School Closure and Remote Learning
4th January 2021
You will have no doubt heard the Government announcement tonight that we have gone into an immediate lockdown and that schools will close to the majority of pupils and move to remote learning from tomorrow. Once again, I heard this news at the same time as the rest of the nation and had no prior knowledge.
From tomorrow, school will only be open to critical worker and vulnerable children (those with an EHCPlan) who are in Nursery to Year 6. Whilst we understand that a lot of children can be classed as a critical worker child, we would respectfully ask that if children can be educated at home, that you please support us and the Government to stop the spread of the virus by keeping your child(ren) at home.
We already have remote learning packs planned and ready to be copied for the first week of closure. Staff will organise the photocopying of these packs tomorrow and we will be in touch to let you know how they can be collected from school. Any children who need to attend school will be given this work to complete in school in their current class bubbles.
Unlike the previous lockdown which started in March, if you are a critical worker and are unable to educate your child at home, then they will be expected to be in school full time and not fluctuate between attendance at school and home learning.
If your child(ren) needs to be in school as a critical worker or a vulnerable child then please bring them to school at their current staggered start time tomorrow so we can gage how many children we will be accommodating in school. If your child needs to attend school and is already booked into Acorns, then their place is still available and they should come to the hall doors as normal.
As you will appreciate this letter is being written in response to an announcement that was made at 8pm. We have once again had to make decisions very quickly and communicate them with you. I know you might be feeling frustrated and possibly anxious at another school closure but please be assured that we will do everything in our power to support you with delivering the best possible education for your children. Unlike the previous remote learning arrangements, this time we expect all children learning from home to complete the activities set by their teacher. You can supplement and complete additional tasks if you wish, however we will require all children to adhere strictly to the planning sent home, in order to ensure they are learning in accordance with National Curriculum expectations. We do not have all the answers tonight but will work through things as best we can in the next few days.
If you have any questions then please send them to the admin email address (admin@longhoughton.northumberland.sch.uk) and we will get back to you as quickly as we can.
Thank you again for your understanding and support.
Tracey Critchlow
Headteacher