Latest News

UPDATE FOR KEYWORKERS

Mon 30 Mar 2020

CHILD CARE HUBS

Reminder to families about the process for accessing hub provision childcare.

Moving forward all applications for childcare must be made via the link below:

https://www.merthyr.gov.uk/resident/coronavirus/school-closures-emergency-childcare-and-free-school-meals/

Applications for weekend provision starting 4th April must be made by Tuesday 31st March .

Please identify your needs as far in advance as possible.

For provision week commencing 6th April (Mon – Thurs) please apply by Wed 1st April.

For week commencing 20th April (Tues – Fri ), please apply by 13th April

for Friday 11th and Monday 13th please use weekend form but please note it is not yet confirmed that provision will be open this weekend it will be determined by demand as these days are officially bank holidays.

All applications must be received at least 5 days in advance so that the number of hubs required and staffing ratios are managed safely.

IN ALL INSTANCES THE SAFEST OPTION TO PREVENT THE SPREAD OF THIS VIRUS AND TO PROTECT YOUR CHILDREN IS TO KEEP YOUR CHILD AT HOME.

Letter from MTCBC / Llythyr gan CBMT

Sat 28 Mar 2020

Dyddiad/Date: 27^th March 2020

Dear Parent/Carer

Covid-19 CHILDCARE REQUEST – WEEKEND AND BANK HOLIDAYS CHILDCARE PROVISION

IN ALL INSTANCES THE SAFEST OPTION TO PREVENT THE SPREAD OF THIS VIRUS, AND TO PROTECT YOUR CHILDREN, IS TO KEEP YOUR CHILD AT HOME DURING THE SCHOOL CLOSURES

PLEASE ONLY APPLY FOR CHILDCARE PROVISION AS A LAST RESORT.

The following arrangements are under constant review and are subject to change due to staffing and resource implications.

The information provided in this leaflet aims to help parents/carers follow the application process for childcare school places over the weekend and bank holidays, where both parents are working in one of the following key sectors ONLY:-

Health and Social Care sectors including Social Workers.
Public safety and national security (This includes police and support staff, fire and rescue service employees (including support staff) and prison and probation staff)

We have put measures in place to open a limited number of Hubs to provide care for children of these Key Workers commencing Saturday 4^th April 2020. Each Hub will be open from the hours of 08:00am to 06:00pm

If you wish to be considered for a place in a Hub provision on the weekend and/or bank holidays, you will need to complete an online admission application on the Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council website:-

https://www.merthyr.gov.uk/resident/coronavirus/school-closures-emergency-childcare-and-free-school-meals/

Once you have submitted your online application, it will be considered, and an email will be sent to you to confirm if your child/children have been awarded a place.

DO NOT TURN UP AT A HUB SCHOOL WITHOUT THIS EMAIL AS PROOF OF CONFIRMATION.

You must complete an on-line application form 5 days in advance of needing the provision. It is very important that parents do not just turn up at the Hub School, unless it is an emergency situation.

If you require a place for 4th or 5^th April this needs to be completed by Tuesday 31^st March

If you find yourself in an emergency situation on a day that you have not requested childcare, then the school may be able accommodate your child. However, you will be asked to complete a retrospective online admission application within 48 hours. You will need to provide the Hub with the following:-

LA email confirming the allocation of a place
Proof of ID
Proof of occupation and shifts will be required
A packed lunch for your child as no food will be provided on weekends

Failure to provide the above will result in your child not being admitted.

Locality of Hubs accepting Key Workers children:-

NORTH

Hub School – GOETRE PRIMARY SCHOOL will be accepting pupils from:-

Pantyscallog Primary

Gellifaelog Primary

St Aloysius RC Primary

Gwaunfarren Primary

Ysgol Y Graig Primary

Pen Y Dre High

Bishop Hedley RC High

CENTRAL

Hub School – CAEDRAW PRIMARY SCHOOL will be accepting pupils from:-

Heolgerrig Community

Cyfarthfa Park Primary

Ysgol Coed Y Dderwen

St Illtyd’s RC Primary

St Mary’s RC Primary

Twynyrodyn Community

Cyfarthfa High

SOUTH 1

Hub School – TROEDYRHIW PRIMARY SCHOOL will be accepting pupils from:-

Abercanaid Community

Ynysowen Community

Afon Taf High

SOUTH 2

Hub School – TRELEWIS PRIMARY SCHOOL will be accepting pupils from:-

Bedlinog Community Primary

Edwardsville Primary

Afon Taf High

WELSH LANGUAGE

Hub School – YSGOL RHYD Y GRUG will be accepting pupils from:-

Ysgol Santes Tudful

Ysgol Gyfun Rhydywaun

Greenfield Special School and Ty Dysgu Homfrey will also open to Key Worker families, as per the guidance.

Should you have any further questions, or wish to discuss anything further, then please email ICS.SchoolAdmissions@merthyr.gov.uk

Yours sincerely

SUE WALKER

CHIEF OFFICER (LEARNING)

Lluniau / Photos!

