Keyworker information #1

Good morning! Below is some information that came out over night from the DfE. Please read carefully and rest assured that there will be more information later:
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.
Schools are, therefore, being asked to continue to provide 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.

Vulnerable children include children who are supported by social care, those with safeguarding and welfare needs, including child in need plans, on child protection plans, ‘looked after’ children, young carers, disabled children and those with education, health and care (EHC) plans.
We know that schools will also want to support other children facing social difficulties and we will support head teachers to do so.
Parents whose work is critical to the COVID-19 response include those who work in health and social care and in other key sectors outlined [below] . Many parents working in these sectors may be able to ensure their child is kept at home. And every child who can be safely cared for at home should be.

Please, therefore, follow these key principles:
1. If it is at all possible for children to be at home, then they should be.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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. Contact the school by email including proof that both parents are key workers and you have no other alternatives for child care.
We will contact you if you are able to bring your child to school on Monday. Depending on numbers, this will be on a 3 tier priority system. Staff will be working on a rota in small teams to ensure that social distancing rules are adhered to.

If you have not been contacted, you must keep you child at home.
Later today we will send details to those families who will be using our child care option as to which days you will need to come to which school.
Below is some guidance for parents from the DfE for your information.
Thank you for your patience while we pull all the information together.

Will it be mandatory for all schools, colleges and registered childcare providers to remain open in some form?
We are asking schools, colleges, nurseries, childminders and other registered childcare settings to remain open for children of critical workers and vulnerable children where they can.
We understand that some may be unable to do so especially if they are experiencing severe staff shortages. We will work with local areas to use neighbouring schools, colleges and childcare providers to continue to support vulnerable children and children of critical workers.

I am a critical worker or have a vulnerable child but I don’t want to send my child in to school or childcare, do I have to?
Many parents working in these critical sectors may be able to ensure their child is kept at home. Every child who can be safely cared for at home should be.
This is an offer to parents and carers and there is no requirement for parents and carers to send their children to school if they do not need or wish to do so.
For vulnerable children, your child’s social worker will work with you to assess the best option for your child.

I am a critical worker or have a vulnerable child – can you guarantee that my child will attend their usual school or childcare provider?
We are expecting the majority of settings to stay open for the children of critical workers and vulnerable children so they can continue to attend their usual provider, but we acknowledge this will be impossible for some – such as small rural schools.
Where a setting is unable to stay open, we will work with the local educational authority, regional school commissioners and neighbouring providers to find an alternative setting for their pupils.

Will registered childcare providers, schools and colleges be open over Easter holidays for holiday clubs and childcare?
Where possible, we would encourage childcare providers, schools and colleges to continue to look after critical workers’ children and vulnerable children throughout the Easter holidays.

What will happen with free school meals for those not in school and colleges?
We know that free school meals are important for many families.
To make sure eligible children can continue to be supported, we will give schools and colleges the flexibility to provide meals or vouchers to children eligible for free school meals. They will be reimbursed by the Department. As soon as possible, we will put in place a national voucher system.

URGENT – Outstanding Dinner Money

Please can we ask that all outstanding dinner money is paid to school as soon as possible. If you are unsure of the exact figure you owe, please give school a ring 01939 290834 and Mrs Russell will be happy to help.

For children who are in school today (Thursday), slips will be sent home in their school bag.

Payments can be made either by cash, cheque or via the School Gateway.

Many Thanks for your support

Urgent Letter re. School Closure

Thursday 19th March 2020
Dear Parents,

School closure – Provision of care for the children of key workers

As you will be aware the school is closing on Friday 20 March 2020 and will not be open again for the foreseeable future.
Although at the time of writing, the government has not published any guidance for schools, we know that we are able to make provision for the children of key workers.
We will understand the extent of what we are being asked to do once guidance is published but at the moment we believe that the offer of the provision will be made to families where couples or single parents are key workers. The list of occupations has also not been issued but we assume that it will cover a wide range of services and professions.
In order to plan our next steps, we need to identify which of our children would qualify for this provision.
If you think your job is listed below, and you can provide us with some evidence of your current role (ID badge, contract, service website that identifies you) we will then be able to plan our provision which will begin on Monday 23 March 2020.

