Gwersyllt CP

Dear Parent / Carer,

Earlier this week Welsh Government took the decision that schools in Wales should close for children and young people with the exception of making provision for children who are vulnerable, or whose parents are critical to the Covid-19 response, so that they can continue to work, where alternative childcare arrangements cannot be made.

There has been significant discussion over the last 24 hours over the way schools will open from Monday onwards and I thank you all for your patience and understanding during these difficult times.

Could I firstly emphasise that the purpose of closing schools is to restrict and minimise social contact and therefore reduce the risk of being infected by the coronavirus.

It is essential you keep your children at home wherever possible in order to limit the chance of a virus spreading.

In accordance with the above we will be limiting attendance at our schools for parents who are at the forefront of the national effort to fight the coronavirus disease as per the Governments key worker list to those who are employed within;

Health and social care – this includes but is not limited to doctors, nurses, midwives, paramedics, social workers, care workers, and other frontline health and social care staff including volunteers; the support and specialist staff required to maintain the UK’s health and social care sector; those working as part of the health and social care supply chain, including producers and distributers of medicines and medical and personal protective equipment.

Education and childcare – this includes nursery and teaching staff, social workers and those specialist education professionals who must remain active during the COVID-19 response to deliver this approach.

Key public services – this includes those essential to the running of the justice system, religious staff, charities and workers delivering key frontline services, those responsible for the management of the deceased, and journalists and broadcasters who are providing public service broadcasting.

Local and national government – this only includes those administrative occupations essential to the effective delivery of the COVID-19 response or delivering essential public services such as the payment of benefits, including in government agencies and arms length bodies.

Food and other necessary goods – this includes those involved in food production, processing, distribution, sale and delivery as well as those essential to the provision of other key goods (for example hygienic and veterinary medicines).

Public safety and national security – this includes police and support staff, Ministry of Defence civilians, contractor and armed forces personnel (those critical to the delivery of key defence and national security outputs and essential to the response to the COVID-19 pandemic), fire and rescue service employees (including support staff), National Crime Agency staff, those maintaining border security, prison and probation staff and other national security roles, including those overseas.

Transport – this includes those who will keep the air, water, road and rail passenger and freight transport modes operating during the COVID-19 response, including those working on transport systems through which supply chains pass.

Utilities, communication and financial services – this includes staff needed for essential financial services provision (including but not limited to workers in banks, building societies and financial market infrastructure), the oil, gas, electricity and water sectors (including sewerage), information technology and data infrastructure sector and primary industry supplies to continue during the COVID-19 response, as well as key staff working in the civil nuclear, chemicals, telecommunications (including but not limited to network operations, field engineering, call centre staff, IT and data infrastructure, 999 and 111 critical services), postal services and delivery, payments providers and waste disposal sectors.

However, there is a need to be clear that, we want to prioritise attendance at school to only those who absolutely need to be there and are eligible to be there according to this criteria. If you fall outside this criteria, schools will not be expected to receive your children. Please be considerate and understanding in these very challenging times.

Our schools will also be open to our most vulnerable learners who will be identified in discussion with headteachers and Social Services and your school will contact you personally on this.

We are confident that if this advice is followed, we will all make a significant contribution towards protecting our pupils and our staff.

We will review these arrangements very carefully with our schools on a daily basis and will keep you appraised of any changes through the usual communication and media channels.

Yours sincerely,

Ian Roberts

Chief Officer; Education and Early Intervention

Wrexham County Borough Council

Dear Parents/Guardians,

I am writing to, hopefully, provide clarity to the role of the school over the next couple of weeks. As you know, On Monday 23^rd of March 2020, the school will close for the purpose of ‘statutory education’.

This means that the school will be closed to most pupils. The exception to this will be those children of key workers.

The government has made it clear in its guidance regarding key workers: “Many parents working in these critical sectors may be able to ensure their child is kept at home. Every child who can be safely cared for at home should be.”

This is an offer to parents and carers and there is no requirement for parents and carers to send their children to school if they do not need or wish to do so.

As things stand, from Monday the school will provide provision for those that need it most, for the statutory hours of 8.50am to 3.10pm. For the next 2 weeks, Playmates will continue to provide their provision for morning and after school clubs as will Little Chicks for Nursery pupils. Please note, if you wish your child to stay in these clubs you must contact them to make arrangements as usual. Nursery children must be picked up at 11.20am as usual, unless they have been booked into Little Chicks.

Breakfast club will still be provided for the above pupils at a cost of £1 between 8am-8.20am and free of charge afterwards. Currently,  the club will provide a basic breakfast.