Thu 26 Mar 2020

Os rydych chi wedi bod yn creu Enfys Gobaith - anfonwch llun atom er mwyn i ni rannu gyda phawb!

If you`ve been creating a Rainbow of Hope for your homes , please send us a photo and we`ll share it with everyone so that we can all keep in virtual touch! If the children are not in the picture,please share directly on here , if they are included send it to your teacher`s e-mail or tag us on Twitter

Missing everyone very much - let`s hope the end of the rainbow won`t be too long - but until then , STAY IN , STAY SAFE! x

MARCH 26th - 8.30am

Thu 26 Mar 2020

Dear Parent/carer,
Since Monday we have been working to secure a robust method of getting meals to pupils who are eligible for free school meals. On Monday we asked for those not in self-isolation to pick up meals
from specific schools and we only delivered to those in self-isolation. This was not success and many, many meals were not picked up.

Following the announcement on Monday evening we attempted to deliver to everyone yesterday, despite our best efforts this didn’t work. Today we had asked schools to let us know which families wanted the meals but once again there have been a number of families that have missed out. We have more delivery vans tomorrow and all schools have let us know which
families have asked for meals, we have also centralised some of the catering facilities that make the meals, this will enable us to better meet the demand across the local authority.

Moving forward there are different options being considered to provide food to those eligible for support and your schools will keep you informed of any changes.

Thank you for your patience during this week, it has not been easy but with the help of your schools, yourselves and a wider number of delivery vans and operatives I am hopeful of a better service.

Sue Walker
Chief Officer Learning

IMPORTANT LETTER

Fri 20 Mar 2020

Dyddiad/Date: 20^th March 2020

Dear Parent/Carer

SCHOOL CLOSURES & ARRANGEMENTS

As you will be aware from following various media outlets, shortly all schools will be closing for a period of at least four weeks, though recent suggestion is that this period could extend way into the Summer Term. At present, information that local authorities and therefore schools are provided with is changing rapidly, and we are doing all we can to try and keep you up to date with changes as they occur.

Before reading any further, could I emphasise that the purpose of closing schools as they currently work is to restrict and minimise social contact and therefore reduce the risk of being infected by the Coronavirus.

Therefore, if it is at all possible, please keep your children at home.

Parents should not rely for childcare upon those who are advised to be in the stringent social distancing category such as grandparents, friends, or family members with underlying conditions.

However, from Monday onwards we are ‘repurposing’ our schools. Quite simply, this means that the school will no longer function under its normal purpose of delivering learning, but will be used as a point of support for Key Workers, and to help reduce the impact of the virus on our communities, including the vulnerable through providing childcare.There will be no lessons taught. School buildings will be open between 8am and 4pm with Breakfast Club and a school meal being provided for those. For next week school transport will run at the normal times – this will be reviewed as we become more aware of the need for this service.

We want to ensure that schools will provide caring facilities for parents who are at the forefront of the national effort to fight the Coronavirus disease. The children will not be taught lessons during this time. We want to ensure that these vital workers are given every opportunity to be in work and to get on with their efforts to protect our lives and wellbeing.

In accordance with the above, and in line with guidance, all the schools in Merthyr Tydfil will be open next week to those who are employed within:

Health and Social Care sectors.
Education and childcare staff, including Social Workers.
Key public services, ie those responsible for the management of the deceased.
Local and national government (This only includes those administrative occupations essential to the effective delivery of the COVID-19 response, or delivering essential public services, such as the payment of benefits)
Food and other necessary goods (This includes those involved in food production, processing, distribution, sale and delivery)
Public safety and national security (This includes police and support staff, fire and rescue service employees (including support staff) and prison and probation staff)
Transport (This includes those who will keep the road and rail passenger and freight transport modes operating during the COVID-19 response, including those working on transport systems through which supply chains pass)

Please do not be offended if your Headteacher asks you to provide evidence of your place of work and the hours you work. It is not expected that this childcare would be required by everyone every day, and it should only be used for those times where you cannot secure any other possible care for your child.

IN ALL INSTANCES THE SAFEST OPTION TO PREVENT THE SPREAD OF THIS VIRUS, AND TO PROTECT YOUR CHILDREN, IS TO KEEP YOUR CHILD AT HOME DURING THE CLOSURES.

The fewer children making the journey to school, and the fewer children in childcare settings, the lower the risk that the virus can spread and infect vulnerable individuals in society.

I cannot emphasise enough that we want to prioritise attendance at school to only those who absolutely need to be there and are eligible to be there according to this criteria. If you fall outside this criteria, schools will not be expected to receive your children. Please be considerate and understanding in these very challenging times.

Our schools will also be open to our most vulnerable learners who will be identified in discussion with Headteachers and Social Services and your school will contact you personally on this.

I am confident that if this advice is followed, we will all make a significant contribution towards protecting our pupils and our staff. These arrangements will be reviewed with our schools on a daily basis and we will keep you informed of any changes through the usual communication and media channels.

If your child is eligible for Free School Meals all primary and secondary schools will be providing Grab and Go Bags even though they are not in school. Lunches will be available for collection from 11.30 – 13.00hrs and your school will explain how these can be collected. The arrangements for this will change as Welsh Government plans are acted upon.

