The following information was sent by Parent Mail letter at approximately 10:30am this morning, but due to high levels of traffic on Parent Mail, it appears it has not been received by all parents. Please see below - we thank parents for their continuing understanding throughout this time.

20^th March 2020

Dear Parents/ Carers

As you are already aware, all schools will be closed for almost all pupils from the end of the day today.  There has been an update from the cabinet office about eligibility for school-based provision throughout the closure.  This guidance outlines who is defined as a critical worker and vulnerable children eligibility. 

Please follow the link below:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-maintaining-educational-provision/guidance-for-schools-colleges-and-local-authorities-on-maintaining-educational-provision

We ask for your support and consideration when requesting a place. Schools are being asked to continue to provide care for a limited number of children only-children who are vulnerable and children whose parents are critical to the COVID-19 response and cannot be safely cared for at home.  Many parents who are working in these sectors may be able to ensure their child is kept at home.  We ask that they do ‘every child who can be safely cared for at home should be’. 

It should be noted that the key principle within the government guidance remains the same and we would ask that you consider this carefully please:

“The most recent scientific advice on how to further limit the spread of COVID-19 is clear. If children can stay safely at home, they should, to limit the chance of the virus spreading.”

The fewer children making the journey to school, and the fewer children in school, the lower the risk that the virus can spread and infect vulnerable individuals in our wider society.  We all have our part to play in this.

If you feel that:

1. You meet the eligibility criteria
2. You have no alternative means of keeping your child safe at home
3. You need a school place

Then please provide the following information by emailing school@stivichall.coventry.sch.uk

• Child’s name
• Both parents occupations
• Address of your employer
• Employer contact number
• Employer email address
• Days of the week to which you require provision for your child(ren)

Please note - we are offering qualifying parents/carers provision in our school during the following hours each day:

8.30 am to 4.00 pm

At this point, we can confirm that school provision will be in place for all identified vulnerable children already requesting a place.  As the guidance around critical workers has changed significantly today, we may not be in a position to inform parents whether they will have been allocated a place under this criteria by the end of the day today, although we will do our best to do so.

We ask parents to carefully consider whether a place is needed and to email us with all the information required as promptly as possible.  This will enable us to prioritise requests, allocate places and ensure adequate provision is in place.  In the event that school is unable to meet demand, the local authority will provide alternative provision.  This may not be in place for Monday but we will do everything we can to keep you as up to date and informed as possible.  Our aim remains to inform parents by 5 pm today.  This relies on parental information being received by 2.30 pm at the latest.

To reiterate, in practice, if one parent is a key worker but the other is not we would expect that the parent who is not would stay at home and look after their children.  This is in keeping with the government guidance.  If children can be cared for at home, then they should be.

All children will have a curriculum provision based on the same materials whether working in school or at home.  Some of this will be online learning using our current platforms as well as Seesaw, about which you will have received information yesterday.  Staff have also been working on putting together learning packs of which some of you will have received them already.  Staff will endeavour to deliver the remaining packs to absent children by the end of the day today.  Any packs remaining in school will be able to be collected from the school office.

We appreciate that many families will find the school closure extremely challenging in many ways.  As much as possible and for as long as possible, we will continue to send further details of ways in which school will support families throughout the closure.  More information will follow in today’s newsletter.

Yours sincerely

Mrs K Ferguson

Headteacher