Dear Parent/Carer,
Thank you for your support during what has been an incredibly difficult and fast-moving week. The school is now ‘closed’ for all students in line with government policy. We do not yet know the duration of the school ‘closure’ and will seek to keep parents informed as and when the situation changes. The reason for the ‘closure’ is to protect pupils and staff from an unwarranted level of infection and transmission of coronavirus, recognising also that schools would have found themselves with an increased number of staff absences – due to illness or self-isolation – making normal provision ever more difficult to sustain.
Students in Years 7, 8, 9 & 10 and Year 12 will need to approach the period of ‘closure’ knowing that they will be returning in a few weeks, or months, and must be ready to resume their studies as if there had been no interruption. The work that is being set by teachers will be vital for this and students should be accessing https://www.bromfords.essex.sch.uk/remote-learning/ and our Edulink platform to continue their learning.
The closure is, of course, an excellent opportunity to promote other worthwhile learning beyond just the school tasks that are set. It will be a chance to read books, to practise musical instruments, to learn new skills (in the kitchen, perhaps), or to explore other new aspects of learning, including beginning to investigate more advanced levels of study. I would urge all parents to plan for, and regulate, the activity of your children during the ‘closure’; in particular, but not only, limiting screen-time and providing alternative and creative options. A regular pattern: “school work, lunch, physical exercise, free-time” may well help.
However, as you will have realised the ‘closure’ announcement requires the school to remain ‘open’ to provide supervised activity for the children of ‘key workers’ and for students supported with an Education, Health & Care Plan (EHCP) or those who have a social worker. We contacted these parents yesterday and will use the responses from our ‘key workers’ survey sent to all parents earlier today to determine what this will look like. On Monday, staff will be finalising preparations and further details will follow. If it is possible for your child to be at home then they should be.
For students who fall into the categories above and for whom alternative childcare is not possible, the school will be open from 8am to 4pm on Monday 23 March. Students do not need to attend in uniform. There will be a limited catering service for breakfast, break and lunchtime. To access the catering service, students will require a balance on their ParentPay account. Students should arrive at student reception and will be supervised in either the canteen or main hall. Please note these arrangements are initially for 23rd March only and further details regarding the provision we are able to offer may look different in the future. Please note provision is unlikely to be in the form of timetabled lessons or tutoring and may be in another local school if, due to staff shortages, it is not possible to keep our school site open.
As we are still finalising what the supervision arrangements will look like, we would suggest that on Monday, students attending bring with them resources to keep them occupied such as a reading book. The school will not provide any compensation for valuable items brought into school such as a tablet or phone and if these are to be brought into school, it is at the student’s own risk.
Please stay safe over the weekend and continue to follow NHS guidance on self-isolation and social distancing.
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
Regards
Mr. Jochen Tree – Deputy Headteacher