Tuesday 17^th March 2020

Dear Parents/Carers,                                                                                                                         

Information re Coronavirus 

With the rapidly changing advice regarding Coronavirus, I thought it was worth writing to prepare you for any changes the school may have to consider in the coming days and weeks. Please ensure that you read to the end of this lengthy communication.

 The Government advice last week was largely expected and included a greater emphasis on self-isolation. We have been directed to send home any child or adult with a fever or persistent cough. If this should happen, the advice is that self-isolation should then follow for a period of 14 days. This includes all family members who come into contact with anyone with symptoms. We have also recently been advised that any children/ adults who are in the ‘at risk’ should also self-isolate for 14 days. This will obviously affect children, parents and staff and therefore could impact on the day-to-day running of the school. If or when we find ourselves in this situation, the following actions may be taken:

• Putting classes together with shared staff
• Dividing classes between teachers
• Partial closure of school

Other measures we will be putting in to place as from today include asking all adults to stay out of the school building as much as possible. After drop off, please leave the school site promptly. We are seeking to avoid the school community coming together in large numbers and at peak times.

Please use the school office email or phone number to communicate with us, rather than coming into school unless you absolutely need to. Should you not get a quick response, please understand that it will be because we are busy supporting children and/or staff. I know this all sounds very anti-social, but these are hopefully short-term measures that will enable us all to stay fit for work and school, for as long as possible. 

For the moment, we are allowing music teachers and sports coaches to continue to come into school having received a clear understanding of the action they are taking but we will continue to review the situation daily and as we know more.

We have taken the decision to postpone Parents Evening this is to ensure the health and wellbeing of all of our school community. We will endeavour to rearrange when we have more definitive news/guidance. If, however this is not imminent, we may look at alternatives, such as telephone consultations or short, written updates.

 While we love having parents in for our praise assemblies, we feel it is wise to limit adults in school and large gatherings therefore we will be cancelling praise assembly until further notice.

At this point I think it is important to add context and reality. Despite the Education Minister’s announcement that schools will remain open for the time being, we are doing what we must, including preparing for a national closure. I have already shared our current and ever-changing action plan with the staff team. This includes planning for how and when we will communicate with parents and vice versa, health and safety elements and what action would be taken should staff fall ill. We are currently compiling work that will be shared with all children in ‘take home packs’, via our school website. This will be a mix of website links, spellings, phonics games and some suggested non screen activities that the children can try. At the time of any closure we will send the children home with any resources that may be relevant to their age or stage.

 With this in mind, it is important that you make us aware if your child will not have access to a computer to view this work and please make sure we have your correct email address and ensure you are checking your email regularly. During this period, we will endeavour to use emails and texts for only essential communication, so when you get an alert, please read the messages carefully.

 Finally, please can I ask you to speak to us directly if you are worried or concerned or have any further questions. Be assured that if there is something we all need to know - or if there is something that potentially increases the risk for you or your child - we will share that information ASAP and act upon it. We appreciate your help with reinforcing the importance of handwashing at home too. 

 Thank you to everyone for your continued support of the staff team during this time, it is hugely appreciated. Whatever challenges we may face in the next week or so, I feel confident that we will meet these together.

 With best wishes,

Miss. D. Worthington

Headteacher

 Child’s Name__________________________________________ Class

 Contact email address: _______________________________________________________________

 Please provide us with your latest contact telephone number so we can ensure we have the latest information on our system.

 Contact 1 Name ___________________________________ Tel No:

 Contact 2 Name ___________________________________ Tel No:

 My child will have access to the internet to be able to complete online learning throughout any potential school closure.               YES                           NO