Dear Parents and Carers,

Hot Meals Update

It has been a week or so, since I last updated you all on how the remedial works are progressing in the damaged parts of our school building. The flood-damaged areas have been completely stripped of flooring and other water-affected items and the process of drying out the floor and sublayers is well underway. We anticipate that the drying process will take us up until Christmas, when hopefully the process of rebuilding the class spaces and pods will start promptly in the new year. I am sure many of you will have noticed the giant marquee which has been put up over the last few days and as you will know, this is an important part of the recovery plan to allow us to start reintroducing some hot food options at lunchtime. Once we are using the marquee space we will be able to consider whether we can use it for activities other than lunchtime.

I am very pleased to report that from Monday 2^nd December, we will be able to introduce jacket potatoes as a hot meal option alongside our existing cold options. The logistics of transporting food prepared in our kitchen safely to the marquee and keeping it warm has been quite a challenge - not to mention how we supply sufficient electricity and internet connectivity to power the catering till system. This is, I am pleased to report, all in hand and we hope that by starting with jacket potatoes, the catering team will be able to build upon this and start to offer a wider selection of hot food over time - not to forget Christmas lunch too! For the week beginning 2^nd December, the menu options will be either a cold lunch option; ham, tuna or cheese sandwich or a jacket potato with either cheese, cheese and beans, beans or tuna as a topping. A plain jacket potato will also be available. There will be a selection of desserts available daily too. This is a positive first step towards restoring a little bit of lunchtime normality for children in Years 1- 6 and the opportunity to eat their meal outside of their classroom. Pupils in Reception will continue to have their meal served in their learning spaces and will have the jacket potato option too, from next week. Nursery will continue to have a cold option available and eat in their classroom as they always do.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank our colleagues at the Local Authority and also Solihull Catering for their support in enabling us to reach this stage in a relatively short amount of time. I hope that you too, feel this is a positive step forward and I will keep you updated with developments regarding the repairs and additions to the hot lunch menu as soon as more information is available.

Thank you again for the overwhelming support and kindness during this challenging time at Olton.

Kind regards,

Mr Chamberlain, Mrs Gray and the team at Olton

Olton Primary School

Dear Parents/Carers,

We are noticing an increasing number of pupils regularly arriving to school late. We would like to remind you that:

• Pupils in KS2 Year 3 to Year 6 should be in school between 8:30am – 8:40am. Pupils arriving after this will receive a late mark. (L code).
• Pupils arriving after 8:50am will receive a late mark  (U code) - (These marks could result in a fine being pursued).

When pupils arrive late, they miss out on essential instructions given at the beginning of the lesson.  This can significantly reduce achievement, regardless of academic ability.  Your child may also feel awkward arriving to the classroom when everyone else is settled. Furthermore, when one pupil arrives late, it disrupts the entire class and the teacher – everyone’s education is compromised.   

Unauthorised lateness/absence (where a U code is given) can result in legal action. 

Please contact school if you wish to discuss any difficulties you may be experiencing in ensuring your child arrives at school on time. 

Punctuality will continue to be monitored, and parents of pupils with continued regular late arrival marks will be contacted and could be invited to a meeting if it continues to be a concern. 

Yours sincerely,

Mrs E Gray

Deputy Head Teacher

Dear Parents/Carers,

Due to the recent flood in the infant block, we are sadly unable to have our annual Christmas fayre in the same way this year but we are looking at how we can still provide some festive fun for the children. We will then hope to hold a Spring fayre when the school buildings are fully open again.

We are still holding our non-uniform days on Wednesday 27^th November and Tuesday 3^rd December but we are asking for a £1 donation rather than the planned bottles, chocolates and cakes which would have been used as prizes at the fayre.

A letter with all of the details about our Christmas raffle, which we are also still going ahead with, is also coming home today so please look for that in your child’s bag. There are brilliant prizes to be won. The raffle will be drawn on Monday 15^th December.

