Two Crawley schools to open only to key worker and vulnerable children

St. Margaret’s Church of England Primary School and West Green Primary School have said the schools will no longer be fully open from January 5.

In a statement released yesterday, headteacher Jill Hine and chair of governors Stephen Horsman at St Margaret’s said: “We are sorry to be writing to you all so late in the day, but this has been a rapidly changing situation with many meetings taking place.

“This morning the NEU (National Education Union) instructed its members that in the current situation and following the latest SAGE advice that it is unsafe for them to return to face to face teaching on January 4.

“As you will be very aware, the new strain of COVID 19 is spreading rapidly and the numbers of cases is rising. We have been informed that members of the NEU will be following the advice.”

The school was shut to all children today, January 4.

They added: “From Tuesday January 5, the school and Nursery will be open to key worker and vulnerable children only.

“We will have to limit numbers to 15 in each class bubble. All other children will be taught via our home learning platform ‘Google Classroom’ or by ‘Seesaw’. We know this is short notice, but this decision has been taken with a great deal of thought about keeping all children and staff safe.

“Thank you in advance for your support for these changes. We are all looking forward to welcoming all children back to school as soon as it is safe to do so.”

The National Education Union said it wrote to every head teacher, employer and the Government ‘that it is not safe to expect CEV staff to work in school or college and that they should work from home’.

Headteacher of West Green Primary School, Mr Hodgson and Chair of Governors Mrs Jill Wilson, today announced the school will only be open to children of keyworkers or those children classed as vulnerable (for example who have an assigned social worker).

In a joint statement they said: “We realise that this will be challenging for many parents who rely on the school for childcare in order to go to work. We are sorry to have to let you know at short notice.

“The National Education Union has supported teachers to only provide face-to-face learning for keyworker children and vulnerable children on the grounds that schools are no longer safe places of work due to rising Covid transmission rates.

“This is not strike action however, and teachers will therefore be providing remote learning for pupils who are not in school. This will mainly be via ‘Class Dojo’, and the previously provided CGP books. Teachers may also call to speak to some children from time-to-time.

“All pupils who remain in school will be taught by familiar members of staff and remain in their class bubbles. Unlike the school closure last March, we will be continuing with the curriculum as best we can, and children will be expected to wear school uniform.

“The usual school times for pick-up and drop-off apply, and all after school clubs continue to be cancelled until further notice.

“We have decided that if you previously let us know that you are a keyworker, we will accept that going forward. You do not have to provide new evidence, but we ask that you do not abuse this trust if your status has changed since March.

“If you now have new keyworker status, please call or email the school office (01293 526679/[email protected]) to discuss sending your child to school. Reception parents who are keyworkers will have to do this also, unless there are older siblings in school already confirmed.

“Families with children classed as vulnerable, which includes some children with special needs, will receive a call from either Mrs Chapman or Mrs Andrews to confirm their place in school.

“Please do consider whether you need to send your child to school. Social distancing in classrooms becomes possible when there are limited numbers of children attending, and all other measures such as ventilation become more effective the lower the number of people there are occupying the space.

“Wishing you and your families all the very best.”

A West Sussex County Council spokesman said: “We are working closely with all schools across West Sussex to support them with their safety measures for re-opening in line with Department for Education guidance, and to support online learning where schools are using it.

“We are aware that some West Sussex primary schools have not been able to open for face to face teaching for all pupils today as scheduled and we are working with them on opening as soon as they can with sufficient staff to ensure that pupils can be managed safely.

“We understand how concerning and frustrating this situation is for pupils, staff and families and we appreciate everyone’s cooperation and understanding.”