UPDATE 3 Coronavirus: Information for Parents and Carers

19 Mar

Dear Parent/Carer,

The government announced yesterday evening that all schools in England would close at the end of the day on Friday 20th March 2020 until further notice.

The government has decided that:

1. Schools will remain open for pupils in the following categories:

a) Pupils with parents/carers who are key workers (a full list is being published today and we will forward this to you).

b) Pupils with an Educational Health Care Plan

c) Pupils with a Social Worker.

2. Pupils who are not in these categories must remain at home with appropriate care.

3. Provision will be made to support pupils who are entitled to Free School Meals. This does not include universal Free School Meals.

4. The Department for Education will not be going ahead with external exams and assessments this academic year.

This is an emerging picture and we will all need to be patient while further details follow from the government in the coming days.

I write to provide assurances that our individual schools are planning for the start of next week. You may have been contacted already if your child has a social worker and/or an Education Health Care Plan. In the meantime, please understand that:

1. A full and meaningful set of learning resources will be provided for pupils who are remaining at home.

2. Provision will be made for pupils who are in category 1 a, b and c above to attend school for the normal school hours. A school meal will be provided.

3. We will talk in detail with pupils in Y11 who were expecting to be examined in May/June. They will understandably be concerned about the announcement. We do not have details yet, but we are confident that pupils will be able to progress successfully onto the next stage of their education. We understand the true potential of our pupils and we are well placed to advise them, Sixth Form tutors, employers and college staff on where and how they will flourish. We will continue to work with pupils and families to ensure that they are well placed for their future. It is easy to say, but please do not worry about this.

We will keep you updated throughout the period of closure through our email/parent contact systems. We will use our websites to provide general information. In some cases, as advised by the government, we will make home visits to ensure the well being and safeguarding of all those in our care. Contact details are on our website pages.

Please understand that we are immensely proud of our pupils and will do whatever we can to help them at this time and into the future

From everyone at Castles Education, our thoughts are with you.

Please continue to check our websites for further updates.