Dear parents / carers
I would like to confirm the following arrangements from Monday 23rd March.
The Corbet School will be open for a limited number of children within the staffing available. This is a picture that could change as people have to start to isolate or become unwell. Therefore, we will do our best to remain open whilst we have staff available. Any student attending will be picked up by the buses at the normal time and will be dropped off at the normal time by the school buses. At this stage we will have no before or after school provision although we do want to support parents in the very best way that we can through this crisis and will speak to parents individually next week.
To support us with this could I please strongly reiterate the guidance from the DfE, if children can safely stay at home, they should, to limit the chance of the virus spreading.
That is why the government has asked parents to keep their children at home, wherever possible, and ask schools to remain open only for those children who absolutely need to attend.
Schools are, therefore being asked to continue to provide care for a limited number of children. The government have advised that we 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.
- Residential special schools, boarding schools and special settings continue to care for children wherever possible.
If your work is critical to the COVID-19 response, or you work in one of the critical sectors listed below, and you cannot keep your child safe at home then your children will be prioritised for education provision:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-maintaining-educational-provision/guidance-for-schools-colleges-and-local-authorities-on-maintaining-educational-provision
If you feel that you fall into the category of key worker or your child falls into a vulnerable group and you are not able to safely care for them at home please complete the survey monkey questionnaire to enable us to plan provision for Monday. https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/RXS6DXD
If it is at all possible, we would like to know numbers by midday today for our initial planning.
I understand that some parents may miss this deadline due to work commitments. Please could I ask that you respond before Monday so that we know which children are due to attend school to enable us to safeguard them properly.
If you have not responded we will assume your child is not attending school and therefore we will not be expecting them.
If you have indicated that we are expecting your child, we will follow our normal absence procedures.
We may be asking for evidence of key worker status or the reasons that your child cannot be safely cared for at home, as clearly, we may have to prioritise care for these most in need within the limitations of staffing available. I know this is an exceptionally difficult time for parents and we all need to follow guidance issued by the government. We will continue to put work onto SMHW, and teachers will respond to questions on there.
This picture will change daily in terms of staffing available in school and I would ask that parents bear with us and support us through this exceptionally difficult time.
Yours sincerely
Dr Jane Tinker
Headteacher