Although we have been informed that catering will be provided for school meals moving forward this cannot be guaranteed on Monday. Please ensure your child brings packed lunch with them on Monday.

Can I ask that all eligible children that require the provision enter via the school hall on Monday in school uniform whether arriving at breakfast club or for the start of the day at 8.50am. This will allow us to take a register and talk to the pupils about what is required of them.

The school day will end for all at 3.10pm unless you have made extra arrangements with Playmates.

The advice to parents is that if children can stay safely in their home , they should, to limit the chance of a virus spreading. Parents need to keep their children at home, wherever possible and schools and childcare and play settings should be open only for those children who absolutely need to attend. This equally applies to all children including those of key workers and vulnerable children.

Please bear with us, we will no doubt have further information coming through as the days and weeks go by. This will include the initial 2 weeks as well as further provision after this. We will endeavour to get this information out to you as soon as possible.

A message from the Chief Officer Ian Roberts is now available on Facebook and the website. It includes the most up to date list.

Kind regards,

Mr J Moore

Numbers:

Playmates- 07493810275

Little Chicks- 07881794901

SCHOOL CLOSURES

• From tomorrow (20.03.20) all schools will close to their pupils.
•  On Monday, all schools will open to provide care / recreation / learning for children of key workers* and vulnerable pupils.
• schools will issue a letter to parents stating that school will be open from Monday to children whose parents fall into the following categories:

*Key  workers – This is our current understanding of key workers

• health workers – all those employed within the NHS
• Education staff who work in schools and settings
• blue light / emergency service officers
• social care workers
• supermarket delivery drivers
• prison officers and other prison staff
• probation service staff

Also if there is one key worker in the family, that qualifies for provision.

Vulnerable pupils.

From Gwersyllt CP-

Apologies if the lists above are varying- we are reacting to the situation as it evolves. Please contact the office prior to midday tomorrow if your child fits into the above categories and you wish to use the school in its new role.

It has been indicated that the title-Key workers will be flexible depending on the current situation we find ourselves in.

We aim to give an accurate and detailed breakdown of what we will be providing tomorrow in terms of hours, food etc. Please keep visiting this site for up to date information.

Dear Parents/Guardians,

I write this letter in reference to the news, as of yesterday, that schools will shut from tomorrow nationwide. Firstly, can I say thank you for your patience and understanding during this time. As of the time I write this letter the information we have on the expectations and processes moving forward are either undetailed or undisclosed to us. My belief is that Welsh Assembly Government are working quickly to get further information to schools.

Because we want to disseminate this information to you as soon as possible we will do so through the school’s Facebook page and website https://gwersylltcp.home.blog/. We recommend that you check these communication avenues frequently for the latest updates. We will send out texts, if possible, to inform parents that there has been an update posted. Please be aware that this may not be possible if they have been updated after school hours.

There is very little that we can be sure of at the moment. However, I can confirm that, unless staffing numbers dictate otherwise, school will be open tomorrow and clubs will go ahead as planned.

Swimming has been cancelled for tomorrow and will not go ahead. It goes without saying that all meetings, trips and clubs next week and onwards have been cancelled indefinitely.

 It has also been confirmed that school will close after tomorrow for the purpose of ‘statutory education’. However, we know from the Minister of Education, that the purpose of schools will change.

As a school we still have questions as to the role of the school from Monday onwards. It has been indicated we will open for learners of key workers, the groups we have been given currently are:

• NHS professionals
• Emergency services (Police and Fire Brigade)
• Teachers
• Support staff
• Care setting professionals
• Social care professionals

Could you please make school aware by tomorrow midday (tel: 01978 269520) if you are in these categories and would be required to use the school for your child from Monday. Again, we don’t know the exact details but have been asked to give numbers to County

We are also currently uncertain as to whether school will open for the statutory hours (8.50am-3.10pm) or will include provision for other hours in the day.

We ask that you bear with us during this time and continue to be patient. Hopefully, we will know more soon.

There is a good chance that by the time you read this letter, further information will be given out. Again, I highly recommend that all parents and guardians regularly check Facebook and the school website for the most up to date information.

Coronavirus / Covid-19 Update – March 19th 2020

Dear Parent/Guardians,

I write to you this morning to provide you with an update of the information we have available at this point. Like many of you last night I watched the ‘news’ bulletin where schools closures were announced in detail. As stated in that bulletin, further guidance and clarity would be made available to all relevant parties.

As of publication of this message, we are still yet to receive final details from the national government and local authority. Therefore, I politely ask that parents/guardians refrain from questioning staff this morning and telephoning school for information. Once I have all the relevant information I will communicate accordingly throughout the day. Please keep checking the website and Facebook for more information.

