During the current lockdown, the financial situation of many families may have significantly changed. Some parents could now be applying for state benefits such as Universal Credit, having never been eligible before. If this is the case, you are also eligible to apply for free school meals. If you complete the form on the Leeds City Council website:

https://www.leeds.gov.uk/residents/council-tax-and-benefits/free-school-meals

then let school know, we may be able to help by providing a daily meal for your child while you await the decision. This is currently in the form of a downloadable voucher which can be spent at local supermarkets. Please email:

hazel.core@meanwood.leeds.sch.uk

if you think that we can help.

As announced on 16th March, the country will remain on lockdown for at least another three weeks. This means that school will not reopen after the Easter holiday and will remain closed to all those except the children whose NHS parents are vital to containing or halting the threat of Covid19. 

In these unprecedented,dark days we would like to send our very best wishes to everyone connected to our school and the Meanwood community. Thank you all for the support we have had over the past month. We so hope to be welcoming you back this term, but only when it is safe to do so.

Staff will be updating work for children on the VLE or class pages on the website. Please remember that home schooling on a 1-1 basis is far more intensive for a child so they really shouldn't be working the number of hours a normal school day runs for. The tasks will be there and we already know that some parents are teaching absolutely everything and others, nothing at all. That's your call. Expecting children to carry on with their school work as if nothing has changed is unrealistic and will only lead to stress for everyone in the household.

Everything you do with your child is learning: cooking, gardening, helping with laundry, cleaning(!) The amount of talking you will be doing will probably far exceed what took place before and is vital to a child's social and emotional wellbeing. If you're a parent in lockdown and your child is safe and happy , then you're winning! The best quote I saw this week was:" I'm so pleased that my children have chosen to play with the percussion instruments again ........said nobody ever!"

Huge thanks to everyone in our school community who works for the NHS, or is a key worker/volunteer helping us to deal with this new reality. You are awesome people doing an incredible job. To do our bit we just need to stay at home and stay safe. Not much to ask, is it?

Helen Eagles

April 2010