Letter To Parents and Carers – 25th February 2022

Dear Parents and Carers,

I wanted to give you a quick update on a few things.  Firstly, the lifting of COVID restrictions and their implication on school life.  We anticipate that further guidance will come out from the Scottish Government re mask wearing and social distancing.  As of Monday 28^th, we will be removing the need for staff to wear their masks outside, we continue to wear masks inside as we cannot socially distance the adults in the classroom safely.  I will ensure that you are updated with any other changes to our risk assessment and ensure it can be accessed on our web page.

Swimming Pool – my hope is to re-open the swimming pool after the Easter holidays.  As you will all be aware this will be a great step forward, but it does still require some careful planning, as we will have to limit the number of staff in changing areas due to mask wearing and social distancing rules.  Classes will have to be split in half to access, meaning that your child/young person will have a fortnightly slot to begin with.  Your class teacher will be in touch with more details closer to the holidays.

Orchard Brae Holiday Club – all parents and carers of pupils attending the school should have received an information poster and return for our holiday club.  This will run for the first week of the Easter holidays from 9.30-12.30.  Places are limited and you cannot be guaranteed a place, but the information will help us to organise future clubs and holiday access to activities.

Buildings – Our building is undergoing a transformation on the outside.  The removal of some of the slate from our building has started which means that we will soon be rid of all the Heras fencing.  We do also have plans to create our little garden areas outside each class which allows us to remove the temporary fencing as well.

Finally, we have received word that our report/letter from the latest HMIe visit will be published on the March 1^st.  Once it goes live you will find access to it via this link on the Education Scotland website at www.education.gov.scot.  I would like to thank all of you for your continued support in making Orchard Brae the best it can be and hope to have a thank you gathering in the summer term to celebrate our wonderful community.

Kind regards

Elaine