sps-coronavirus-update-letter-remote-learning-wednesday-18th-march-2020

​SHERBORNE PRIMARY SCHOOL Harbour Way Sherborne Dorset DT9 4AJ Telephone 01935 812619 Fax 01935 817943 e-mail ​office@sherbornepri.dorset.sch.uk Website ​www.sherbornepri.dorset.sch.uk

Headteacher: Mr Ian Bartle BA Ed (Hons) NPQH

Coronavirus Update Potential School Closure Learning Plan - Wednesday 18th March 2020 Dear Parents / Carers, I am writing to update all of our Sherborne Primary School community with the latest information and advice re the National & Global Coronavirus situation.

The School is monitoring the ongoing and developing situation regarding the Coronavirus, Covid-19. The situation is constantly evolving ​and our plan is to continue functioning as a school for as long as possible to support the community until this decision is taken out of our hands.

The advice is currently as follows: Stay at home and isolate your family for 14 days if a member of your family has either: a high temperature – you feel hot to touch on your chest or back and/ or a new, continuous cough – this means you've started coughing repeatedly.

We need to be prepared after the latest guidance that there is a possibility of imminent school closures. We have had no guidance with this but are prepared for this eventuality nevertheless.

With this in mind I have made some changes to the school day to continue to keep our children and school community safe. This is inline with government policy that was announced on Monday evening (16/03/2020).

1) From this date (18/03/2020) there will be NO after school clubs (school or pre-paid clubs) or school trips taking place. ​SCAPA is still open ​(if the school closes, so will SCAPA) 2) There will be no parental assemblies on a Friday until further notice.

3) Parents in ALL classes are asked to drop children at the door, but not to kindly enter the school (unless absolutely necessary) 4) Any children/families who need to self isolate can access our Home learning page on the school website. ​http://www.sherbornepri.dorset.sch.uk/home-learning/

Sherborne Area Schools’ Trust is a company limited by guarantee, Registered in England with Company number 08130468 Registered office: Bristol Road, Sherborne, Dorset DT9 4EQ

​SHERBORNE PRIMARY SCHOOL Harbour Way Sherborne Dorset DT9 4AJ Telephone 01935 812619 Fax 01935 817943 e-mail ​office@sherbornepri.dorset.sch.uk Website ​www.sherbornepri.dorset.sch.uk

Headteacher: Mr Ian Bartle BA Ed (Hons) NPQH

I have attached our planned ‘School Closures Learning Plan’​ which will come into action​ if and when our school was to close. The main areas that are covered on this learning plan are: -

Communication Wellbeing Resources Online Home Learning Staying in Touch and Contact details.

As mentioned on this plan our main forms of communication will be ​Class Dojo​ ​& Tapestry (which you have already kindly engaged with) and school email for the Office. ​If the school does have to close ​we aim to send the children home with a pack of work that will have enough resources for several weeks of work at home. The expectation is that this work will be completed on a daily basis as per the timetable that will be included with this pack. Daily updates will also be provided through Class Dojo / Tapestry to support this work ​(this will obviously be dependent on the medical condition of our staff) ​. A huge thank you to the teachers and support staff for preparing these packs!

The wellbeing of our school community is paramount in our minds and all staff are available to talk with pupils and to try to allay any concerns or anxiety over the outbreak. Please contact Mr Bartle via Class Dojo or the school office via phone or email.

We continue to appreciate the cooperation of all parents, for which the school is especially grateful at what is a difficult and anxious time. As mentioned in my previous letter, the school has also put together a critical incident plan specifically addressing scenarios connected with the need to close the school, place pupils or staff in isolation etc. However, the current advice remains: ​no school should close unless advised by PHE. This also relies on Sherborne Primary School to have safe and adequate staffing levels Part of our strategy if PHE / government does request that all schools (or Sherborne Primary itself) to close, we will be utilising our range of remote learning possibilities. These include using our school email system & communication systems such as: Class Dojo: ​https://www.classdojo.com/en-gb/

Sherborne Area Schools’ Trust is a company limited by guarantee, Registered in England with Company number 08130468 Registered office: Bristol Road, Sherborne, Dorset DT9 4EQ

​SHERBORNE PRIMARY SCHOOL Harbour Way Sherborne Dorset DT9 4AJ Telephone 01935 812619 Fax 01935 817943 e-mail ​office@sherbornepri.dorset.sch.uk Website ​www.sherbornepri.dorset.sch.uk

Headteacher: Mr Ian Bartle BA Ed (Hons) NPQH

Our web-site: ​http://www.sherbornepri.dorset.sch.uk/ Facebook Page: https://en-gb.facebook.com/pages/category/Elementary-School/Sherborne-Primary-School-117 470595583006/ School Office email contact: ​office@sherbornepri.dorset.sch.uk School Web-site (Home / Remote Learning Page ​(full of exciting activities you might wish to try with your child/ren):​ ​http://www.sherbornepri.dorset.sch.uk/home-learning/ We would strongly recommend that everyone ensures they can access the above sites and if you have made recent changes to your contact details then please let the office know asap.

Personal hygiene is the most important way we can tackle Coronavirus, especially ​washing hands​ more; and the​ ‘Catch it, Bin it, Kill it’​ strategy for those with coughs and sneezes. We ask that parents help us in sharing these simple and effective hand hygiene messages and actively practice with the children.

The school will continue to monitor the situation and update policy as official advice changes.

For anyone needing more information, the Department for Education has launched a new helpline to answer questions about Coronavirus related to education. Staff, parents and young people can contact the helpline as follows: Phone: 0800 046 8687 Email: ​DfE.coronavirushelpline@education.gov.uk​ / Opening hours: 8am to 6pm (Monday to Friday) Useful links / Updates on COVID-19 coronavirus: https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus https://www.gov.uk/government/topical-events/coronavirus-covid-19-uk-government-response

Sherborne Area Schools’ Trust is a company limited by guarantee, Registered in England with Company number 08130468 Registered office: Bristol Road, Sherborne, Dorset DT9 4EQ

​SHERBORNE PRIMARY SCHOOL Harbour Way Sherborne Dorset DT9 4AJ Telephone 01935 812619 Fax 01935 817943 e-mail ​office@sherbornepri.dorset.sch.uk Website ​www.sherbornepri.dorset.sch.uk

Headteacher: Mr Ian Bartle BA Ed (Hons) NPQH

If you have questions regarding this information do not hesitate to contact myself using the details above.

Yours sincerely,

Ian Bartle (Headteacher)

Sherborne Area Schools’ Trust is a company limited by guarantee, Registered in England with Company number 08130468 Registered office: Bristol Road, Sherborne, Dorset DT9 4EQ