We have explained the current situation in school to Santa and he is still going to visit our children in Nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 on Friday 6^th December. If you would like your child in EYFS/KS1 to see Santa and receive a gift, please complete the link below and send the correct amount of £3.50 into school to your child’s class teacher in a named envelope. You can also purchase a large chocolate Santa coin for £1.50. Please indicate on the booking form if you wish to buy this in addition. If you would like your child to have both the visit to Santa and the chocolate coin, please send in a total amount of £5 in the named envelope. The deadline for the online form and all monies to be in is Tuesday 3^rd December.

https://forms.office.com/e/awkp7A2srv

A marquee is currently being installed on the playground and once this is in place and operational, we can plan for some activities for our KS2 children and will be in touch with you once we have been able to arrange this.

We would like to thank you for your support in helping us to continue fundraising as we try to make the best of a difficult situation and hope we can still give the children a little bit of Christmas magic.

Yours sincerely,

Olton PTA

Olton Primary School

Dear Parents/Carers,

Following changes to attendance legislation which came into force on 19th August 2024 and following our school attendance review, we would like to inform you that letters will be sent home to parents/carers this week and next week.  You will only receive a letter if/where we have concerns in relation to your child’s attendance.  Even if your child has been absent due to illness, we will still make contact with you if their attendance percentage has fallen below the expected attendance percentage rate for this point in the year.

If you receive a letter and have any concerns that you would like to raise or discuss, please contact Mrs Gadd our attendance officer or your child’s class teacher.

Kind regards,

Mrs S Gadd

Attendance Officer

Olton Primary School

Dear Parents, carers and pupils,

I know so many of you have been waiting for an update as to the impact of the flood in our infant building and timescales for repairs. I am now able to give you a better update. First of all, I would like to extend another heartfelt thanks you to you all, acknolwedging the disruption that the flood has caused, not only to the parts of the building that have been damaged but its impact across the whole site, particularly with learning spaces and hot school lunches being affected.

The impact of the water was considerable and surveys have shown that it also penetrated sub-layers to the floor. Across all of the learning spaces affected, all floor coverings have now been removed, furniture and equipment sanitised, where it is still safe to use and the rooms emptied. The process of completely drying out the spaces has already started and will continue up until Christmas. After Christmas, the renovation process will start and we are hopeful that this will be completed in January, but this is subject to many factors beyond our school control. With this being the case, the current classroom arrangement we have set up this week, will need to continue until then.

You, like me, may have seen snippets on the news, which indicate that the colder weather will be with us very soon.  I am working closely with the Local Authority and Solihull Catering to come up with a solution to enable the children to eat their lunch away from their classrooms and also how we may start to reinstate a hot meal option. The team supporting this are working as quickly as possible to try and make this happen in the shortest possible time.

Whilst we are waiting for the completion of remedial building works, we are exploring many different options to see how we might also be able to resume or adapt as many of the planned activities and events we had for this half term and I shall keep you up to date as soon as I can share further information.

Thank you again, both to our incredible children who have shown so much resilience and adaptation to change but also to yourselves for your continued understanding and many, many offers of help. It means such a lot to the team.

Wishing you all a lovely weekend,

Yours sincerely,

Mr Chamberlain and the Team at Olton

Head Teacher

Olton Primary School

Good afternoon everyone, thank you again for all of your support and kindness regarding the flood in our infant block. I shall send out an update tomorrow to you all. With the increase in traffic to different parts of the school, please can I ask that if your child has a scooter or a bike that they do not ride it on the pathways so everyone is safe. We have had some near misses and some children accidentally hurt by scooters in particular. Thank you for your support here.

Also a reminder tomorrow that if your child would like to wear non uniform to support Children in Need day, please bring £1 so we can donate this to the charity.

Many thanks,

Mr Chamberlain

Head Teacher

12th November 2024

Dear  Parents/Carers,

We are pleased to confirm the above trip can go ahead, which is due to a parent making contact with us to clear the outstanding balance.  I am sure everyone will be pleased to hear this good news.

Many thanks

Kind Regards

Mrs T Chakmak

Finance Officer/Wraparound Admin Officer

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Good morning Parents/Carers

Further to my email yesterday we still have a shortfall of £235.40 outstanding on the above trip. 

