Dear Parents and Carers,
As you will all have undoubtably heard (and have been eagerly awaiting) the Government have announced that schools will open to all pupils again, from March 8th 2021. The staff team and I are all really excited about this announcement and are very much looking forward to welcoming all of our children back to school…our school building just does not feel the same without everyone here!
Just a few reminders for you to consider before the children come back:
All COVID Safety measures will remain the same, (one way system, 2m social distancing, wearing of face masks etc) at both the start and the end of the day and whilst the children are inside (and outside) the building. Please see our risk assessment for full details.
Chn will be encouraged to follow the ‘hands, face, space’ guidance as before and will continue to sit as they were before Christmas, side by side, each having their own equipment and materials.
Chn will be required to wear full school uniform unless it is a PE day. Please can you ensure that on those days, the children are also wearing the correct PE uniform – thank you.
I would ask you to also ensure that you keep in close contact with school and let your child’s teachers know if you or your children do develop symptoms.

Dear Parents,

As you are well aware, all schools in England are currently closed for the majority of children until 22nd February 2021, with remote education being provided because the government is taking every possible measure to reduce cases in the community and protect the NHS.

Woodlands Primary school and Nursery offer school places for vulnerable children and children of critical workers in the front line of the country’s fight against Covid-19, who have no other available childcare options. It is important to stress that the government’s key message is: families should keep children at home if at all possible.

In line with revised government advice and to protect the safety of the children and school staff, parents, should only consider sending their child to school if they absolutely need to attend a workplace and should only apply to send their child to the critical worker places if their work is critical to the Covid-19 response and they have no other childcare option. The longer people refrain from social distancing the longer this crisis will continue.

As a school, we have taken every precaution to ensure children’s safety and welfare whilst attending school. However, by the very nature of being in school with young children, it is not always possible to enforce social distancing – children are safer at home with their families.
As school leaders we will do everything we can to support critical workers, but we also need to take into account, the health and safety measures outlined in the school’s risk assessment to protect staff and pupils and reduce further transmission.

To ensure fairness, we may ask parents to demonstrate that they are critical workers by producing documentation such as a staff identity badge, a salary slip and/or a letter from their employer stating that their role is critical to the COVID response.

We realise that keeping children at home is not an easy option and very much appreciate the challenges associated with remote learning. We are doing our utmost to ensure every child has access to good quality learning whether they are at home or here in school and are available to offer support to parents that may be struggling with internet access, lack of devices or understanding work sent out, to ensure that children continue to make progress.

If you are unclear about whether your child can access a school place, or whether you are a Critical Worker, please contact me and I will be happy to discuss this with you.
Many thanks.
Yvonne Crilly

Hi all,
I am sure many of you will have all seen the news regarding school places for critical workers and vulnerable children. This has recently changed and I have tried to summarise where we are now, following guidance from the Local Authority and the Government this morning, and will keep you informed of any further changes/updates.

Critical Worker – Place Allocation
The terminology has changed from ‘keyworker’ to ‘critical’ and the list of those included in the criteria that are able to access here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-maintaining-educational-provision/guidance-for-schools-colleges-and-local-authorities-on-maintaining-educational-provision. Some parents working in these sectors may be able to ensure their child is kept at home. Every child who can be safely cared for at home should be.

In addition to this, new guidance from the Government and the Local Authority, now states that children are entitled to a place at school if the family have difficulty engaging in remote/home learning because you do not have internet access or if there are not enough devices for large families-under the category of a ‘vulnerable learner’. It is important to stress that children cannot be offered a place because remote learning is tricky to manage at home. Everyone in school sympathises with you and appreciate how frustrating and challenging this situation is-it is not what any of us would want for the children in our care.

The Government and local authority advice is that, 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.

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. We are therefore providing care for a limited number of children – children who are vulnerable and children whose parents are critical to the Covid-19 response and cannot be safely cared for at home.

We are still receiving a high number of critical worker applications so would ask you to check
the guidance carefully before applying. If you have already been allocated a place and after
reading this letter feel that you no longer need your critical worker place, please contact
myself, Mrs Duncombe or Mrs Chaplin. I appreciate that this is very difficult but know that this situation cannot last forever. Please continue to bear with us, we are doing our best to ensure we meet the needs of everyone within the ever-changing guidelines and advice that we are being given.

Mrs C

Dear Parents and Carers,

As you will be aware from the recent news updates, teaching unions have advised their members to consider if they feel safe working in a school environment at this time. It is clear,that the new variant of Covid-19 is virulent, and the rates of infection are rising far more rapidly than the previous strain. As a school we are thinking very carefully about the safety of all adults and children in classes of up to 30 pupils. I am alsoaware as parents and carers, a number of you, are also considering the safety of your families.

The situation remains very uncertain and unions and government are still under negotiations on the national picture for safe school opening. Therefore, the Chair of Governors and I, have met today and in response to this ongoingsituation, have made the decision to close school to all pupils tomorrow, Monday January 4th  and open only to vulnerable pupils and those of key workers on Tuesday. I realise that this is in complete contrast to my pervious notification and am aware of the potential disruption that this may cause. However, this decision will enable us to interpret advice from the unions and the government regarding the safety of the school environment. It will also allow us time to assess, anyscientific advice produced on safety measures, required to make schools more “Covid secure”; update our risk assessments where appropriate and take any necessary further safety measures required, allowing us to plan what will happen next in this everchanging scenario. A judicial decision is due to be made by 4pm on Monday 4th January, so we should know more tomorrow evening. As a cluster of schoolsin South Telford, we are working closely together to bring you information and to support you in keeping all of our families safe at this uncertain time.

I will be touch with you all tomorrow, with further updates.

Thank you for your continued support.

Yvonne Crilly