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School will be CLOSED to all pupils on Monday 30th November to allow a deep clean of the site to take place. Please read the statement below from Mr Speck.
28th November 2020
Dear Parents/Carers
URGENT UPDATE TO MONDAY ARRANGEMENTS
First and foremost, thank you for your patience the last 24 hours as we react to and manage the cluster of positive Covid-19 cases informed to us since Friday morning.
This is undoubtedly the most challenging situation we have faced since we returned to school in September, but I want to reassure all our parents and the broader school community that I have the utmost confidence that school remains a safe environment for our children.
That said, it is only right that I bring you up to speed with the current situation. We have three confirmed cases of Covid-19 amongst our pupils, two in Year 4 and one in Year 3. We have four members of staff who have tested positive, all working within the Lower Phase and as a result of classroom support, a further small number of staff are self-isolating as a precautionary measure due to their contact with the positive cases. One additional member of staff is isolating due to a Contact Trace notification.
Since 7.00am this morning, myself and my immediate Senior Management staff have been working flat out to identify any other potential risks to the wellbeing of all and react to the changing situation as it has unfolded across the day.
We now know exactly which year groups have to isolate : Year 3 and 4 in their entirety and this has been fully informed to parents. I want to reassure you that this outbreak appears to be contained, but I know you will be concerned as to the safety of the environment to which your children are returning after the weekend.
Although I am satisfied our cleaning and hygiene regimes remain robust, we have sought to organise a professional Deep clean using specialist disinfecting devices and this will transmit a ‘fog’ that kills bacterial spread and protects zones for a considerable period afterwards.
To enable this to happen though, we have to inform you school will be CLOSED TO EVERYONE this coming Monday 30th November so Year 5 and 6 children and all remaining staff will NOT be attending school. This is so the Deep clean can be concluded, ensuring school is a sterile environment once more from Tuesday onwards.
This closure has afforded us the opportunity to revisit the information we shared on Friday regarding our intention to close school early on a Friday for the next three weeks. By enforcing a closure on Monday, all staff will receive their statutory planning time as an accumulated block, and therefore we will NOT have to shorten the school day on a Friday. We hope this now removes the headache some parents would have faced around the earlier pick up.
I am fully aware of our duty to provide home working resources but I must advise there will be NO work set at all on Monday, and all homeworking for Year 3 and 4 will commence from Tuesday morning, so please ensure you have sent Mrs Anderson your e-mail addresses to facilitate the sharing of work.
Year 5 and 6 will NOT be set any work on Monday due to the tight timescales we are working under and the fact the school is closed on Monday, which will limit teacher access to central learning resources etc.
I trust this information is useful, clear and reassures you of our ongoing endeavours to keep school open to as many children as possible.
Finally, I would remind you all that this is a shared society issue. It is unfortunate that we have been impacted by such a sudden and condensed cluster of cases, but it is stark reminder that we cannot become complacent to the prevalence of Covid-19 in our own communities and we will continue to try our very best to limit exposure to risk as best we can.
Thank you for your ongoing support.
Best regards.
Peter Speck
Head Teacher