Dear Parents and carers,                                                        

As you will know, as part of the government’s strategy to support frontline key workers, all schools will be endeavouring to organise provision for key frontline personnel.

Schools are to ensure there is provision in place for children who are vulnerable and whose parents are critical to the COVID - 19  response and cannot be safely cared for at home. 

The advice clearly states that every child who can be safely cared for at home should be.

We are all asked therefore, to follow these key principles:

• If it is at all possible for children to be at home, then they should be.
• If a child needs specialist support, is vulnerable or has a parent who is a critical worker, then educational provision will be available for them.
• 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.
• 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 following roles have now been defined (please click this link for the full guidance) -

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

• Key public services (includes those essential to the running of the justice system, religious staff, charities and workers delivering key frontline services, those responsible for the management of the deceased, and journalists and broadcasters who are providing public service broadcasting.
• Local and national government (only includes those administrative occupations essential to the effective delivery of the COVID-19 response or delivering essential public services such as the payment of benefits, including in government agencies and arms length bodies).
• Food and other necessary goods (includes those involved in food production, processing, distribution, sale and delivery as well as those essential to the provision of other key goods (for example hygienic and veterinary medicines).
• Public safety and national security (includes police and support staff, Ministry of Defence civilians, contractor and armed forces personnel (those critical to the delivery of key defence and national security outputs and essential to the response to the COVID-19 pandemic), fire and rescue service employees (including support staff), National Crime Agency staff, those maintaining border security, prison and probation staff and other national security roles, including those overseas.
• Transport (includes those who will keep the air, water, road and rail passenger and freight transport modes operating during the COVID-19 response, including those working on transport systems through which supply chains pass.
• Utilities, communication and financial services (this includes staff needed for essential financial services provision (including but not limited to workers in banks, building societies and financial market infrastructure), the oil, gas, electricity and water sectors (including sewerage), information technology and data infrastructure sector and primary industry supplies to continue during the COVID-19 response, as well as key staff working in the civil nuclear, chemicals, telecommunications (including but not limited to network operations, field engineering, call centre staff, IT and data infrastructure, 999 and 111 critical services), postal services and delivery, payments providers and waste disposal sectors.

The definition of ‘vulnerable’ has now been defined as children including children who are supported by social care, those with safeguarding and welfare needs, including child in need plans, on child protection plans, ‘looked after’ children, young carers, disabled children and those with education, health and care plans.

The new provision will need to be in place for Monday, so if you are in the Key Worker group or your child has an Educational Health Care PLan or who have a social worker:

Please contact the school immediately if you would like your child to attend.

So we can plan staffing, please also contact us if your child is eligible, but you will be caring for your child at home.

We do apologise to all other families, but for public health reasons we do have to apply the criteria precisely.

Thank you all for your support

Your sincerely,

Matt Condon

Headteacher