4^th January 2020

RE – School Closure

Dear parents,

Following the announcement tonight from the Prime Minister, I am writing to inform you that school will be closed with immediate effect, with the exception of the children of key workers and those classed as vulnerable.

Remote education will be provided for all pupils at home through Microsoft Teams, commencing from Wednesday 6^th January – more details will be provided tomorrow.

School will be open tomorrow (Tuesday) for children of key workers and those who are classed as vulnerable only (criteria listed below).

If you are a key worker and wish for your child to attend school, please can you provide evidence of your occupation (identity badge, payslip etc) and show this to the school office. If your child attended school as a key worker child in the previous lockdown period, evidence of your occupation will not be required.

I would like to thank you all for your co-operation and support during this difficult time.

Yours sincerely,

D.Rowe

Headteacher

Key Workers

Health and social care

This includes but is not limited to doctors, nurses, midwives, paramedics, social workers, care workers, and other frontline health and social care staff including volunteers; the support and specialist staff required to maintain the UK’s health and social care sector; those working as part of the health and social care supply chain, including producers and distributers of medicines and medical and personal protective equipment.

Education and childcare

This includes nursery and teaching staff, social workers and those specialist education professionals who must remain active during the COVID-19 response to deliver this approach.

Key public services

This 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

This 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

This 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

This 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

This 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.

Vulnerable children and young people

are assessed as being in need under section 17 of the Children Act 1989, including children and young people who have a child in need plan, a child protection plan or who are a looked-after child

have an education, health and care (EHC) plan

have been identified as otherwise vulnerable by educational providers or local authorities (including children’s social care services), and who could therefore benefit from continued full-time attendance, this might include:

children and young people on the edge of receiving support from children’s social care services or in the process of being referred to children’s services

adopted children or children on a special guardianship order

those living in temporary accommodation

those who are young carers

others at the provider and local authority’s discretion including pupils and students who need to attend to receive support or manage risks to their mental health