Good evening all Parents and Carers,

I hope you have had a good start to the week. I think everyone in school is really tired and looking forward to the half term, I certainly include myself in that. I know that you all must be nervous about what is going to happen in Greater Manchester as Andy Burnham tries to gain a good financial deal for all of us. 

I was in a meeting today with Heads and the Local Authority and they describe it as a 'carousel of in school and out' and of  'ups and down' on an escalator. As a person who likes to generally know what I am facing on a day to day basis, I find this hard. I am trying to think of it this way - if anything happens in the day that you expected..... smile!

We need to be prepared for bubbles to be sent home and for children to be home learning. This will only be done on the advice of the local health team (who are excellent by the way). In light of this, please can you let school / your child's class teacher via the class page know if there are issues accessing home learning. We have limited access to new IT equipment via a Government scheme and I need the information to prioritise the allocation of the equipment as obviously not all children are eligible. School will explore every means of getting class work to you and this is why the information is required.

On Thursday the school will have an Her Majesty's Inspector of Health and Safety on the premises. You will see her with me in the morning as the children enter school. This is a random visit to look at our Risk Assessment and to see how it is working in practical terms. I welcome the chance to show her everything that we have put in place.

I hope that you are having a restful evening. 

See you tomorrow.

Mrs. Perry x

Good afternoon Parents and Carers,

Thank you for all your support this week as all the children returned to school. We have had a good week and the children have been a pleasure to be with. Some staff remain poorly and our best wishes for a speedy recovery go to them. These are, unfortunately, the sign of the times we live in.

Have a lovely weekend.

Mrs. Perry. :)

My Dear Parents and Carers,

It was so lovely to see everyone today. Thank you for your patience at the end of the school day!! We had everyone back in school including our Reception children. There were queues at times. This was partly due to everyone returning, but please bear with us as we do not yet know all of the new parents and so helping the new children to find their parents took a little longer than usual. We will get better and things will become smoother over time.

We are so proud of you and the way school is dealing with this horrid situation.

From a personal point of view, thank you so much for all the lovely comments and questions about my health and that of the staff. Several staff are still unwell and cannot attend school as a result. 

Keep safe and well. I will see you in the morning. Your children are a joy and are a credit to you,

Lots of love,

Mrs. Perry. :)

Dear Parents and Carers,

I hope you're having a lovely evening?

The staff are very keen to welcome your children back to school this week. I think that all we all want is some semblance of normality, whatever that is these days. School will try its best to reset school as smoothly as possible and staff will be on hand to greet the children as usual, so arrive at the usual staggered time at the beginning and end of the day..

I must admit that although our aim is for school to return to normal, you will know that the situation is ever changing. While school has been closed there have been a number of staff and children test positive. If this happens once the children are back, then this would lead to certain bubbles being sent home again. This would only be done on the advice of the Local Health Team.​

Some of the staff are still too poorly to attend school even though their isolation period has ended. Therefore, supply staff has had to be arranged in certain areas of the school. The latest information I have from Bury Local Authority is that the number of cases is high compared with the North West and is continuing to rise. All we can all do is try our best, so please remember to wear your mask when you drop your children off and remember to socially distance as far as possible.

We really are looking forward to seeing you tomorrow or Wednesday.

Lots of love.

Mrs. Perry x

Dear Parents and Carers,

I hope that you are well and you are enjoying the sun!! I regret to have to tell you that there are four more positive cases of COVID, among the staff, that have come to my attention over the weekend, including staff who work around school as part of their role. Therefore, it is really important that all children isolate. I know how difficult and frustrating this is for you, but there is no safe alternative.

We are in the position that over two thirds of our staff are either COVID positive or are ill but have had a negative test. Staffing is clearly going to be a worry during these horrible times.

Thank you for your overwhelming support and kind messages sent to me and the staff. They really do warm our hearts.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend and keep well.

Lots of love,

Mrs. Perry

Dear Parents and Carers,

As we approach the end of another week I think it is safe to say that this was not the ending we expected or hoped for. Despite all school's substantial efforts, we had to close yesterday, and I think it might help you if I gave additional background to what has happened this week. I know that you want to know exactly who has tested positive and who is ill (because you care about your child's class adults and their classmates) and despite the fact that I am happy for you to know that I am one of the positive staff members, the guidelines state that staff / pupils' names must not be disclosed. 

This is what has happened since last Friday:

• ​​The Y5 bubble closed last Friday, due to a TA testing positive. This was closely followed by the class teacher.
• Two children in Y5 have tested positive.
• A Year 5 Out of School Playworker tested positive.
•  A Year 2 lunchtime organiser tested positive, leading to that bubble being sent home, 
• The Out of School Club closed due to a staff contact with the Y5 Playworker.
• The Headteacher confirmed a positive case (sorry guys it's me), with impact on whole school due to the fact that I have a duty of care for the whole school.
• Our deputy (Mr. Longworth) is a suspected case and awaiting a test result. This has a direct impact in Y6  and a potential impact on the whole school as senior leaders need to move round the whole school to ensure the risk assessment is being adhered to.
• There is a suspected case in Y4 with a child awaiting test results.
• There have been positive cases with two lunchtime organisers in unrelated classes. 
• There are currently six positive staff members and several others poorly and awaiting test results.

This is the information I have today. As you can imagine, I have had to make the most difficult decisions possible. You as parents have been outstandingly supportive and I am very pleased that you have shared this overwhelmingly with my staff. They are here to support and help. If you have any worries / concerns / questions then please contact school via email. 

You will be pleased to hear that although many staff are unwell they are still trying to support your children in whatever way they can, as am I. 

As things stand we are hoping to reopen school on Tuesday 6th October. For now, let's keep in touch and support each other as a great St. Margaret's community,

We are here to help!

Lots of love,

Mrs. Perry

Good afternoon all!

I am so sorry that I had to make the decision to close school today. My positive test result means that the whole school is affected. As you will appreciate as Head I need to move around school and sitting in my office all day is not realistic. This means that all the children and staff need to isolate. How long for is uncertain at the minute because other staff have also become unwell and await the result of a test. Despite our best efforts, the virus has spread quickly. This is reflected in schools across Bury and in Greater Manchester. We have been trying hard today to close the school safely and this morning there was a deep clean led by the Local Authority Cleaning Department.

Your teachers will be putting work on the class pages for you to complete so have a go and try your best. 

Many of you have sent lovely emails asking how I am. The truth is, I have felt better, but I have felt worse too!! Thank you for all your positive comments about the school organisation, communication and for your best wishes for me and all the staff.

We will all be together as soon as we can.

Thank you for your support and patience.

Lots of love.

Mrs. Perry