Potential List
The list is expected to include:
• Medical professionals including doctors, nurses, midwives, paramedics etc.
• Other health workers – such as employment in a medical/health setting
• Community safety – police force and fire brigade
• Education – teachers, workers in a school or a pre-school setting
• Supermarket workers
• Delivery drivers
• Anyone working in “critical infrastructure”
• Children with Education or Health Care Plans
• Vulnerable children with social worker intervention

We are working with the other local schools in the Corbet catchment area. Once we have numbers, we may need to work on a rotation of staff and schools, so your child may be cared for in one of the local schools. It is very likely that we will pool staff in Baschurch and Myddle, but please be aware that this could extend to the other schools as well. This will ensure that we have the right ratios of adults, children, first aiders and so forth.

Important Action
In the first instance, we would like to hear from you as soon as possible if you think your child is eligible for a place. Please visit the schools’ facebook page and say ‘YES OR NO’ to the survey.
Once we confirm the list from the government, and you would want to take up this offer of child care, email admin@baschurch.shropshire.sch.uk or admin@myddle.shropshire.sch.uk and include a photo or scan of your proof of occupation.
On Monday 23rd March, these children should go to their usual school if they are eligible. Any other children who do not fit this criteria must stay at home.

We will start to draft out a plan while we wait for official guidance from the DFE and our own local authority.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to get in touch. Many thanks for your patience.

Kind regards,

Mrs Clare Williams
Executive Headteacher

Parenting Team Service

For you information:

The Parenting Team will continue our service of telephone consultations. Parents and carers simply need to call our office on 01743 250950 or email parenting.team@shropshire.gov.uk to arrange a consultation at a time convenient to them.

Taking the current situation into account our team can support parents and carers with:

  • managing difficult questions and worries from children due to the current situation
  • managing challenging behaviour which might be a result of the changes to their everyday lives
  • suggestions on activities with children

In the current situation and with schools closed this might become a lifeline for parents and carers.

Parents/Toddler Session Friday

We are sadly cancelling the parent/toddler session on Fridays for the foreseeable future

Apologises for the inconvenience this may cause

Regards

Mrs Smith

Coronavirus Update – March 17th

17th March 2020

Dear parents and carers,

I have received several emails today from worried families, some with symptoms and some choosing to self-isolate due for their own reasons.
If you are worried – keep your child at home. Parents should make their own decision and many of you have; our numbers are very low today and we have also had to send several children home during the day. Whatever decision you make will have my full support. Under these exceptional circumstances it will not affect their register mark. I would rather a child miss school for a short period of time than lose a relative for life. I have a duty of care to protect children and in a wider sense their families.

I also have a duty of care to protect the staff workforce. Many of these have their own children, older parents or underlying health conditions themselves.

Although the government are advising the working population to work from home and against mass gatherings, I feel that the education workforce has been overlooked and placed in a vulnerable and unacceptable position where they too could be being exposed to transmission of the virus on a daily basis, coming into contact with children and families. Again I would rather staff miss school for a short period than take the virus home and infect vulnerable family members.

The staff have been working hard on preparing work to be provided on the school website and the school is prepared for closure. This work is optional and of course it will depend on your family circumstances. If your child is ill, they should not try to complete school work. Our teachers will be available to you via Class Dojo during school hours to answer questions about the work, but please appreciate that if we close, many will have their own children to look after and could potentially be ill themselves. In these cases, I would not expect them to be able to correspond with parents.

Current Government advice is that if one person in any household has a persistent cough or fever, everyone living there must stay at home for 14 days. Please follow this advice.

With kind regards,

Mrs C. Williams
Executive Headteacher

******Menu Change********

As the amount of coronavirus cases continues to increase, we need to make plans in the case of kitchen staff absence. I would re-assure you that all the staff are well at the moment and the standards of hygiene are always very high.

So that we can continue to provide hot meals for everyone, we have decided to change the menu so that we are serving the same meals at both Myddle and Baschurch, this helps the staff tremendously as I’m sure you will understand.

Next week the menu will be Week 3 and the week commencing 30 March will be Week 1 with one minor change – on Wednesday 1st April it will be roast turkey with stuffing rather than pork.

We will not be able to provide the grab and go bags but everything else will be available.

Thank you for your support

Lorraine Knight
Business Manager

Week 1 Week 3

CORONAVIRUS INFORMATION FOR STAFF AND PARENTS 16.3.20

Please check your child’s bag for this important letter from Mrs Williams, headteacher. out.

I have attached a copy of this letter for any parent/carers whose children may not be in school at the moment.

If you have any questions PLEASE do not hesitate to get in touch 01939 290834

Regards

Mrs Smith

COVID-19 M

 

School Tidy today

Thank you so very much to everyone who volunteered their time today to tidy around the school grounds, it looks fantastic.

Special Thank you to Mr Savage for organising the troops.

You are all amazing and we appreciate your efforts so much.

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