4th January 2021
Dear Parents/Carers,
As you may have seen in the news, the government have instructed our school to close from tomorrow and provide remote learning to all our pupils. We are absolutely devastated for our children and families to go through this again but we will be again with you every step of the way.
We’ll only be able to stay open for vulnerable children and the children of critical workers. All other children will need to continue their learning from home until the restrictions are lifted.
You can find details of our plans for remote learning here:
Reminder-Home Learning Support Information
If your child is eligible for free school meals, they’ll continue to receive these while at home by offering a pick up packed lunch meal again. Please could you contact the office before 10am then we can prepare it for you ready to collect at 11.45pm.
A reminder of the definitions of ‘vulnerable children’ and ‘critical workers’
Vulnerable children are those who:
- Have a child in need plan or child protection plan
- Are looked after by the local authority
- Have an education, health and care (EHC) plan and have been determined, following risk assessment, that their needs can be as safely or more safely met at school
- Have been assessed as otherwise vulnerable by the school or LA, including children who are:
- On the edge of receiving support from children’s social care services
- Adopted
- At risk of becoming NEET (‘not in employment, education or training’)
- Living in temporary accommodation
- Young carers
Critical workers are those who work in:
- Health and social care
- Education and childcare
- Key public services (including the justice system, religious staff, charities 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 who are involved in delivering the coronavirus response or essential public services
- Food and other necessary goods
- Public safety and national security
- Transport
- Utilities, communication and financial services
If your child attended during last lockdown, the school will open from 8am-3.30pm tomorrow and will have a place. Please can you contact me if your child is coming to school so that we can prepare for numbers. We will still provide breakfast club and can provide a cooked school dinner.
If your circumstances have changed and you believe you are now a front-line critical worker, please email: d.lee103@durhamlearning.net outlining what your role is as soon as possible. Please note that priority will be given to those families where both parents are front-line critical workers.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me by email on d.lee103@durhamlearning.net.
Thankyou again from the bottom of my heart to you all for persevering and continuing to work with our different ways of operation. I would also like to thank our wonderful staff again for their positive attitudes and readiness to respond to requests and go above and beyond to make sure we do the best we can for the children. Also a huge thank you to our wonderful children, who have been fantastic during these difficult times. I am so proud to be Head Teacher of our amazing little school- it’s a huge team effort with you fantastic parents/carers, children, staff and governors all working together.
Thank you again for your continued support.
Donna Lee
Head Teacher
