Some of our children may benefit from the advice and support, on the following website, which helps to reduce anxiety and support children and their mental health throughout this difficult time.

Click here for the Childline Website >

Please click on the link below to access resources to keep your child / young person busy if they are at home:

Parent Resources

Coronavirus letter 16.03.20 >

How to stay safe video >

Coronavirus letter 13.03.20 >

Severndale sixth former’s are celebrating receiving a volunteers week certificate for the work they have done at Telford Town Park. They had been working very in the grounds on a regular basis and have now been recognised for all their hard work! Well done everyone.

Volunteers Week Certificate >

Everyone Safe Booklet

29th May 2020Maria Whittaker

Following the announcement from the Prime Minister yesterday please find Severndale’s new ‘Everyone Safe’ booklet below:

Severndale’s Everyone Safe Booklet >

National Skills Days at Severndale

22nd May 2020Maria Whittaker

Severndale will be taking part in an exciting new online event called National Skills Days! We’ll look forward to seeing what you have been doing. Please see more information below:

National Skills Days letter >

Videos of our students can also be found on our Instagram @severndalespecialistacademy

Online Safety Guides

15th May 2020Maria Whittaker

We have created Internet Safety guides to help you to keep your children safe whilst they are playing games or browsing the internet and different Apps that they may have on their devices.

Online Safety Letter sent 14.05.20 >

Internet Safety Guides

Fortnite Keep Your Child Safe >

How to Set Parental Controls on Devices >

Instagram Keep Your Child Safe >

Loot Boxes & Skins Betting >

Playstation PS4 Safety Guide >

Snapchat >

TikTok Keep Your Child Safe >

WhatsApp Keep Your Child Safe >

YouTube Kids Keep Your Child Safe >

YouTube Keep Your Child Safe >

Uncertainty over schools reopening takes huge toll on headteachers

11th May 2020Maria Whittaker

Please see the below link to a post in the Guardian this weekend, including excerpts from Headteachers across England including our own Principal Sabrina Hobbs.

Guardian article link >

VE Day 75

5th May 2020Maria Whittaker

Please find below some information regarding how the Royal British Legion are marking VE Day 75 this coming Friday:

As members of the public are no longer able to attend national and regional VE Day 75 commemorations or events due to the Covid-19 pandemic, The Royal British Legion is playing a central role in the delivery of a range of remote activity for people to participate in from home. This includes a VE Day 75 livestream, national moments of remembrance and thanksgiving and a learning pack for young people.

The Legion is inviting all its stakeholders and partner organisations to join together in encouraging people of all generations and communities to take part in the activities on 8th May and pay tribute to the service and sacrifice of the entire Second World War generation.

As society faces some of the most challenging times since of the Second World War, it is now more important than ever to unite in recognition of service to the nation, just as communities did 75 years ago. The Legion is therefore calling on people across the UK to join in a national moment of reflection and Remembrance at 11am on Friday 8th May and pause for a Two Minute Silence, not only in recognition of the service and sacrifice of the Second World War generation, but also to reflect on the devastating impact Covid-19 has had on so many lives across the world.

Two Minute Silence

People are invited to take part in the Silence in whatever way they feel appropriate be that standing at their window, stepping outside their home, whilst remaining distanced from others, or taking the opportunity for a quiet moment of reflection. To build momentum towards this important moment, partner organisations across the sector and beyond are encouraged to engage stakeholders and share the call to come together in Remembrance at 11am.

Royal British Legion Livestream

Following the Silence the Legion is hosting a VE Day livestream, sharing stories and memories from those who served and sacrificed during the Second World War. Hosted by TV presenter Sonali Shah, the programme will feature contributions from social historian Julie Summers and cook and influencer Melissa Helmsley. The stream will be live from 1115 on the Legion’s website. rbl.org.uk/veday75

VE Day 75: The People’s Celebration BBC ONE: 20:00 – 21:10

To mark the 75th anniversary of VE day, in these unprecedented times, the BBC in partnership with the Royal British Legion will honour and celebrate the World War Two Generation with an evening of memories and music. Featuring some of those who remember this historic day, together with Britain’s favourite performers who will entertain us with popular songs of the era. In a fitting finale at 9.00 pm we will see the nation unite for a very special rendition of “We’ll Meet Again” as across the UK we all give thanks to our veterans and remember our loved ones.

