05 Jun Update on School Re-Opening 5.6.2020
Friday 5th June 2020
Dear Parents and Carers,
Re: Coronavirus (Covid-19) St Mary’s Update on School re-opening
I am writing to share with you updates on the St Mary’s school re-opening status.
Next week school continues to remain closed.
During the school closure, the emergency childcare provision continues.
We know across Islington there will be some schools who are able to re-open at some level, and others like St Mary’s where the wider re-opening is not able to take place just yet. School leaders are working away on plans as to how any wider re-opening might look, alongside re-assessing the risks, and making sure that any wider re-opening is as safe as possible.
The school’s approach to a wider re-opening will be very cautious and will take into account staffing capacity. The safety of our staff and children is our main concern.
Teachers continue to provide home learning for all year groups from classroom dojo in Reception and Year 1, to google classroom in Year 2 – Year 6, as well as additional provision from the local authority’s home learning platform. Teachers also include a range of activities for off screen home learning.
The emergency childcare provision at St Mary’s continues in line with the government’s childcare provision guidance for schools. Please call the school office, or email the parent support email address if your circumstances have changed and you think that you might now meet eligibility for the school’s emergency childcare provision.
An online parent survey will be sent next week to Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 families. The information from the survey will be used by school leaders to feed into the continued planning and risk assessing for a cautious and gradual phased re-opening.
In the meantime, adjustments continue to take place across the school in line with the safety guidance. Year groups, classrooms, staffing, playtimes, lunchtimes, the playground, the school hall, as well as the school start and end times, will not be operating as before the coronavirus pandemic. Necessary changes to support safety measures must be implemented before school can re-open. Further details will follow.
On behalf of all at St Mary’s I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your patience and support in these unprecedented times.
With best wishes,
Genevieve Prayag
Headteacher