We have extended this until 11am today, to allow for any further payments to be made.  Unfortunately, should we not receive the amount outstanding the trip will need to be cancelled.

11th November 2024

Good morning Parents/Carers of Year 6

At the time of writing, we still have a shortfall of £256.80.

This means unless we can secure sufficient funds by close of school today, we will NOT be able to proceed with the visit. A DOJO has been sent this morning to all outstanding Parents/Carers.

A final decision will be made by 9 am tomorrow morning, and we will confirm this to you. 

Thank you to everyone that has paid, and in the event this is cancelled, you will receive a full refund.

Many thanks

Kind Regards

Mrs T Chakmak

Finance Officer/Wraparound Admin Officer

RE: Holdenby House payment due on or before next Monday 11/11/2024

5th November 2024

Good morning Parents/Carers,

This is a gentle reminder that the payment for the above event is due on or before next Monday 11th November 2024.

Thank you to the Parents/Carers that have already made the payment, and please be aware that should we not receive full contributions and the event is cancelled, you will receive a full refund.

Many thanks

Mrs T Chakmak

Finance Officer/Wraparound Admin Officer

Good afternoon Parents/Carers

A few parents have contacted us today to say they have paid for the Holdenby Trip and asked why is it still showing as outstanding.

Please refer to the email below that was sent to you all on 1st October 2024.

Kind regards

Mrs Chakmak

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01/10/2024

Good morning Parents/Carers,

I wanted to let you all know that once you have paid the above trip payment, it will still show on your account as outstanding until we archive the payment item. I can however see from the school system as and when you have paid for the item.

If you require a barcode letter please can you let us know a week prior to the payment due date.

Many thanks

Kind Regards

Mrs T Chakmak

Finance Officer/Wraparound Admin Officer

National Anti Bullying Week 2024.  11th - Friday 15th November 2024

“Choose Respect!”

Dear Parents, Carers and Pupils, 

Next week across the country, national anti-bullying week will take place in schools and colleges. The purpose of this week is to support children and young people’s emotional health and well-being and ensure they have a voice in asking for support or help if they feel they are being treated unfairly or bullied.

As part of the week, we spend some curriculum time looking at what is bullying and importantly what to do if you see it happening to someone else or it affects you. To support the focus of the week, Olton will be taking part in different activities to promote discussion and further awareness.

In addition to this there are a few other events below:

Tuesday: Odd Socks Day!

Children and Staff are invited to come to school wearing odd socks with their school uniform to celebrate our uniqueness and individuality! Please can we ask that you make a £1 donation - or any donation you think appropriate - to support the Anti Bullying Alliance. However, you do not have to raise money to take part - the most important part is the message of Odd Socks Day - and any money raised is a bonus!

KS1 and KS2 - there will be a live online lesson on Tuesday which will focus on showing respect and how to deal with disrespect and conflict. We are also pleased to share that Olton Primary has signed up to the United Against Bullying Programme and we shall be working with all of our children to stregthen their ongoing well-being about bullying in everyday life and the online world.

Friday: Non Uniform Day to Support Children in Need. Please send in a £1 donation which we will send off as our whole school donation.

Thank you for your continued support,

Yours sincerely,

Mr Chamberlain     Mrs Gray

Head Teacher         Deputy Head Teacher

Good morning Parents/Carers,

Further to our previous communication, the correct payment has now been loaded on your ParentPay account, along with the original payment due date.

This is for Parents/Carers who are paying for the additional 15 hours per week, and for Parents/Carers whose child remains on school premises over the lunch period.

Many thanks

Kind Regards

Mrs T Chakmak

Finance Officer/Wraparound Admin Officer

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Good afternoon Parents/Carers,

Further to the email that has just been sent regarding the floods in the Infant block. I am providing an update on Nursery Fees for Autumn 2.

