Dear Parents and Carers

You will probably have just watched the Prime Minister announcing another national lockdown.  Schools are moving to remote learning for the next few weeks, possibly until half term.  Children whose parents are Key Workers and Vulnerable children will be offered places in schools.

At Elms School, all our pupils are “vulnerable” because they have an Education and Health Care Plan.  This means that they are all entitled to attend school for face-to-face education.  However, the reality is that our school is no different to any school that is closing – we have put as many precautions in place as possible to keep everyone safe but I cannot guarantee that no one will bring the virus into school again.  You will recall that we had an outbreak before Christmas that led to us reverting to home learning for all.  Therefore, attendance at Elms will be optional – as parents and carers you know your family situation better than anyone.  Some of you will welcome the opportunity for your child to attend school and have some semblance of normality, whereas others of you will want to keep your children at home where you can keep them safe and also protect other vulnerable family members.

We plan to continue with our offer of places to Primary pupils tomorrow.  However, we need more time to set up testing for Secondary pupils and therefore we will open to upper school on Thursday, with y7 and 8 on Friday.  Please could you inform the office if you do not want your child to attend school if you have not already done so or if you have changed your mind after tonight’s announcement.  If your child is in Primary phase and you requested a place for tomorrow but have now changed your mind, please contact the office and your child’s transport team as soon as possible.

We have sent our home learning workpacks today and we hope to offer some remote teaching using Teams over the coming days/weeks.  Staff will continue to make regular contact with you and offer support.

Thank you for your continued understanding and support.

Yours sincerely

Juli Timoney

Headteacher