We are working extremely quickly behind the scenes to ensure that all statutory pupils (Reception to Year 6) have work ready to be shared during the initial period of closure. As things stand, we will remain open until 3.10pm tomorrow, Friday 20th March. However, if this is to change because of updated advice, we will let you know as soon as possible.

Self-Isolation guidance

Can we please remind all parents/guardians that if you have entered self-isolation your child cannot return to school before the end of the 14 day period. We have seen a number of pupils trying to return to school this week already, as a school, we must enforce national guidance that we cannot allow pupils back into the setting unless the isolation period is complete.

Coronavirus / Covid-19 Symptoms and Current Information/guidance

The most common symptoms of Coronavirus / Covid-19 are recent onset of –

 New continuous ‘dry’ cough and/or

 High temperature/fever

 Breathing difficulties

Key messages and update –

 If you or someone you live with has a ‘new, continuous’ cough or a high temperature, you should all stay at home for 14 days.

 This action will help protect others within the local community whilst you are infectious.

 Plan ahead and ask family/friends to help get the ‘items’ you need to stay at home.

 Stay at least 2 meters (about 3 steps) away from other people in your home wherever possible.

 Sleep alone, if that is possible.

 Wash your hands regularly for 20 seconds, each time using soap and water.

As stated in previous correspondences we appreciate this communication may not answer all your queries as the situation changes very quickly, but please rest assured we are working as proactively as possible to minimise any potential risks and keep you as updated as possible.

Yours sincerely

Mr J Moore

Continuing the schools form of being in the news at the moment, you may have seen Gwersyllt in again for the work Mrs O’Toole and the pupils have done with the residents of Pendine. The pupils worked alongside the residents on a number of art and craft activities. These activities are part of an enrichment programme and both pupils and residents work on a one to one basis in this intergenerational project.

You can find the article link and photos below.

https://www.leaderlive.co.uk/news/18274218.pupils-care-home-residents-celebrate-st-davids-day-style/

Please see below further information (as per the newsletter) regarding Covid-19

A busy week this week and an important one in the history of the school. On Thursday 27.2.2020 at roughly 1pm the new school building was officially opened through a ministerial visit.

Minister of Education for Wales, Kirsty Williams was welcomed into our new building to talk to the pupils and staff, as well as many other attendees and to unveil the new plaque to be placed by the school reception.

The visit commenced at roughly 12.30pm, the minister took at short interview as well as receiving a tour of certain parts of the new school. She was particularly well received in Snowy Owls as the pictures below will show testament to.

Class 2 treated the visitors, which included the Mayor, Councillor Phil Wynne, the Reeds construction team and many members of the county and school governors team, to a song whilst a video showed the school during a normal working day.

We were then treated to speeches by Councillor Wynne and the minister.

It was finished by 3 of our Reception pupils helping the minister to unveil the plaque.

After the presentation many stayed in the school to enjoy food put on by the county catering team,

A huge thank you to everyone involved from the staff and pupils to the governors and other teams that helped us towards this point.

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The end of another week. I can’t believe that the first half term since the Christmas break has only 1 more week left.

You will hopefully have noticed through  the website or the Newsletter that Gwersyllt CP are looking for those amongst you who may be interested in a Parent Governor or Community Governor role. Please contact the school if you think this could be you.

Recently I have been taking an interest in some of the healthy food that the pupils have brought in. A nutritious, well balanced lunch really helps the pupils get the most out of the afternoon- meaning concentration levels are higher and they can participate fully. Here are some of the lovely examples this week.

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On the note of lunches, the canteen put on a Chinese New year inspired menu this Tuesday. The pupils could have fries, chicken, rice, sauce or spring rolls. Not quite as healthy perhaps but very tasty.

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This week has marked the end of our time with the Read’s construction company on our site. They completed the project last week and left last Friday afternoon. This means that, save some snagging issues that may need to be addressed, all the work on site has been completed. They will revisit the site occasionally to take down necessary fencing around the playground or over see issues that crop up. This also means that the car park next to the school will no longer be in use and staff will be using the new car park placed at the lower end of the field.

This will alter a few aspects for the school. It will mean locks placed on the gates along the path that leads to the car park. This was an aspect that was always going to be necessary with the warmer months around the corner and the field being used more regularly during the school day. Now that Reads are no longer using the site at the bottom of the field and it will now be a car park it is a priority that the gates a locked during the day to ensure the pupils are safe (particularly when using the field).

What this has left us with is a large car park with ample parking space and a new fenced area for forest schools.

This forest schools site will take some time to develop but should be a lovely space for all pupils and classes to use in the coming years.