Dear Parents/Carers,
Re: Coronavirus update – school closure to most pupils
Overnight the government has updated and confirmed the list of essential and key workers. The full list is below. It is not now required for both parents to be key workers but we would ask that you only send your child to school on Monday if absolutely necessary and if they have any symptoms they should not be in school anyway.
The most recent scientific advice on how to further limit the spread of COVID-19 is clear. If children can stay safely 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 asked schools to remain open only for those children who absolutely need to attend. It is important to underline that schools, colleges and other educational establishments remain safe places for children. But the fewer children making the journey to school, and the fewer children in educational settings, the lower the risk that the virus can spread and infect vulnerable individuals in wider society.
The school is also open for vulnerable pupils who have an EHSP Plan or social worker but again the advice is if you can to keep them at home.
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 safely at home then your children will be prioritised for education provision:
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 arm’s 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.
If you come under one of the above categories and you are unable to keep your child at home from Monday then you need to contact the school office by 3:00pm with your child’s name, class and your occupation.
School will be open on Monday to provide a basic educational service from 8:45am to 3:05am. Normal lessons will run and expected standards of behaviour in school will still apply. Children will be provided with a safe environment and supported in their work; however I cannot undertake that every child will have the support of a qualified teacher at all times. Lunch arrangements will be as normal. We do not currently have the staff to run Breakfast Club or After School Club. Pupils attending school on Monday should be in full school uniform and will need their PE kit.
Parents will appreciate that our staff are also caring for their families and I have a duty of care to ensure their health and safety during these challenging times. We do not know yet how long these special circumstances will last and there will be further challenges ahead for all of us. I cannot guarantee consistency of resources and would ask for your understanding at this difficult time. My commitment to you is to be in school every day to ensure everything runs as smoothly as possible and to communicate with you all regularly. Everyone at St Joseph’s will prioritise the interests of the children.
We are blessed to have an outstanding and committed community in school who are making great efforts to support our children whether isolated at home or being cared for in school. I would ask you to keep all of them in your prayers as you are in ours.
Yours sincerely,
J Alexander (Head teacher)
