19th June 2020

Dear Parents and Carers,

At the moment, the following groups of children are eligible to attend our Academy:

  • Nursery,
  • Reception,
  • Year 1,
  • Year 6, 
  • Children of Key Workers,
  • Those with Education Health Care Plans,
  • Those with a Social Worker, or deemed otherwise vulnerable.

This week, the Government announced that schools may invite children from other year groups where they have the capacity to do so. School leaders were given the following directive:

'When deciding how to welcome additional pupils back before the summer, schools should consider how they will communicate to parents, including those with children in Nursery, Reception, Year 1 or Year 6 who have not yet taken up their offer of a place. Schools should ascertain if those parents want to take up the offer, making it clear that if they indicate that they do not, or do not respond, schools may offer this space to another pupil in which case they won’t subsequently be able to take up a place this term.'

In order for us to know how many spaces we may have, we need to know your intentions for the remainder of this term. It is for this reason that there will be a cap on Nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 places from Thursday 25th June 2020. If children do not take their place by this time, their place may be offered to a child from another year group for the rest of the summer term. This is not a guarantee that we will definitely have the capacity to welcome children from other year groups into school from 25th  June. Additional planning needs to be carried out, with an assessment of staff availability, as we still need teachers available to ensure that quality online learning and feedback takes place for children who are not in school.

This next section applies only to families whose children have not yet returned to school:-

If you have a child in Nursery, Reception, Year 1, Year 6; or your child has an Education Health Care Plan; or a Social Worker, you must let the Academy office know by Wednesday 24th June 2020 if you wish for a place in school until the end of July. Your child must attend on 25th June to secure their place. Key Workers must let us know that they require a place by 24th June if you have not already done so.

I understand that this is a difficult decision for many of you to make. Please be assured that we have made the school environment as safe as possible for children's return and that online learning will still be provided for children until 17th July 2020. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you would like to discuss any questions or concerns.

Thank you for your ongoing support and understanding during these challenging and changing times.

Yours sincerely,

 

Roy Gunning

Principal