As we are unsure of what may happen over the next few days, can we kindly ask that you do not make the Autumn 2 Lunchtime wraparound care payment.  This is due for payment on or before 13 December 2024, but once we know when the children will be back in school, I will adjust the cost on your ParentPay account.   

For Parent/Carers who pay for the extended Nursery hours (15 hours) this will also be reduced, once the children are back in school.  Can we also kindly ask you not to make payments until you we are in a position to advise you of the reduced cost.

Many thanks

Kind Regards

Mrs T Chakmak

Finance Officer/Wraparound Admin Officer

Dear Parents, Carers and Children,

It was lovely to welcome so many of you back to school on Monday but for 120 children, I have not been able to say hello because we had a significant flood that started in our Nursery.  A hot water pipe burst over the half term holiday and this flooded not only that room but 4 other classrooms, their toilets, the upper corridor and our pod spaces.  We walked into school on Monday to nearly 3cm of water across these spaces and as some of you may know, water damage is considerable and over the last two days whilst the Local Authority and our Insurers have been supporting us, the extent of the damage is still being pieced together.  May I take this opportunity to thank the many, many offers of help and support from our community in wanting to help us all - it is very much appreciated.

Our key priority is to get all of our 120 children affected by the room closures back into school quickly and from speaking to so many of you who have had to facilitate last minute childcare arrangements, we recognise this is your priority too.

With considerable help and support from a large team behind the scenes, I am pleased to announce that on Monday 11^th November, we are able to welcome back Chipmunks (Nursery), Lemmings (Reception), Bobcats (Reception), Penguins (Year 2) and also reinstate a learning space for Chameleons too.  In order for this to happen quickly, we have had to plan carefully how we use every available space in school to accommodate this and as with any emergency plan, there have to be compromises.  Our large school hall is going to be transformed into 3 Reception classrooms for Lemmings, Bobcats and Meerkats and our team are currently working on putting this plan into place.  Our Nursery children will be making use of the only Reception classroom not affected by the flood.  This classroom is the current Meerkats’ classroom.  More information will be shared later on in the week about drop-off and collections.

A further change of rooms will be for Penguins (Year 2) who will take over the existing classroom space used by Pandas within the infant block.  Pandas class will move over to the small hall for their classroom.  Ironically, during the initial build, the small hall was a Year 3 classroom.  Chameleons new temporary class base will be the IT suite.

A further impact of creating 4 learning spaces in the school halls will mean that we will not be able to provide a hot meal from the canteen after Thursday, until further notice.  A cold sandwich/wrap menu will operate from Friday 8^th November, for those children who currently have a school meal.  Friday’s usual menu has been moved to tomorrow and so the menu for tomorrow will be Fish Fingers or Cheese and Tomato Pizza both with Chips and Baked Beans.  Chocolate Ice Cream or Fresh Fruit or Yoghurt.  We appreciate that menu options being limited for a period of time will be disappointing, however, we are working with all of our partners to look at further solutions for this.

In addition, we have had to temporarily cancel our extra-curricular clubs that run after school which normally utilise the hall spaces.  Cookery, Martial Arts, Rocksteady are cancelled until further notice.  Gym is on tonight (6^th) and then cancelled thereafter.  Dance Club will run on Monday 11^th and Monday 18^th November (in a classroom) as the children are rehearsing for a show and then cancelled until further notice.  Song Squad will continue in a classroom as again, children have external performances which they are rehearsing for. 

Homework club will continue to run.  Clubs which use the outdoor space will also continue to run.  Orchards and Fielders will continue to operate as normal during this time

I am sure you will all want to know how long this arrangement will go on for.  I am hoping that by the start of next week, we will have a clearer picture of what needs to happen and timescales in relation to getting the school back to normal.  We will keep you informed regarding progress and any other adjustments that we may need to make.

Thank you once again for your overwhelming understanding, care and compassion towards getting our whole school community back together despite the unprecedented circumstances that we encountered on Monday morning.  As ever, if you have any questions, please do speak to a member of our team.

Yours sincerely

Mr L Chamberlain          Mrs E Gray

Head Teacher                  Deputy Head Teacher