Dear parents/carers,

Re: Coronavirus update – school closure to most pupils

Following on from my last update, I’m now writing to let you know that we have now been instructed to close the school to almost all children after TODAY until further notice.

As advised by the government, we will do all we can to stay open for the children of key workers (e.g. NHS staff, police, others in frontline services) and children that fit within the vulnerable groups. (for this group you will have already been contacted by school.) 

If you are unsure if you are listed as a key worker please follow this link

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

All other children will need to stay at home, so we ask that you do not send your child into school from Monday onward, likewise the advice is for all children of keyworkers only to send their children in if you have no other provision options.

The current advice asks people to follow these key principles:

1. If it is at all possible for children to be at home, then they should be.
2. If a child needs specialist support, is vulnerable or has a parent who is a critical worker, then provision will be available for them.
3. 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.
4. 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 school has been advised to operate with a skeleton staffing structure and for next week will operate from 9:00 am until 3:20pm Monday to Friday. 

Further details regarding what provision will be available for during the Easter break will be circulated next week.

Please enter through the main door of the school.

The children will not be required to wear school uniform, during each day we are planning on providing some form of PE activity so please ensure trainers/ Pe kit.

The school kitchen will be closed.  Please send all children with a packed lunch.

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’ll re-open fully as soon as we can and will let you know when this is by emailing you and updating the school social media pages.

This is as much as we know right now and 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.

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.

Kind regards

Naomi Tottle

Executive Headteacher