Latest News
Keep up to date with all the latest news happening in school and our community at the moment.
-
Return to school - January 2022
Wed 05 Jan 2022Please click here to read the latest plans for the safe return to school in January 2022 and for the up to date "Drop, Collect and Go" arrangements.
Thank you
-
January Arrangements
Fri 17 Dec 2021Please click here to read a letter from the Local Authority outlining the arrangements for the start of the spring term. Just to confirm with parents / carers, the school will be closed to pupils on Tuesday 4th and Wednesday 5th January 2022.
We will open to pupils from Nursery to Year 6, on Thursday 6th January 2022 and those pupils joining us as Pre-Nursery, will start on Friday 7th January 2022.
Home learning will not be provided for pupils on Tuesday 4th and Wednesday 5th as these are training days.
There is provision for emergency key worker children for Wednesday 5th January 2022; the criteria for which is included in the attached letter. Please be aware that children attending this Hub for one day will receive childcare and not teaching. Breakfast club will be available to the successful applicants for this day.
From Thursday 6th January 2022, as far as we are aware, normal breakfast club arrangements will continue. Any changes will be shared with parents / carers as soon as the Local Authority notify us.
May I take this opportunity to say a big thank you to all of our parents and carers for your support and understanding during this term. Can we wish you all a very Merry Christmas and A Happy Healthy and safe New Year.
-
Change to start of term arrangements
Thu 16 Dec 2021The Minister for Education for Wales has announced this morning that schools are to be closed to all pupils for the first two days of the Spring Term due to the current and expected concerns regarding the Omicron variant of Covid-19.
As you are no doubt aware, there are a number of speculative models indicating that the latest Covid variant will cause significant difficulties across a number of sectors and this may result in schools needing to provide home learning to some or all pupils. The two days will be spent preparing for home learning for classes/ year groups or the whole school dependent upon the advice of Welsh Government and the Local Authority at the start of term.
It has been wonderful to have had the autumn term as normal as possible, and it has been so lovely to see the children making great progress and catching up on the learning that they have missed. My staff and I do not want to return to home learning unless in the most extreme of cases and where there is either no other alternative, or if we are instructed to do so.
The situation is very fluid at the moment and it is expected that further updates will be provided to school during the Christmas break in readiness for January. As a school, we will pass on the relevant information as soon as we know it and hopefully Welsh Government and the Local Authority will be expeditious in providing the advice and guidance required for all parties.
Thank you for your understanding in this matter.
-
Children in Need 2021
Fri 12 Nov 2021The theme for this year's Children in Need is 'Sparkle & Spots!'
As Children in Need are still asking schools to become ‘cashless’, we have set up a Children in Need Just Giving page so we can raise as much as we can for those children who need our help.
Details are:
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/sue-harwood5
We are looking forward to lots of fun Pudsey activities in class!
Thank you again for your continued support and co-operation
-
Reminders and dates for your diary
Wed 10 Nov 2021Reminder:
Can we please remind all parents / carers that dogs are not permitted on the school site under Health and Safety guidelines. This includes any dogs that are carried as well as those on leads.
Please see below dates for your dairy:
Thursday 11th November 2021
Remembrance Day
Thank you for your support of our Poppy Appeal. Poppies and other merchandise are still available at the school and will be for the rest of this week. All items are a minimum donation of £1.
Throughout the day pupils will be taking part in linked activities and we will be holding a school wide minutes silence at 11am.
Nasal Flu Spray
The Health Visitors and School Nurses will be in school tomorrow to deliver the Nasal Flu Spray across the school.
Tuesday 16th November 2021
Proposed New Build
Please see attached letter (English and Welsh) notifying consultees of the drop-in session arranged to give residents an opportunity to view the plans for the new school in person and to ask any questions they may have of the RCT / WEPCo team.
Please note that the venue for the drop-in session is the main school hall between 4.30pm and 7pm.
Friday 19th November 2021
Children In Need
We will be once again supporting this charity and accepting donations via an online giving page - details to follow.
w/c Monday 22nd November 2021
Parent's Evenings
We will be holding parent consultations via the School Cloud app during this week. Please keep an eye on Parentmail for details of when bookings will go live and instructions on how to book your parent teacher consultation.
Friday 10th December 2021
INSET DAY
Friday 10th December 2021 will be an INSET (teacher training) day and the school will be closed to pupils.
The remaining four INSET days are being allocated and will be sent out shortly.
-
Applying for a school place in September 2022
Thu 09 Sep 2021Due to start Nursery or Reception?
If your child is due to start Nursery or Reception in September 2022 (ie: Age 3 before September 2022 or age 4 before September 2022) you must apply for a school place for your child.
Applications for places for September 2022 opened on 2nd September 2021 and must be made by 5pm on Friday 12th November 2021.
Applying online is quick and easy. Follow these three steps:-
1. Visit https://schooladmissions.rhondda-cynon-taf.gov.uk/
2. Register with a valid e-mail address
3. Follow the instructions on the online application web pages
Please see the attached letter and flyer for further details.
Due to start Year 7?
If your child is due to start Year 7 in September 2022 you must apply for a school place for your child.
Applications for places for September 2022 opened on 2nd September 2021 and must be made by 15th October 2021.
