Dear Parents and Carers,
I write to wish you a belated happy and healthy 2022!
What beautiful crispy winter days we have had this week, and with the heads of snowdrops starting to peep through the ground I think there is a creeping sense that we are heading for spring and some optimism!
Having said that, the return to nursery hasn’t quite gone as we had hoped, as during the seasonal closure the number of Covid cases here in Bristol have risen at a staggering rate, way above what we would have imagined for the start of term.
With this has already come challenges, as we have a really high number of staff off ill or isolating across all of our teams. Today alone we have had 14 staff off work.
I’m afraid we will just have to watch this space as we work through the next few weeks.
To help us, please can I remind you to:
- Wear a mask at all times when on school site, or at drop off/pick ups
- Keep your child home if they are ill or a family member has Covid
- Keep using lateral flow tests with your family
Staff Changes at St Pauls:
This year we have more St Pauls staff babies than ever before!
We congratulate practitioners Hannah (in Nursery School) and Chloe ( in 2s) who both welcomed baby boys last year, and Emily ( also in 2s) who had a little girl. We are now excited to meet this year’s babies, as Alice and Louise (in Nursery School) and Nicky ( in Eys 2) are all expecting! We wish them a healthy and happy maternity leave when it comes!
With this comes staff shuffles and new appointments. Please join me in welcoming to our team:
Claire – Practitioner in EYs2
Siaqa – Lunchtime support in EYs2
Zataya – Apprentice in EYs2
Latalia – Apprentice in Baby Room
Kirsty – Practitioner in Nursery School After School provision
Natascia – Lunchtime Support in Nursery School
We are also saying goodbye to Raho, and Jemma in our Nursery School. Raho has been working in a number of roles here over the last few years – lunchtime support, SEND support and has been forever flexible, child centred, loving and creative in her work.
Jemma has been at St Pauls for 25 years! What a legacy she leaves behind with all the children and families she has loved and championed as an Early Years Practitioner and Key Person here, and also with all the new staff and students she has so brilliantly inducted, mentored and inspired.
Jemma is an exceptional, brilliant and experienced practitioner who will be really really missed. Please join me in thanking her for her massive contribution and commitment to St Pauls over this last quarter of a century! We know this is a brave choice for her as she takes the first step into her new role with Avon and Somerset Lighthouse Victim Support. We wish her all the luck in the world, and know she will do brilliantly. Go safe dear Jemma.
We are presently updating our website to ensure all the staffing lists are current and detail roles and responsibilities for your information, which might help you to make sense of our staffing structure here at St Pauls.
Information Meeting for Parents and Carers:
Robin and I hosted a Zoom meeting for parents last week, with just a few in attendance, who I think valued the opportunity to talk with us.
They gave us interesting feedback from our childrens ‘spotlight’ conversations with you, and communication about handovers at the end of extended days, which we are sharing with the teams and will act on.
Some parents also commented that the timing of the meeting wasn’t great.
With this in mind, our next meeting will be on:
Thursday 17th February, at 7-8pm on ZOOM.
The focus will be on Supporting Childrens Personal, Social and Emotional Well being
The joining details are:
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86308823100?pwd=WWxGV0Z5NndlbytrSllSNTg2R09Rdz09
Meeting ID: 863 0882 3100
Passcode: 611054
Job Opportunities at St Pauls:
We are trying to recruit to the following positions at St Pauls:
- Early Years Qualified Teacher (temporary)
- Somali Bi-lingual Support Worker (full time, term time only)
- Early Years Practitioner (Term time only, BG5)
- Early Years Apprentice (to work all year round in one of our baby Rooms)
The details will be available on our website shortly – if you know anyone who might be interested in these posts please spread the word!
Thankyou so much for the support you show us, it’s such a delight to get good feedback from our families and see the children thriving so well at nursery in every room.
Please continue to share your feelings, opinions, worries, questions and feedback with us, it’s the only way we can make sure we are meeting your needs are well as we possibly can.
Kind Regards
Lucy Driver
Headteacher and National Leader of Education
