) is also available.

The following organisations offer information and support on mental health and wellbeing:

• Place2Be
• MindEd
• Every Mind Matters
• Public Health England
• Child Bereavement UK and the Childhood Bereavement Network
• Youth Sport Trust and Sport England
• Young Minds
• Think Ninja
• Barnardo’s See, Hear, Respond Support Hub

Young people can get free, confidential support at any time from government-backed voluntary and community sector organisations by:

• texting SHOUT to 85258
• calling Childline on 0800 1111
• calling the Mix on 0808 808 4994

Resources for parents of children with SEND

We have worked with a range of other organisations to create extra resources for parents of children with SEND:

• COVID-19 educational resources from The Sensory Projects
• SEND-specific resources for learning from home from Tech Ability
• advice on supporting children with a learning disability or autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) from the Council for Disabled Children
• resources for under 5s from the Early Years Alliance

Curriculum materials are also available:

• specialist content for pupils with SEND from Oak National Academy
• SEND-specific BBC resources and activities

Additional educational resources

Your child’s school or college may suggest resources on their website.

The following examples are used by many schools and teachers, but parents may find them useful too:

• Oak National Academy, including their Virtual School Library
• BBC Bitesize Daily
• LendED platform
• Isaac Physics

January 29th, 2021

Please see this week's newsletter above!

NEXT WEEK - starting 1 February - is MENTAL HEALTH WEEK

Dear Parents/Carers,

Next week is Children’s Mental Health Week. With schools only partially open and lots of uncertainty, children’s mental health has never been more important.  The theme of the week will be ‘EXPRESS YOURSELF’ and we are encouraging children to explore different ways we can express ourselves, and the creative ways we can share our feelings, thoughts and our ideas.

It can be difficult for people to talk about their feelings, especially children. As parents, we all want our children to have the best possible start in life. Encouraging children to understand and be open about their feelings can give them the skills to cope with the ups and downs that life will throw at them as they grow up.  I have attached a copy of ‘You’re Never too Young to talk Mental Health’ from Anna Freud, that gives tips for talking with your son/daughter about their feelings. I hope you find this useful.

On Friday 5^th February, we will be holding a ‘Dress to Express Day’ for children at home and in school. We want to encourage the children to express themselves though their clothes, hair etc. Children can wear their favourite colour or choose a range of colours that express how they are feeling. Colour can mean different things to different people, so this is a great opportunity to encourage self-expression and celebrate a diverse range of emotions.

As a school we are very much looking forward to acknowledging this incredibly important week and we believe our children will benefit from it hugely.

Many thanks.

January 22nd, 2021

Please see above this week's newsletter with information about FSM vouchers and lateral flow testing for staff.

January 19th, 2021

Please see below a letter that has sent sent out today regarding access to laptops.

Dear parents and carers,

We have recently taken delivery of a number of laptops and have also received offers of further devices from a number of sources.  In order that we can allocate these most fairly, I would kindly ask that any parents with children working as below send me an email as soon as possible on head@st-annes.reading.sch.uk:

• Children working on a mobile phone
• Children working on a laptop/tablet which they share with other siblings
• Children struggling to access remote learning due to other device-related issues

Please include:

• Your child’s name
• Your child’s year group
• The problem they are having e.g. working on a mobile

Many thanks.

January 18th, 2021

Please see below a letter that has been sent out today for all key workers.

Dear key worker parents and carers,

The government has indicated that children with at least one parent/carer who is a critical worker can continue to attend school if required but it is important to note that wherever possible, all parents/carers should keep their children at home if they can.  We are therefore asking all key worker parents/carers to consider very carefully if you would be able to keep your child safely at home.

For example, if you are a key worker, can you still work effectively whilst your children are at home?  If you have another adult in your household who can care for your child, could they be responsible for them?  If you are not a full-time critical worker, could you keep your children at home on the days that you don’t work?

There is currently a very high demand for places in school which is putting a great deal of pressure on staff who are also engaged in delivering remote learning for pupils at home.  While most school staff are well and able to work, we are at capacity and there will be resourcing issues if anyone becomes ill or has to self-isolate. May I also take the opportunity to remind you that children must stay at home if they are awaiting the result of a COVID-19 test and must continue to do so if they test positive.

The new variant of coronavirus is highly contagious and while every effort is made to keep school COVID-secure, the more people who stay at home, the better the chance of bringing down infection rates in Reading.

We appreciate that this is a very difficult time for everyone, and some parents who are key workers will have no choice but to send their children to school. But I would urge you to keep your child at home if you can.  This approach has been discussed with and endorsed by Reading’s Director of Children’s Services and Director of Education at Brighter Futures for Children.

Finally, I would like to assure you, we are doing all we can for our pupils in school and at home and are adapting to a rapidly changing situation. We know what a concerning and unsettling time it is for everyone and will continue to be here to help in any way we can.

We appreciate your co-operation in these challenging times.

January 15th, 2021

It has been wonderful to have a somewhat quieter week and to settle into a routine.  Please see above this week's newsletter.  Please note especially the request regarding information about pupils who do not have access to a computer/tablet.

If your child, do not have access to a computer/tablet, please email me on head@st-annes.reading.sch.uk  Equally, if your child is sharing a computer with other siblings and is therefore finding it hard to get work done, please send me a message.  Clearly, we cannot supply a laptop for everyone, but we do now have a number of new devices and will rank the needs of those who get in contact.

January 8th, 2021

Please see above this week's newsletter.

January 7th, 2021

Message from Lucy Ring, Chair of Governors

Due to the current lockdown, we have decided to postpone the parent governor election for the time being.  Rebecca Mee has kindly agreed to continue as an associate governor until the parent governor election can be run.

January 6th, 2021

Please see above our remote learning offer.  This outlines what we are providing in terms of online learning, how we will assess children's learning and our expectations regarding children's engagement.  Do not hesitate to email me on head@st-annes.reading.sch.uk if you have any questions.

January 5th, 2021

Dear parents and carers,

We have today welcomed back some of our children and have loved hearing about their Christmas exploits.  I would like to give just a brief update this afternoon on our provision.

In school provision for children of key workers and vulnerable children

We are going to open 4 bubbles from tomorrow in order to better accommodate the number of younger children who will be coming into school.  The groups will be as follows:

• Nursery/Reception children – in the Reception classroom and entering via the Reception classroom door
• Year 1 children – in the Year 1 classroom and entering via the Year 1 classroom door
• Yr 2, Yr 3, Yr 4 – in the Year 4 classroom entering via Yr 4 classroom door
• Yr 5, Yr 6 – in the Year 5 classroom, entering via the blue door at the top end of the school (which Yr 5 were using prior to Christmas)

Please could I ask that all parents wear a mask when dropping off and picking up from school.  This is vital to keeping our space safe.

Online provision

Thank you for the fabulous feedback from parents about our first day of online learning.  The teachers have gone to great lengths to ensure that planning is appropriate and engaging.  Tomorrow will see the first of our live sessions running on Google Meet.  Please see further details on the video below as well as the online agreement.  The timings for these are:

Year 2 – 9am   Year 3 – 9.30   Year 4 – 10.00   Year 5 – 10.30   Year 6 – 11.00

It is expected that all children who are home learning will attend these sessions and that they will engage with the online learning on a daily basis.  Please email the class teacher if your child is too unwell to log in on a particular day in order to report them absent.  We will follow up with parents on any ‘no-shows’.

Free School Meals

I have today ordered the food hampers for those children who are eligible and will be in contact regarding collection as soon as they arrive.

Thank you once again for your continued support.

Kind regards,

Sarah