27th March 2020

 

Dear Parent/ Carer, 

 

This has been a week without precedent. We are now 5 days into the partial closure of our schools and we are unsure when we will return. Everyone has a huge contribution to make in this time of national emergency, whether that being continuing your role as a critical and key worker, following Government advice on self isolation, looking after those in our communities who are most vulnerable or helping those children who can’t be in school right now to continue with their learning.

 

Across the Trust we’ve been working closely together to:

  • Establish high quality child care places for those pupils who need them;
  • Put together home learning packages for those pupils who are not at school;
  • Support families with meals through our Free School Meals packages;
  • Help our staff to keep themselves safe and keep children safe;
  • Support colleagues who are not required to be at work to volunteer to help across our communities;
  • Help colleagues in other schools – and beyond our Trust – to provide a good service to their learners by making our facilities available to them.

 

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all parents and carers for your magnificent support for academy staff as they go about their important work. My colleagues have been delighted and uplifted by the many comments of appreciation they receive and you shouldn’t underestimate how important these can be. Thank you.

 

We are committed to maintaining our partial services for as long as we are required to do so. We are completely focused on doing everything we can to keep everyone safe. An important part of this is the home learning offer that each academy has made. Your child has access to school work that enables practice and consolidation of key skills, engages their interest and – crucially –  helps to maintain good learning habits. This will mean that when the national emergency has passed, children can swiftly reconnect to the demands of school.

 

Expectations are straightforward. Your child’s teacher has provided tasks in English and Mathematics that are designed to take about two hours each day. This is supplemented by additional work that is related to the school curriculum. It’s also important for children to have fun, relaxation and exercise too. And you can never go far wrong by encouraging your child to read and also reading to them yourself.

 

Please note that during this extraordinary period we will not be teaching the full National Curriculum in our Academies. Teachers will make contact via their blogs on our school website, through Microsoft Teams for Key Stage Two children (this is currently being set up) and via telephone to set new tasks, provide essential guidance and feedback. We’d urge you to get involved by engaging with these tasks and helping your child wherever you can. There are also a number of really excellent learning resources available online and on TV (your academy can advise you on these). If you have questions, please ask – although you should be aware that it may take a while to get a response to you.

 

Thanks again for  your continued support in these difficult times. It is essential that we all follow government guidance regarding social distancing and isolation. We must do everything we can to keep ourselves, our families and our children safe.  We will be ready to open our schools as normal once more when the emergency is over.

 

We are keeping a close watch on all Government guidelines on the pandemic and we will always respond swiftly to any changes. Your Academy Principal will keep in touch regularly to update you.

 

Yours,

 

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Darren Holmes

Chief Executive Officer

 

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