Dear parents and carers,
Re: COVID-19 – school closures across England
As you may be aware already, the UK government has chosen to close schools in England from Monday 23rd March until further notice. The government has been very clear that “every child who can be safely cared for at home should be.”
Schools will be open only to the following groups:
- Children with an Education, Health and Care Plan who cannot be safely cared for at home and are not displaying symptoms of Corona Virus
- Children who have an assigned social worker, a child protection plan, a child in need plan, disabled children, those who are ‘looked after’ and those who are young carers who cannot be safely cared for at home and are not displaying symptoms of Corona Virus
- Children of key workers who cannot be safely cared for at home and are not displaying symptoms of Corona Virus
In addition to the list above, if the Principal feels that this provision would be right for your child, you will be contacted to decide together what is best for them.
The official government definition of which roles are considered key workers was updated on 20th March 2020, and this definition appears overleaf. If you are a key worker and your child(ren) cannot be safely cared for at home and is not displaying symptoms of Corona Virus your child is welcome to attend school. Please request a school place by following this link and completing the short form. (Please note – if you have already filled in a form or requested a place by other means, you do not need to fill this in again.)
In general terms, the government has requested that all UK citizens do the following:
- Work and learn from home where possible
- Practice social distancing, avoiding unnecessary social contact
- Practice good hygiene, washing hands regularly and avoiding touching your face
- Self-isolate the whole household for 14 days if you or a household member becomes ill with symptoms including a cough or a temperature
- Self-isolate for a period of approximately 12 weeks if you are over 70, have an underlying health condition, or if you are pregnant.
Please do take note of these requests and adapt your daily routines accordingly, as this will help to delay the spread of the virus and will save lives.
In terms of your child’s education, these measures will have a significant impact. We recognise that you or your child may be feeling anxious about the impact of school closures for them. As a trust and as a school, we are working hard to ensure that as far as possible your child is able to continue to engage with learning in a different way, and your support in this is appreciated.
If you have concerns or queries, you should contact your Child’s academy
We may need to contact you during the period of school closure. It is vital that we have up to date telephone numbers, addresses and email addresses for each of our students and their families. If you are in any doubt as to whether we have the correct information, please contact the Academy to update us.
In the meantime, links to the school website and the Department of Education helpline are provided below.
Thank you for your continued support of your child and of our school during this unusual time.
Yours faithfully,
The department for Education helpline to answer questions about COVID 19 related to education. Staff, parents and young people can contact the helpline as follows:
– Phone 0800 046 8687
– Email [email protected]
– Opening hours 8am to 6pm (Monday to Friday)
The Academy website has a page dedicated to providing access to Public Health England advice, this is updated daily.
