Letter to Parents Partial Closure 17th March 2020
17th March 2020
Dear Parents and Carers,
Re: COVID-19 – partial school closure and changes to advice for families
Following the most recent advice from the government and Public Health England in relation to self isolation and household isolation, we have been made aware that there will be significant staff absence tomorrow and for the foreseeable future.
In order to preserve the safety of staff and students on site, the school will be partially closed. We will be open for the following students only:
• Students in Year 7 who are not in household isolation
• Students in Year 11 who are not in household isolation
• Students whose parents are front line NHS and other emergency services staff who are not in household isolation. These include the following:
– clinical staff employed by the NHS
– teachers, including further education teachers and Early Years/nursery teachers
– police officers and community support officers in specified forces
– frontline police staff (civilians) may also be eligible in some areas
– prison officers and some Prison Service staff in prisons in specified areas
– probation officers (senior or not) and, for intermediate rent only, trainee probation officers
– local authority (LA) or local education authority (LEA) or NHS social workers
– uniformed staff, below principal level, in fire and rescue services
– armed forces personnel and some civilian Ministry of Defence (MoD) personnel (i.e. clinical staff, MoD police officers and uniformed staff in the Fire and Defence Service), also including some discharged personnel
– Highway Agency traffic officer staff
– LA environmental health officers/practitioners.
We are continuing to follow the advice of Public Health England and will not fully close unless
directed to do so.
Today the government requested that we all make changes to our lifestyles. These are as follows:
• Everyone to stop non-essential contact with others and to stop all unnecessary travel
• Anyone who has, or lives with someone who has a persistent cough or a temperature should stay at home for 14 days
• The Government clarified and extended its definition of vulnerable groups to include:
– Citizens over 70-years-old
– Citizens with relevant underlying health conditions
– Pregnant women
– Anyone in any of these groups should stay at home for 12 weeks of self-isolation
• People should start working from home where they possibly can
• Avoid pubs, clubs, theatres and other such social venues
• Only use the NHS when we really need to, via online services if possible
• From tomorrow government will no longer be “supporting” mass gatherings using emergency
workers
This means that if your child has a cough or a temperature, your whole family should stay at home for 14 days from when the condition developed. If your child is otherwise well, but a family member has a cough or a temperature, they should not attend school for 14 days. You will not be penalised for this non-attendance at school, however we do ask that you inform us directly of your need to isolate. If your child has a relevant underlying health condition, they should begin a period of selfisolation for the next 12 weeks.
We understand that you, or your child, may be feeling anxious about the impact of absence on their learning. Information shared with you recently provided access to some online learning platforms; please do encourage and support your child to use these.
You can support your child by ensuring they have a note of passwords to any online learning accounts (as noted in previous communication), where possible a quiet place to work in the home.
If you have any concerns regarding access to any of the above please contact your child’s teacher or learning facilitator in the first instance.
Links to the website and the Department of Education helpline are below.
Yours faithfully
Jon Angell
Principal, City Academy
The department for Education helpline to answer questions about COVID 19 related to education.
Staff, parents and young people can contact the helpline as follows:
– Phone 0800 046 8687
– Email [email protected]
– Opening hours 8am to 6pm (Monday to Friday)
The Academy website has a page dedicated to providing access to Public Health England advice, this
is updated daily.
