Coronavirus Update
I am sure that many parents and carers will have watched or read about the Government’s ‘roadmap’ yesterday and the potential reopening of Primary schools, in a phased manner, from the 1st June 2020.
At this point, we have no further guidance or detail as to how this will look and what measures need to be in place, to enable schools to safely open and for myself as the Head teacher, governors, parents and staff to be confident in the knowledge that pupils, staff and families will be safe returning to school.
Yesterday’s guidance made clear that the date of 1st June is a suggestion and is conditional, meaning in order for schools to open, the Government will make a further review of measures in place, as it considers whether to further release the lockdown. Therefore, unfortunately, we are unable to answer parents’ questions about a potential phased opening or provide any clarity or reassurance until we know more. As such, currently everything remains the same until more information is known and as a school, we can effectively plan for that next step.
Current situation
In line with current Government guidance: “If it is at all possible for children to be at home, then they must be.”
This means that, currently, the school only remains able to provide places to:
Vulnerable pupils (those with a social worker or on an Education and Health Care Plan - ECHP)
Children of essential key workers critical to the COVID 19 response (where arrangements cannot be made to care for the child safely at home).
Places are prioritised as the school remains working with significantly reduced numbers of staff and must adhere to stringent health and safety guidelines to protect the pupils and adults in the school building. As such, please only get in touch to request childcare, where it is essential and you meet the above criteria.
We are currently reviewing health and safety measures and making changes to our practices, so children and parents who have been allocated a space to date, may notice a difference from this week, in terms of how children are being grouped in school. This is to ensure that we keep numbers of pupils and adults to a minimum in rooms, to limit contact and therefore reduce the risk of spreading the virus.
As more guidance is released, the school will review it and begin to make arrangements to support a safe opening of our school, as is required. We will keep parents updated and informed of any changes.
Yours sincerely,
D Toon
Rolleston Primary School