5th June 2020
Dear Parents/Carers
Re-opening of Schools
Following the Education Minister’s announcement on Wednesday signalling the opening of schools from Monday 29th June, I am writing to make you aware of the process and planning that will take place over the next few weeks in order to prepare as safely as possible for our students and staff.
Learners will return on a part-time, small group basis to ‘Check-in, Catch-up and prepare for Summer and September’. This means that we can support our children face-to-face with online learning and wellbeing. The school week is likely to consist of different groups of pupils being invited to attend on different days, while continuing with home learning on other days; school will certainly look and feel very different for our students and there is an expectation that this may continue into the autumn term. There will be a focus on handwashing, one-way systems and social distancing among other precautionary measures, to ensure we can maintain as safe an environment for everyone as possible.
In conjunction with Blaenau Gwent Local Authority a survey has been posted on social media. It is vital that you complete this survey as we will use your responses to plan the sessions for those pupils whose parents indicate they will be returning to school. If you choose not to send your child to school there will be an opportunity in the survey to indicate this and we will continue to provide online home learning for all of our students. We totally respect your decision as parents in this matter; attendance monitoring will not take place throughout this term.
When full guidelines are published to schools next week, I will contact you further to share the plans for those pupils who will be returning to school at the end of the month. I would like to thank you all for your patience and support in this most difficult of times and to also reassure you that the staff and Governing Body place the safety and wellbeing of all members of the community at the heart of all decisions we will make regarding a return to school.
In the meantime, please stay safe, encourage your child to continue with their home learning and do not hesitate to contact us should you have any queries or concerns.
Yours sincerely
Huw Lloyd
Headteacher