Over St. John's CE Primary SchoolImportant Message from Mrs Snowdon 04.01.21
Date: 4th Jan 2021 @ 10:16pm
Dear Parents and Carers,
It is with great sadness that I write to you all following the announcement by the Prime Minister tonight to partially close schools to all but Key Worker and vulnerable children and those with an EHCP after having worked so hard to keep the school open with the overwhelming support of staff who all felt safe in school. I believe passionately that the best place for our children is in school and that they deserve face to face teaching, but equally, as a parent of children in both primary and secondary school, I understand the anxieties that accompany this in light of the current situation.
I’m sure that you can all appreciate that tonight’s announcement, having come at the eleventh hour, has left us with very little time to sort arrangements for tomorrow. If you believe you meet the requirements for a key worker place as per the attached guidance, then please bring your child/children to school at your normal bubble time tomorrow morning.
If your child has an EHCP or a social worker, they may also attend. These children, for tomorrow, will be taught in their usual class bubbles, at their usual class times, by their usual staff members. During the day tomorrow, we will review all requests for key worker places going forward from Wednesday as we anticipate further guidance to be published and there may be changes to the criteria, as well as share with staff our plans going forward from Wednesday. Fortunately, the Senior Leadership Team had the foresight to organise these plans in case of possible closure.
I will write to you all tomorrow with regards to how online learning will work on a daily basis, which will be very different to how it was in the summer and will include an element of live contact with the class teacher and other class members. This will not come until sometime after school when the plans have been shared at our virtual staff meeting, so please do not worry when it does not arrive during the school day. For tomorrow’s learning, staff will send an e mail via School Spider in the morning.
We will also be in touch when we find out any information with regards to those children on Free School Meals.
In the meantime, I would like to thank you all so much for your support over the last few months in helping us to keep our children safe whilst they continue their education – we have had no class closures since we returned to school in June. I know that I am fortunate to be able to look forward to your continued support and I thank you for that. I look forward to being able to welcome you and your children at the school gate soon and hope that you all stay safe and well during this period.
I will be in school as usual and please do not hesitate to contact the office should you need to.
Kind regards,
Mrs E Snowdon