Dear Parents / Carers 

Re: Coronavirus update – school closure to most pupils- further update

As you will be aware schools have been instructed to close to most children today until further notice.

The government are asking us to continue to provide care for a limited number of children.  This is for children whose parents are critical to the Covid-19 response and cannot be safely cared for at home and children with social workers and Education, Health and Care Plans.

The government announcement asks that these key principles are followed

• If it is at all possible for children to be at home, then they should be.
• If a child needs specialist support, is vulnerable or has a parent who is a critical worker, then educational provision will be available for them.
• Parents should not rely for childcare upon those who are advised to be in the stringent social distancing category such as grandparents, friends, or family members with underlying conditions.
• Parents should also do everything they can to ensure children are not mixing socially in a way which can continue to spread the virus. They should observe the same social distancing principles as adults.

The full list of these categories that are critical to the Covid-19 response is available on the Department for Education Website

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-maintaining-educational-provision/guidance-for-schools-colleges-and-local-authorities-on-maintaining-educational-provision?fbclid=IwAR1iwS3GulYUJA0yZ3C1Wi7-FKWHCdv89MXcXAuutGLnxdKB6ioHaCqF1nA

If you feel we need to continue to provide care for your child/children on Monday then please complete the online form.  You will need to bring some form of identification with you on Monday to show your eligibility, for example; ID badge.

If you are unable to complete the online form, please speak to the main office on Monday.

All other children will need to stay at home, so we ask that you do not send your child into school from Monday onwards.  Please note that this is a national closure – as you may have heard in the news – so while it is a challenging situation, we are not alone. We will re-open fully as soon as we can and will let you know when this is by email text, information on the school website. 

Your child’s learning is of course important to us, so we will continue to help your child to learn.  Work packs have been sent home, learning platform etc. that children can access from home.  If school is closed for a longer period of time, more work will be set through the school website.

If your child usually receives free school meals, you have already been contacted by the school office and will have told them whether you want the daily packed lunch.  These will be available from 11:30-12:00 daily to be collected from the main office.

We appreciate your continued patience with as we deal with this ever-changing situation. We understand that this latest news will have an impact on you and your family and it’s far from ideal, but we’ll continue to keep in touch with any updates as the situation develops.

If you need to get in touch to share any concerns, please don’t hesitate to do so.  There will be staff in the main office at school from 8:50-3:10.  

And remember: if you or your child feels ill and you want to know what to do next, please use NHS 111 online.

Thank you again for your continued support, and we will be in touch with more information when we can.

Yours sincerely

To support our community, we will have a box in the entrance hall for donations to our own food bank.  Thank you