17th March 2020

Dear Parents/Carers,

Following on from my letter yesterday, the government have now updated their advice in relation to the coronavirus outbreak. I am writing to update you all further on how this affects the school.

We have now taken the decision to fully cancel the Year 3 and 4 performance of The Selfish Giant. Although this will be disappointing for many, it is now clear that any unnecessary large gatherings should be avoided. Similarly we are also cancelling all after school clubs from today. This includes school run and externally run clubs. We are also suspending all lettings until further notice.

We will continue to work to limit large gatherings in school as outlined yesterday and are now limiting the number of visitors to the school to those with essential business only.

Please refer to the latest guidance from the government which states that all members of the household should now isolate for 14 days if any member displays symptoms of the virus.  The advice can be accessed here: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/

The messages are clear within this guidance and we will respect the decisions to self-isolate that are taken by both families and staff alike. Any child who is absent due to symptoms of coronavirus will be coded as absent using the Y (exceptional circumstances) code while all other absences will be coded in the usual way.

If households are now having to self-isolate for 14 days one of the most important things that can be done is to encourage and share reading with children and also to support their wellbeing during these concerning times.

As long as the school remains open we will not be providing additional work for children who are isolating but we are drawing up plans for extended online learning in the event of school closure. In the meantime we are sending home some activity ideas with this letter that can be undertaken collaboratively at home – click HERE to view. We have also updated the Helpful Websites page in the Parent Hub on our website which now provides access to many activities and resources.

Once again I would like to thank everyone for their understanding during these unprecedented times.

Yours faithfully

Mark Gilronan