We’ll Meet Again’ Singalong

Later in the day members of the public are encouraged to enjoy a moment of celebration and thanksgiving by taking part in a UK-wide rendition of Dame Vera Lynn’s ‘We’ll Meet Again’ at 9pm. BBC One will feature the singalong as part of its VE Day 75 evening broadcast.

Lyrics available on The Royal British Legion website https://www.rbl.org.uk/stories/ve-day-singalong

VE Day Learning Pack

Links to Legion activities, including the learning pack, and further information on how to get involved are on the Legion’s website www.rbl.org.uk/veday75. Designed for 7-14 year olds the learning pack includes first-hand accounts from the Second World War generation, veteran interviews and a range of activities to allow families to explore and commemorate VE Day 75 together. People can follow the activity on social media using #VEDay75 and #VEDay75Live during the livestream.

There are many parallels between the struggles of the Second World War and what the world is going through today, and looking to the Second World War generation, their resilience and determination, helps inspire today’s generation in these difficult times.

Royal British Legion Schedule

1100-1102 – Two Minute Silence

1115-1200 – The Royal British Legion VE75 Livestream

2000-2110 – VE Day 75: The People’s Celebration, BBC One

2100 – ‘We’ll Meet Again’ Singalong

In addition, there are a number of local councils in Shropshire who have ordered lamp post poppies to mark the occasion, please do share photos of these online with the hashtag #VEDay75 and tag Shropshire Poppy Appeal in so I can reshare! If you know of any local activity taking place, please send onto me to also share via social media throughout this week.

Jenny Robey

Community Fundraiser – Shropshire

Mobile: 07918 562902

jrobey@britishlegion.org.uk

Oak National Academy’s Specialist Offer

4th May 2020Maria Whittaker

Dear all,

We are very excited to announce that Severndale will be contributing to the Oak National Academy’s Specialist offer which will be going live from Monday.

The Oak National Academy launched two weeks ago with its mainstream offer and they are now ready to launch their next phase which includes lessons and therapeutic support for children with Special Educational Needs.

30 lessons will be live from Monday, 5 of which have been created by Severndale. Your class teachers will offer advice and guidance as to which lessons to focus on and there will be many more to come, being launched each Monday. This new distance learning website is a resource that will help teachers, parents and children from across the country. They currently have over 4,000,000 people accessing the mainstream content, so we are proud to contribute to this government initiative to support our wider SEND community. We recognise that this support is helping with wellbeing and stability, not just children’s learning.

Once the link goes live we will share this with you all, but we wanted to make you aware of this exciting new website. Here is a link to the current holding page.

www.thenational.academy/specialist-provision

Here is a link to an article published by the TES >

Should you have any questions regarding the Oak National Academy please don’t hesitate to contact Gareth Smith (gareth.smith@severndaleschool.co.uk) who, along with our other Department Leads and Coordinators, is overseeing the project.

Kind regards,

Sabrina

Weather Poems to Make you Smile

30th April 2020Maria Whittaker

This week one of our upper primary classes topics has been the weather. One task was to write a poem, please see their amazing work below, it has made us all smile and we wanted to share the happiness around! At this point we are issuing a mascara warning, enjoy and a huge well done and thank you to the class involved.

Leon’s Poem

Leon’s poem came from looking at a photo of a holiday he had with his family.

The weather is Sunny
We are at the Beach
I swim in the Sea, build Sand Castles
And throw my frisbee
The Sun feels hot
But the Sea feels cold
I have to wear sunscreen
But I get to eat Icecream

Listen to Leon’s sound bite of his own poem below