Anthony Bek Community Primary School closure update

Following the most recent scientific advice on how to further limit the spread of Coronvirus, the Government have asked that Parents keep their children at home to limit the chance of the virus spreading.

However, they have identified vulnerable pupils (those who have their own social worker and those who are on an Education and Health Care plan) as still needing to be offered a place. Parents do not have to accept this place if they can offer  safe place at home.

They have also identified that during this pandemic/crisis, there are many parents offering critical services in the response to COVID-19. It is expected that many of these parents will still be able to ensure their child is kept at home and EVERY CHILD WHO CAN BE KEPT AT HOME SHOULD BE.

This last part is crucial to the success of this period of the Government strategy. Clearly, many parents will fall into one of the categories below but if every parent said they needed the place for their child rather than finding ways to support them safely at home, we would have two problems:

1. We wouldn’t be reducing the spread of this virus and therefore putting more people in danger.
2. It is extremely likely that our school would be closed completely, therefore not offering places to any child regardless of their need due to not having staff to open safely.

Therefore, before looking at the list below and deciding whether you meet the criteria, please ask yourself- CAN I LOOK AFTER MY CHILD AT HOME THROUGH ANY OTHER SAFE MEANS? We are a close community and need to do everything we can to support each other and the school during these extremely difficult times.

Critical workers

• Health and social care E.g. 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.

If you feel you work falls within these categories AND you cannot make arrangements for your child to be looked after safely, you should confirm with your employer that your role is necessary for the continuation of essential public service.

If this is then confirmed, please e-mail ‘headteacher@anthonybek.derbyshire.sch.uk before 1pm today including the following information:

Child’s name:                                                             Child’s class:

Parent 1 job role:

Parent 2 job role (unless single parent):

Why your role is critical to essential services (following confirmation from your employer):

If it is the case that school has to be closed to ALL pupils, Parents/Carers of those children will need to contact the local authority to see if there are other locations in the area that can offer them a place. I firmly believe though that if one school is having difficulties offering this, then the same will apply elsewhere and for some parents getting pupils to these settings will be a challenge until the authority can help to organise transport.

Children at home

• School will continue to provide activities for your child to be completed at home (both online and in paper form for those who require it)
• Teachers will keep in regular contact with families/pupils to ensure they are okay and to answer any questions.
• You will be able to contact the school if you need any help or advice.

A text message will be sent to all by the end of today to let everyone know the outcome of today and whether the school will be open to any pupils and if so, who they are. The school website will be continually updated.