School Closure Update 20th March 2020

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Birkrig, Skelmersdale, Lancashire WN8 9BN. Telephone: 01695 724730.

www.bishopmartin.lancs.sch.uk

Headteacher: Mr IJ McDonald

School Closure Update 20/03/20 – Please Read Carefully Dear Parents/Carers, As you will all now be aware, the Government has announced that schools will close at the end of today to everyone except children of ‘Key/Critical Workers’ and those identified under a category as ‘Vulnerable’. I appreciate that there is a lot of information to pass on so please read everything below carefully.

You will be informed, today, as to which category you fall under: 1. You are identified as a ‘Key/Critical Worker’ as defined by the Government and therefore entitled to access school provision, should you require it 2. Your child is categorised as ‘Vulnerable’ and therefore is expected to attend school on Monday 3. You do not fall into either of the above, Government defined categories, and therefore your child MUST NOT attend school on Monday KEY/CRITICAL WORKER DEFINITION Last night the Government published the ‘Key/Critical Worker’ List definitions. Parents in these jobs will all have the option to access school provision at Bishop Martin from Monday. This will stay under constant review depending on my ability to maintain appropriate staffing levels at the school but I will keep all parents up to date on this as we move forwards.

IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT THE GOVERNMENT HAVE STRESSED THAT IF YOU ARE IN A KEY WORKER JOB AND CAN SOURCE CHILDCARE AT HOME THEN THIS IS THE PREFERRED OPTION TO REDUCE UNNECESSARY PHYSICAL/SOCIAL CONTACT AND REDUCE POTENTIAL SPREADING OF THE VIRUS. WHERE ONE PARENT IS NOT IN A KEY WORKER ROLE, THE ADVICE IS THAT PARENT SUPERVISES THE CHILD/REN FROM HOME. School is in communication with parents/employers throughout today to establish: a) Which families qualify for school provision access under the Government’s ‘Key/Critical Worker’ category b) Which of those families will require the provision from Monday (Reminder: Government advice is wherever possible pupils should be cared for at home) VULNERABLE LIST There is some flexibility allowed to me as Headteacher to establish exactly which pupils will be categorised as ‘Vulnerable’ and therefore expected to attend school on Monday. The list for Bishop Martin (as agreed with the other Skelmersdale Primary Schools) is:  

Pupils with an EHCP Pupils/Families with an allocated Social Worker

As a school we will be keeping in regular contact with identified families via phone and e-mail to check how you are coping through this difficult period and will try to support you as best we can, even if you haven’t been identified as ‘Vulnerable’ at this time.

FREE SCHOOL MEALS Free School Meals WILL NOT be classed as ‘Vulnerable’ and therefore NOT expected to attend school on Monday. The Local Authority is working towards getting all FSM families onto the Government’s e-voucher system as soon as possible but for next week has set up the following: 

Please Note: Free School Meal (FSM) pupils who fall into any of the Vulnerable categories above WILL be allowed to access school provision and be fed on the school site

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If your child is not attending school on Monday under a vulnerable category a Food Parcel will be available for collection, from school on Monday. There will be enough supplies for a basic breakfast and lunch for 5 days within the parcel.

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Once we have received the supplies on Monday we will message families with an allocated time to come and collect the parcel from school (DO NOT COME TO SCHOOL UNTIL YOU RECEIVE A MESSAGE WITH A COLLECTION TIME)

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If you, or any of your family are showing symptoms (high fever, new continuous cough) and are in self-isolation DO NOT come to school and we will sort separate delivery arrangements to get the food parcel to you FAMILIES WHO DO NOT QUALIFY

I am sympathetic to those families who will not qualify under the Key Worker and Vulnerable categories to access school provision from Monday. However, these are unprecedented times and it is vital we ALL follow Government advice and reduce social/physical contact as much as possible. I would therefore plead with ALL families who do not qualify to NOT attempt to attend school on Monday. Your child will not be admitted to school and you will be told to take them back home.

AND FINALLY… I would like to thank you all for your understanding and patience at this unprecedented time. Many of the staff here (like myself) are parents themselves and going through similar experiences to you with our own families. I remain committed to providing as much of a service as I can to our families but I must follow Government guidelines and enforce them.

If you need further explanation on ANY of the above please don’t hesitate to contact the school.

Yours sincerely

Mr McDonald