Dear Parents/ carers,

We very much appreciate all of your positive comments and offers of support we have received since school closure.

As it looks as if schools may be closed for sometime I wanted to thank you all for your hard work, perseverance and positive attitude with home learning.

We understand that it is very challenging to juggle work commitments and schooling and want to reassure Parents/Carers that we know you are doing everything you can. Even if children can try a few activities over the week it will help them to remember and apply key knowledge.

Home learning can in no way replicate being in a classroom with a teacher and receiving direct teaching to move learning on, however, home learning can help to consolidate current knowledge and give children the chance to use taught skills in different ways with real life applications.

Our teaching and support staff are dividing their time between working in Hubs to provide child care for key workers children and setting tasks for children to consolidate learning at home. If a child is attending a Hub it does not mean that they are receiving a normal taught curriculum nor automatically will these children be advantaged against others who are not attending.

I have asked teaching staff to set tasks for literacy and numeracy on a weekly basis and to include some fun activities which could be done as a family. We do not wish to add undue pressure to families and ask only that children try some activities that can be managed in the home.

On Wednesdays and Fridays children can showcase their activities to their class by emailing a photograph of what they have been up to.

Hamilton Grammar are preparing transition activities which will be posted in P7 folders in May to support the move from Primary to Secondary.

Council Offices are continuing to work on Placing Requests and Parents/Carers will be notified of decisions by post after 30 April.

South Lanarkshire Council are working to produce support packages with a loan of a laptop or support with boosting internet connections. As more details emerge I will update you.

We understand how disappointing it is for our senior pupils not to be able to attend our residential trip to Auchengillan. I have completed an insurance claim and hope to be able to fully reimburse all monies paid soon. Again as soon as I receive an update I will communicate this with Primary 7 parents.

We are thinking about how best to welcome our new Primary 1 pupils for August and are discussing possibilities with Early Years Workers.

I hope you all keep safe and well.

Kind regards,

Alison Hope.