As we come to the end of this academic year, who would have thought, when we started, that it would have turned out to be quite the year we have all experienced. Once again we would like to thank all of the Dunalley team who have worked collectively and supportively to enable the school to function as smoothly as possible during these turbulent times. From the senior leadership team to the teachers and teaching partners, admin, premises, lunchtime and Earlies and Lates teams, all staff have had to support each other, take over others’ roles due to absence, alter hours of working and endless other things that have enabled us to navigate this year. Each and every team is a vital cog that enables the whole school to function. 

We would also like to thank you, again, for coping too. Supporting remote learning, taking your children for PCR tests, dealing with closures of Earlies and Lates at short notice to name but a few things and sadly in these last couple of weeks, class bubble closures. Your continued support has been much appreciated.  

Finally, what an amazing group of children we have here at Dunalley. They too have had to deal with all the changes to ways of working and procedures in school as well as home-learning and being ‘bubbled’. They have shown such resilience, they have persevered with their learning and continued to enjoy being with their friends. They have been a credit to you all.  

May we wish you all a restful summer and we hope that you are able to enjoy time with friends and family during the holidays. Stay safe and well. We look forward to seeing the children back on Monday 6th September. 

A very big thank you to everyone who contributed to the purchase of our fabulous outdoor picnic benches.  The children have made full use of them this term. 

  

We are saying good-bye to several valued members of staff at the end of this academc year. 

Mrs Rogers is leaving to retire and spend more time with her family. She has worked at Dunalley for countless years as a valued member of the teaching partner team and as a lunchtime supervisor. She has supported endless children during her time at Dunalley in her various roles and we would like to thank her for all her work and support – the end of an era. 

Mrs Moss is also leaving us as she pursues new adventures with her family abroad. We will miss her teaching skills and enthusiasm for children achieving their best. It has been a pleasure to have her as part of our teaching team. 

Miss Smith who has been covering a Reception class this year, is also leaving to pursue other interests. We thank her for coping with this unique year in school. 

Mrs Bilas is also leaving our nursery setting after many years of starting children on their Dunalley adventure. We wish her all the best. 

As usual we will be breaking up for the summer holidays after lunch on the last day of term.  The staggered finish times will be as follows:

As usual, if you have children in different year groups, please collect at the latest finish time. Lates will be operating until 3:30pm

Please see below the timings for the new academic year. You will notice that we have retained the staggered drop-off and pick-up times but altered them to a 5 minute gap between year groups. We will retain the separate Reception / Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 entrances and exits in the hope that this will continue a calm, less congested start and end to the school day.  Families with children in different year groups can continue to drop off at their earliest time, and pick up at their latest time. 
 

Drama activities linked to the Summer Reading Challenge 

Everyman Theatre drama workshops that tie in with the Summer Reading Challenge. The Summer Reading Challenge is a great way to keep kids reading from now until September. Children can take part in the virtual drama workshops, then check out the show and meet the actors for free, in locations across Gloucestershire. Click here for everything you need to know or visit www.readforgood.org/everyman-workshop. 

As the summer break is fast approaching, Gloucestershire Constabulary has helpfully put together some key guidance for parents: 

• Remind young people that not everyone online is who they say they are and it’s very easy for someone to conceal their identity 
• Ensure young people know what to do if they have a negative experience on social media, games and online (e.g. telling a trusted adult ASAP and making use of mute / block / report functions) 
• Ensure adults receiving such disclosures focus on assisting the young person on safeguarding, e.g. muting / blocking / reporting the individual(s) responsible rather than going down the route of punishment (as the young person may not disclose future issues if they think they will be in trouble and/or have their device(s) taken away) 
• Parents to be mindful of age ratings – they’re there for a reason, and check that their children are only utilising games and apps appropriate for their age. www.commonsensemedia.org can help parents get a holistic overview of apps, games and even films with reviews from their experts, parents and young people.