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Operation schedule for Almondsbury CE Primary School

The Government has prioritised the following categories as ‘key worker’. They are as follows:

  • Health and Social Care – This includes but is not limited to 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 childcare, support 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 arm’s 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.

Please refer the www.gov.uk site for further information and clarification.

This is a statement from the Department of Education website:

We know that schools will also want to support other children facing social difficulties and we will support head teachers to do so.

Parents whose work is critical to the COVID-19 response include those who work in health and social care and in other key sectors outlined below. Many parents working in these sectors may be able to ensure their child is kept at home. And every child who can be safely cared for at home should be.

Please, therefore, follow these key principles:

  1. If it is at all possible for children to be at home, then they should be.
  2. If a child needs specialist support, is vulnerable or has a parent who is a critical worker, then educational provision will be available for them.
  3. Parents should not rely for childcare upon those who are advised to be in the stringent social distancing category such as grandparents, friends, or family members with underlying conditions.
  4. Parents should also do everything they can to ensure children are not mixing socially in a way which can continue to spread the virus. They should observe the same social distancing principles as adults.

The local authority have also issued guidance to all school as follows :

The LA position on this which I believe is consistent with the government is that public health is the priority consideration, therefore everyone should be minimising social contact to reduce the risk of spreading the virus. Therefore should stay at home if they can. If someone has to attend work and also needs to send their child/children to school because they are a key worker and there is no-one to be with their child/children, then they need to tell schools and the LA will work with schools and others to make the necessary arrangements.

As a cluster and group of school we have unanimously decided that both parents need to be key workers. Although, we will provide care for your child if there is an emergency. If this is the case you will need to email the office@almondburyprimary.co.uk address as soon as possible so arrangements can be put into place. This decision is to help to minimise the number of children in school and to protect them for spreading the virus to other children and their families. This is the whole point of the closures taking place.

What will happen at school?

  • School will be open for normal operating times – 08:55 to 15:30.
  • Children attend should come through the main entrance.
  • Learning will follow the Home Learning Activities.
  • Only families in receipt of Free School Meals and Reception/KS1 children will be provided a lunch.
  • All other children must bring their own packed lunches.

What can you do at home?

  • Access the Home Learning Activities on your child’s class pages
  • Create a daily routine or follow the suggested one on your child’s Home Learning page
  • For those pupils who are eligible for Free School meals (not universal Reception and Key Stage 1) they are still entitled to have a meal provided for them on a daily basis. However, if you have decided to keep your child at home (understandably and advised) you will need to come to school on a daily basis to collect the packed lunch from the main office foyer. These will be labelled ready for collection from 11am. If you intend to take up this offer please let the office know so we can order these packed lunches for your child/ren.
  • Check on our school website regularly for updates and video messages.

These are unprecedented times and we all need to be mindful of each other and all of our wellbeing and mental health to be able to come out on the other side stronger and more resilient. We, as the Almondsbury team appreciate all the support and kind messages that have come into school over the past few days. It is an emotional and highly stressful time for everyone and we care deeply for each of our children. They are going to find this time strange and unsettling. However, it is really important that calm and routine are provided for them. We know it is going to be difficult times ahead and will be here if you need us. Please contact us as stated above.

We hope that you and your families all stay safe and healthy and hope to see you all very soon.

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