Urgent Action Required

** Please note that the survey results are still monitored - please still complete even if you missed the deadline**

Dear parent/carer

As you are aware, as from Monday all schools will be shut to the vast majority of pupils. Schools are being asked to provide care for a limited number of children – children who are vulnerable and children whose parents are critical to the Covid-19 response and cannot be safely cared for at home.

Please be aware that the government have stated “the fewer children making the journey to school, and the fewer children in educational settings, the lower the risk that the virus can spread and infect vulnerable individuals in wider society” and “asked parents to keep their children at home, wherever possible, and asked schools to remain open only for those children who absolutely need to attend.”
Therefore, please can I ask that you only send your child in to our school if absolutely necessary.

As a school serving the local community, we have collaborated with Pewsey Primary School and Puddle Ducks and have made the decision to prioritise students who are vulnerable and whose parents are both key workers.

The definition of vulnerable children includes children who are supported by social care, those with safeguarding and welfare needs (CIN plans or Child protection plans), ‘looked after’ children, young carers, disabled children and those with EHCPs.
If your work is critical to the COVID-19 response, or you work in one of the critical sectors and you cannot keep your child safe at home then your children will be prioritised for education provision:
The government has said the list of key workers will be: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-maintaining-educational-provision/guidance-for-schools-colleges-and-local-authorities-on-maintaining-educational-provision

These are:

Health and social care

This includes doctors, nurses, midwives, paramedics, social workers, care workers, and other frontline health and social care staff including volunteers; the support and specialist staff required to maintain the UK’s health and social care sector; those working as part of the health and social care supply chain, including producers and distributers of medicines and medical and personal protective equipment.
Education and childcare
This includes nursery and teaching staff, social workers and those specialist education professionals who must remain active during the COVID-19 response to deliver this approach.

Key public services

This includes those essential to the running of the justice system, religious staff, charities and workers 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

This only includes those administrative occupations essential to the effective delivery of the COVID-19 response or delivering essential public services such as the payment of benefits, including in government agencies and arms-length bodies.

Food and other necessary goods

This includes those involved in food production, processing, distribution, sale and delivery as well as those essential to the provision of other key goods (for example hygienic and veterinary medicines).

Public safety and national security

This includes police and support staff, Ministry of Defence civilians, contractor and armed forces personnel (those critical to the delivery of key defence and national security outputs and essential to the response to the COVID-19 pandemic), fire and rescue service employees (including support staff), National Crime Agency staff, those maintaining border security, prison and probation staff and other national security roles, including those overseas.

Transport

This includes those who will keep the air, water, road and rail passenger and freight transport modes operating during the COVID-19 response, including those working on transport systems through which supply chains pass.

Utilities, communication and financial services

This includes staff needed for essential financial services provision (including but not limited to workers in banks, building societies and financial market infrastructure), the oil, gas, electricity and water sectors (including sewerage), information technology and data infrastructure sector and primary industry supplies to continue during the COVID-19 response, as well as key staff working in the civil nuclear, chemicals, telecommunications (including but not limited to network operations, field engineering, call centre staff, IT and data infrastructure, 999 and 111 critical services), postal services and delivery, payments providers and waste disposal sectors.

Therefore, if you feel it is absolutely necessary for your child to come in to school and that you as parents / carers or your child meet the above criteria, please can you complete the following link.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdXxaSDwuDPZRPrTJxAXx-fR3J6BLpyRH6lNRXsW14v6TDEkg/viewform

If parents or carers think they fall within the critical categories above they should confirm with their employer that, based on the business continuity arrangements, their specific role is necessary for the continuation of this essential public service. We may need evidence of this in the future.

We will continue to keep all of our parents updated as this unprecedented situation continues. Please remember that all work is accessible for our students online. We cannot reply to individual phone calls or emails but please be assured we will continue to follow the latest government advice.

Please take care of yourselves during this difficult time and we look forward to opening our doors again to all of our students at some point in the future.

Yours sincerely

Neil Pritchard
Head Teacher