Fordwater Update

Dear Parents and Carers,

I hope this correspondence finds you all well. I am writing to update you on the current situation following Sundays announcement from the Prime Minister.

• Since Sunday there have been several documents published that have talked about more pupils returning to school. Specifically primary aged children in identified year groups.
• Special Schools have NOT been asked to bring specific year groups back into school. We have been asked to continue to support children of keyworkers with no other childcare options and children who for different reasons are some of the most vulnerable. These pupils will mostly have social workers who have been closely involved in risk assessing their attendance at school with school leaders and the safeguarding team. None of these pupils are currently in school full time.
• This week we have increased our numbers on site by a very small number who fall into this category. This is an indication of how we are looking to slowly reintroduce pupils into school. However this needs to be incredibly measured, risk assessed and monitored. There is no definitive date for increasing numbers and we will continue to reintroduce pupils on a case by case basis if it is safe and possible.
• In many ways our position at school remains unchanged and we will not make any huge changes in increasing numbers until we have clear evidence that it is safe for more pupils to be in school.
• We want to try and provide some time in school for Year 14s before the end of the Summer Term. Obviously this is only if it is appropriate for the individual and if parents are comfortable and happy with what we propose. As yet we have not planned this.
• As I have indicated in the Bugle we are not expecting pupils to return to school if parents and carers feel they are safer at home. Whilst I know that in some cases it is hard, in the vast majority of cases, home remains the safest place for our children.
• Whilst we are all desperate to have pupils back in and whilst we know the benefits of school for our young people we have to ensure that it is safe for the whole school community. We need to ensure we have enough staff on site who are able to work safely with our pupils.
• Maintaining social distancing is very difficult in a school such as Fordwater and therefore in order to try and maintain any of the national guidance we cannot have too many pupils and staff in school at any one time.
• We will continue to call you weekly to see how you are.
• Please continue to use the support email if you have any questions or concerns that need to be addressed by school leaders.
• We will continue to update everyone via ParentMail and with the weekly Bugle. It has been wonderful to see such lovely pictures of our pupils at home during this time.
• We will continue to provide fortnightly individualised class newsletters to help families with home learning options.
• We will update our website regularly with activities and information.
• Annual Review packs will be sent out to each family in the coming weeks.
• If you have any questions or concerns regarding your child’s current EHCP needs whilst they are at home then please discuss that during your weekly call with your teacher or use the support email.

Thank you to everyone in the Fordwater community for their ongoing support and teamwork during this time. Safety and Wellbeing of everyone is our priority and we are doing all we can in this difficult time to try and prioritise that.

Stay Safe and Stay Well.

Sophie