Covid-19 - Important notice - 19th March
Thursday 19th March 2020
Dear Parents and 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 this Friday 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 with certain needs.
We are waiting for the government to publish more information on what this means, but it would help us in the meantime if you could let us know if you think your child may fall into one of these categories by contacting the school office and telling them why you need your child to be in school. We’ll be in touch again as soon as we are sure who this does apply to.
All other children will need to stay at home, so we ask that you do not send your child into school from Monday 23rd March 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’ll re-open fully as soon as we can and will let you know when this is by text message.
What we’ll continue doing while your child is at home
Your child’s learning is of course important to us, so we’ll continue to help your child to learn. You have already been given a range of websites to explore at home. Your child’s teacher has given your child a homework pack. The school has a virtual learning platform that can be accessed from the school’s website. Teachers will post work on to this for your child/children to complete. They can also stay in touch with their teacher and announcements for the teacher can be posted too. We do expect the children to make the most of this virtual learning platform and we do expect them to complete work and communicate with their class teacher.
In a previous letter I gave you my personal work email and that of Mr Reilly and Ms Swann. Please do not hesitate to contact us for any reason to do with the education and safeguarding of your child. Here they are again: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
If your child usually receives free school meals we will also be in touch with more information about how we will continue to provide this, with support from a scheme that the government has just announced.
We won’t be able to go ahead with: School trips, breakfast or after-school clubs, swimming, boosters, Liturgical and other events, internal exams or tests.
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. If you want to get in touch to share any concerns, please don’t hesitate to do so via the emails above. 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.
Anita Gallagher
