Dear Parents/carers and friends,
Key workers & vulnerable children
Overnight, the government has published its latest guidance on the categories of students that schools may stay open for from next week. That advice can be found here:
Vulnerable students
The advice is similar to our expectations. We have contacted directly all those families that we believe are affected and asked them whether they need to attend. It is important to remember that where a student is at risk because of an underlying health condition, we do not expect them to attend.
Key workers
The definition of a ‘key worker’ is wider than was originally set out by the government. It now includes those working in healthcare, education, key public services, local/national government, food industries, public safety and security, transport, utilities, communication and financial services.
The guidance is very clear about the starting point:
‘If children can stay safely at home, they should, to limit the chance of the virus spreading.’
Schools are closing in order that social contact is as limited as it can be. The guidance goes on to say:
‘…schools to remain open only for those children who absolutely need to attend.’
We would ask you to recognise that the more children that come into school, the greater the risks. That includes to the staff who have to attend to supervise.
The following questions should help to determine whether you need to ask the school for your child to come in:
- Are you a ‘key worker’ as defined by the government advice?
Please check the definitions in the government advice following the link above.
- If yes, have you confirmed with your employer that, based on their business continuity arrangements, your specific role is necessary?
Not every role will be essential to continue. Please confirm this as a matter of urgency with your employer. There may be circumstances where individuals are essential only for certain days or parts of the week.
- Is there someone else who can safely look after the children?
The starting point will be a partner who does not work in a key worker category. There may be others who can safely support your children. Please note the government advice, ‘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.’
- If you still need your child to attend school, can this be limited to specific days or times?
Some parents have already confirmed that they only require their child to be looked after for a limited time/number of days. This is very helpful as it helps to reduce the amount of social contact.
Having read the above, if you still require your child to come to school then please email: office@elmhurst.somerset.sch.uk If you could do so by 3pm today (Friday 20th) that would significantly help our planning for next week. Please also indicate the days and times you will be sending the children in for. We will be open from 7.30am to 6pm. (Please see the note below) If you have already emailed in, please could we ask you to check the new criteria and email in again informing us of the days/ times?
We will send a confirmation invitation to all those requests that we are able to support. Please be aware that we will be managing the capacity of the school staff as well, many of whom are now self-isolating or staying away for health reasons. For the purposes of Monday (23rd), only send your child to school if you have received one of these invitations. We believe that we can manage the demand that is likely, but the late posting of the government criteria do make it difficult for us to be certain for Monday until we have heard from everyone.
Thank you for your support and understanding.
Yours faithfully,
Tracy and Mike
What happens next?
Once we have all the requests in, we will look at the children and prioritise where needed. Any children who will be coming into school on Monday will need to go to the hall. We will then check who we have. It will be awful if we have to send children home, so please do not abuse the system at this time. Consideration is definitely needed.
We are able to provide child care from 7.30 am to 6.00pm – due to the wrap around provision. Again, we need to know who needs this so that we can check numbers etc. This is only for the same group of children: that is the ones who will be with us during the school day.
Please send all children who are coming in in with a packed lunch, unless they are free school meals. Please refer to the information here: Free school meals guidance