Yours sincerely

SUE WALKER

CHIEF OFFICER (LEARNING)

20/3/2020 - 6.45am

Fri 20 Mar 2020

Bore da,

We are awaiting two major decisions today by the local authority:

1) The provision of education for keyworker children.

2) How the local authority intend to provide food for pupils who are eligible for Free School Meals.

As soon as these decisions are confirmed with us by official sources , we will contact you directly.

All resources are now online - www.rhyd-y-grug.cymru - class pages and at present a news page which contains many resources for the Foundation Phase.

These resources will be added to on a daily basis , but there are plenty for you to be starting with from Monday onwards.

After today , we will be assessing how many paper packs have to be mailed out. As “luck” would have it , the school photocopier has malfunctioned , so if any of you are a Xerox engineer , we would be most grateful!

We are going to make today a special day for the children , we never thought that we would ever be in this horrible position , and are all hoping that we can get back to normal as soon as possible!

We will create video messages from all the school staff and post them on our website so that the children can see us every day (If they want to!)

But in the meantime - please stay safe , stay in and stay in touch!

More updates when they are available.

Diolch

Adnoddau Cyfnod Sylfaen / Foundation Phase Resources

Thu 19 Mar 2020

https://www.activityvillage.co.uk

https://scratch.mit.edu/explore/projects/all

https://nrich.maths.org

https://www.parents.com/fun/arts-crafts/painting/recreate-mastpiece-paintings/#page=2

https://littlebinsforlittlehands.com/30-preschool-science-experiments-for-the-young-scientist/

https://www.fflicafflac.com

https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/shows/cymraeg

http://www.crickweb.co.uk

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLO-DjoHO6NpjjSSvztGRqz-FyKznt4oP5&app=desktop

https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/supermovers/cymru/zkdjgwx

https://cyw.cymru

https://www.twinkl.co.uk

https://www.dysgugydasam.co.uk

https://www.activityvillage.co.uk/learning

https://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/pecyn-adnoddau-cau-ysgol-cc1-meithrin-derbyn-blwyddyn-1-wl-cm-30

https://www.activityvillage.co.uk

Update - 3.15pm - 19/3/2020

Thu 19 Mar 2020

Key Stage 2 resources have now been posted onto the class pages on our website www.rhyd-y-grug.cymru.

They are also on Google Classroom – children know how to access the resources.We have asked the children to test the access tonight so that we can deal with any problems that may arise.

Foundation Phase resources are still being uploaded but you will receive a text when they are fully ready.

No further announcements have been made through official channels at time of writing this – there may be more news to report at the next update which will be at 6.00pm.

Remember to register for Twitter - @rhydygrug

Next update at 6.00pm

Diolch!

Update - 1.30pm - 19/3/2020

Thu 19 Mar 2020

At the moment we are only collecting names of parents who work directly for the NHS , although we are also waiting for a statement from Welsh Government to see which other people they will include as key workers on their list to be published later today.

Details on how the children of keyworkers will attend school will be made available to us as a school tomorrow.

There are currently meetings being held regarding pupils who are eligible for Free School Meals (eFSM) and the plans to provide food for this group of pupils should also be available tomorrow.

The work packs will be available tomorrow, please do not contact the teachers about them yet, we have already received requests for daily packs, which will NOT be possible.

Foundation Phase teachers will use-mail and ClassDojo to send work – sign-in details will be e-mailed to parents if you have not yet registered.

Key stage 2 teachers will be using e-mail, Google Classroom and SeeSaw

As far as the online content that will be shared with you via our website, Facebook , Twitter and Text service , this will be divided into:

Foundation Phase age appropriate content

Key Stage 2 age appropriate content

Content available for all ages.

Next update at 3.00pm

Diolch!

Update - 10.30am - 19/3/2020

Thu 19 Mar 2020

In order to establish a direct line of communication between yourselves and your class teacher , could you please e-mail them today at the following address. (Even if you have used the e-mail service before)

Please confirm who your child is, and remember to e-mail more than one teacher if you have more than one child in school. Please also confirm your mobile number in the e-mail.

Can you complete this by no later than 2.00pm today please?

If you have any GENERAL queries or questions – please use info@rhyd-y-grug.cymru.

Mrs Hedges - sharon.hedges@rhyd-y-grug.cymru

Mrs Donnison - bethan.donnison@rhyd-y-grug.cymru

Miss Thomas - rebecca.thomas@rhyd-y-grug.cymru

Mr Morgan - rhodri.morgan@rhyd-y-grug.cymru

Miss Sheppard - a.sheppard@rhyd-y-grug.cymru

Mrs Tricker - bethan.tricker@rhyd-y-grug.cymru

Mrs Evans - sue.evans@rhyd-y-grug.cymru

Miss Jenkins - n.jenkins@rhyd-y-grug.cymru

Miss Long - siwan.long@rhyd-y-grug.cymru

Miss Worton - sarah.worton@rhyd-y-grug.cymru