In light of the current national school closures, schools have been asked to provide care for children of key workers who are required to work and have no other provision. We would like to share some further information about our provision for the next few coming weeks.

A comprehensive list of key worker categories has now been published by the government and can be found here: 

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

Please check this list carefully to ensure that you are eligible to send your children in for daytime provision in school if needed.

The wider advice that has been published for parents by the government can also be accessed here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/closure-of-educational-settings-information-for-parents-and-carers/closure-of-educational-settings-information-for-parents-and-carers

If you are a key worker who has already been asked to work from home, your child(ren) should remain at home with you. The offer of school to provide childcare is to those people who are key workers who are required to go into their work place and have no other provision. If you need to book your child in with us for next week, please click the link at the bottom of this email.

The following is an extract from the government’s guidance-  

‘…That is why the government has asked parents to keep their children at home, wherever possible, and asked schools to remain open only for those children who absolutely need to attend.  It is important to underline that schools, colleges and other educational establishments remain safe places for children. But the fewer children making the journey to school, and the fewer children in educational settings, the lower the risk that the virus can spread and infect vulnerable individuals in wider society. Schools are, therefore, being asked to continue to provide care for a limited number of children - children who are vulnerable and children whose parents are critical to the Covid-19 response and cannot be safely cared for at home.’ 

In our planning, we are assuming that students in years 10 and above will remain at home, but please contact us if you feel that this does not apply to your child.

Some information about our provision is below:

• Students may only attend if they are not unwell or self-isolating.
• School provision will run from 9.00am – 3.15pm each weekday. Students may arrive from 8.00am and must be collected by 5.00pm at the latest.
• Students will not be required to wear school uniform. They may wear their own clothes, ideally including trainers to enable us to run sports activities.
• Breakfast will be provided until 9.00am. Snacks and lunch will be provided for any students attending. All food will be provided free of charge. Students should bring a water bottle and their school cards with them.
• School buses are currently operating a normal service, for the start of next week at least. This service is provided by the Local Authority and is subject to change. Parents will be updated if this situation changes.

If you are a key worker and require us to look after your child in order to attend work, please complete the survey below to let us know which days your child(ren) will be attending school. Please book your places as soon as possible to allow us to ensure that sufficient staff are in school – ideally by the end of today (Friday 20^th March 2020).

Provision booking form

This survey will be shared with parents on a week-by-week basis to help us to ensure that we have sufficient staff in school to supervise. If your plans change throughout the week and you need to send your child in at short notice, please let us know by telephoning the school office as soon as possible. The office will be open from 8.30am – 4.00pm each week day over the next two weeks.

Mr M Parris and Mr B Chaloner