Applying online is quick and easy. Follow these three steps:-
1. Visit https://schooladmissions.rhondda-cynon-taf.gov.uk/
2. Register with a valid e-mail address
3. Follow the instructions on the online application web pages
Please see the attached letter and flyer for further details.
-
First day notices and reminders
Mon 06 Sep 2021We have had a successful first day back and it has been lovely to see all our pupils in school.
Can we just remind all parents / carers of the following:
Drop and Go
We are still operating the 'drop and go' / 'pick-up and go' procedure, following the one-way system.
Parents / carers dropping off / picking-up children should maintain distance from other families wherever possible and must leave the school site immediately and not congregate. At present the wearing of face-masks on the school site is optional under the current Welsh Government guidelines.
School Times
The school day runs from 9am to 3.30pm
Gates are open from 8.50am in the morning to enable a staggered entry and pupils can go straight into class. No pupils should be dropped off prior to this time and parents / carers and pupils are not to congregate on the school yards.
End of day pick up times are:
Nursery - PLEASE SEE THE NURSERY STARTING SCHOOL BOOKLET AND INFORMATION
Reception - 3.20 pm
Year 1 - 3.25 pm
Year 2 - 3.25 pm - please wait on the drive and do not go up the ramp to the classrooms as parents / carers are still not permitted in school buildings due to covid restrictions and it causes congestion for the children.
Juniors - 3.30 pm
Please do not congregate on the yard prior to your collection times as we are still operating the COVID safe 'pick-up and go' system to avoid congestion.
School Dinners
School dinners are £2.55 per day payable in advance. This is paid through the online RCT portal. A link to this can be found on our website here
To pay for dinners you will need your child's unique 10-digit number which can be obtained from the school office. We will send letters out to the new starters and Nursery pupils with these details shortly.
Arrears - last academic year
Can any outstanding dinner monies from the last academic year please be cleared as soon as possible. Should there be any reason why this is not possible, please contact the school office in confidence. Many thanks.
School Dinner Menu
The school dinner menu can be found on our website. Please note that this is a bespoke menu and NOT the same as the menu online on the RCT website. If you could discuss the menu options with your child to ease registration time we would be most grateful. We are currently on Week 2. We have also attached a copy of the menu for your convenience.
Sickness / Absence
The school needs to be notified of ALL absences and associated reasons. This is a legal requirement and we need to code the child's absence appropriately. Please call the school office (01443) 237833, choosing option 1, and leave a message. When leaving your reason please be specific ie: stomach bug, headache etc. Leaving 'unwell' or 'won't be in today' will result in the school calling you to ascertain a reason. Should your child be suffering from vomitting or diarrhoea, they must stay off school for 48 hours following the last bout of illness.
Office
The office will be closed on Wednesday afternoons for administration duties. Should you need to contact the school, please either leave an answer phone message or send an email to 6742160_admin.PontyclunPrimarySchool@hwbcymru.net and we will get back to you in due course.
The office is also shut for lunch every day between 12 noon and 1pm. Should you need to collect or drop off your child around lunchtimes, please arrive either just before or just after these times. If that is not possible, please make prior arrangements with the office to ensure someone is available to let you onto the school grounds.
We have re-attached the current COVID guidance for your information.
IT Works
BT are undertaking IT works tomorrow morning from 10am to 11am. During this time the school phone system will not be operating. Please send an email to admin if there is an issue that cannot wait.
We thank you for your continued support and co-operation in these matters and are looking forward to an uneventful, lockdown free term.
-
Covid arrangements for September 2021
Fri 03 Sep 2021We would like to extend a warm welcome back to you after the summer break. We hope you had a lovely time and that your children are ready for the new term. Fingers crossed we will be able to have a full year, free of disruption and change.
Please click here to read the school’s procedures for the start of the term.
If you have any queries please contact the school on its new e-mail address;
-
End of term newsletter
Fri 16 Jul 2021Firstly, can I say a big thank you to you all for the generosity shown to staff at the end of the year. The gifts are never expected but are always appreciated so thank you all very much.
For those parents / carers and pupils leaving at the end of the year, we wish you all the very best of luck for the future and will miss you all.
For those parents / carers returning after the summer break we wish you a very enjoyable holiday and hope that you all get the break you deserve.
When we come back in September, there may or may not be changes to the school routines that are currently operating. At present, Welsh Government are preparing advice and guidance for schools on 4 different levels of Covid risk.
These are; low risk, moderate risk, high risk and very high risk.
Depending upon which risk level RCT is at by the end of August will decide what measures we will need to adopt. The measures will be shared with schools over the summer holidays and the level of risk will be determined at the end of August, taking into account the Covid data presenting at that time.
We will inform parents / carers of the arrangements as soon as we can.
Thank you for your understanding in this matter,
Stay safe everyone,
Kind regards,
Mr H Roberts
-
Term dates 2021-22
Fri 02 Jul 2021RE: 2021/22 SCHOOL HOLIDAY DATES/EXTRA ONE OFF BANK HOLIDAY DUE TO QUEEN'S DIAMOND JUBILEE IN JUNE 22
RCT have revised their term dates to account for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee bank holiday which falls in the June half term. To account for this they have added an additional day to the summer holidays.
Please see calendar for all term dates.
The start of term is now Friday 3rd September and this has been designated an INSET day by RCT.
The first day of term for pupils will be Monday 6th September 2021.
