Highfields School
Issue 30: 7 May 2020
Newsletter Parents/carers – support and advice Help & Support information We are constantly updating the school website with the latest information and activities, including our ‘Help & Support’ page: http://www.highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk/support.html
Free School Meals National Voucher Scheme Children eligible for free school meals can benefit from a national voucher scheme allowing them to continue to access meals whilst they stay at home. Families of eligible free school meals students have been contacted by school to receive a weekly shopping voucher worth £15 to spend at supermarkets while schools are closed due to coronavirus. If you have not received an email from school and are a family who is eligible for free school meals please contact the Finance department (finance@highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk). If you have received an email but not yet responded, please do so as soon as possible so the vouchers can be sent out to you. The vouchers are sent as an e-code which can be redeemed as an e-voucher. The e-voucher can be downloaded to a smartphone or printed to use and can be spent on food at a range of shops including Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Asda, Morrisons, Aldi, Waitrose and M&S. The Department for Education is working to get more shops to join the scheme as soon as possible. FAQs are provided by the Department for Education and are available on the link below to the school website http://www.highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk/pdfs/ParentPDFs/DfE_FreeSchoolMeals_ParentCarerFAQs.pdf
‘We Are Highfields Fund’ 2020 Application forms for the We Are Highfields Fund can be requested from the finance office (finance@highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk) or by phone (01629 832325), your child’s year manager or website http://www.highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk/pdfs/NewsPDFs/WeAreHighfieldsApplication.docx. This is a hardship grant and is considered on a case by case basis. This grant scheme will be paid out until funds are exhausted. To be eligible you must be a parent/carer of a students at Highfields School and have savings of less than £1,000 per person or £2,000 for a family or couple (including rolling bank balance).
Highfields Emergency Childcare If you require emergency childcare as a last resort for keyworkers, please contact Mrs Leverton by Friday each week with specific details regarding the days and times of the following week that emergency childcare is required (lleverton@highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk). If your child is mature and capable of staying home alone, please consider this to reduce the spread of infection. High quality learning can take place remotely and we are offering basic supervision only in school. Education Secretary Gavin Williamson reminded families that they “should only send your child to school if you have to, because your work is critical to our Covid-19 response. If you are able to keep your child at home, you should.”
Be the best you can
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