Partial School Closure – Wednesday 15th and Thursday 16th March 2023

8th March 2023

Dear Parent/Guardian

Partial School Closure – Wednesday 15th and Thursday 16th March 2023

I write regarding further strike action from the teacher’s union, NEU with the next dates for the Eastern region scheduled for Wednesday 15th and Thursday 16th March. As per the strikes on 1st February and 1st March, we will not be able to open as normal on Wednesday 15th and Thursday 16th March when the National Education Union (NEU) goes out on strike.

We have looked at our priority groups and plans for staff numbers to ensure that all students are kept safe and can be sufficiently supervised. We have, therefore, had to make the decision to only allow those students in Years 11 and students in Y7-10 who are classified as vulnerable or a child of a first responder to come into school.

The school will be open for vulnerable children and children of first responders, in Years 7, 8, 9, 10. Vulnerable children are those who fall into the any of the following categories:

Students who have an EHCP
Students who receive Free School Meals

Students who are classified as Pupil Premium
Students who are looked after by a Local Authority
Students with a Social Worker as they are on a Child Protection Plan or Child in Need Plan

If your child falls in to one or more of the above categories and you would like them to be in school on Wednesday 15th and Thursday 16th March, we ask that you please complete and return the relevant form attached to this letter by 10.00am on Monday 13th March 2023. We will then respond to confirm eligibility and an allocated place for Wednesday and Thursday.

Children of First Responders. We do not want essential services to be disrupted and, therefore, we have made the decision to support these families by offering them the opportunity for their children to come to school. They will work online and be supervised by a member of our support staff. First responders are considered to work in the following professions:

NHS, including ambulance and paramedic staff
Ministry of Defence

Police
Fire and Rescue Services
Care workers
Social workers
Teachers at state schools (who are not on strike).

If you work in any of these professions and would like your child to be in school, we ask that you please complete the online form by 10.00am on Monday 13th March 2023. We will then respond to confirm eligibility and an allocated place for Wednesday and Thursday.

We will be running a normal day from 8.40am to 3.05pm and students in school will be supervised to work online with staff. We would ask that you complete and return the form using by 10.00am on Monday 13th March 2023 so that we can allocate students to the required groups and rooms.

Free School Meals

If your child is in receipt of free school meals, but you do not wish them to attend school on

Wednesday 15th and Thursday 16th March, we will be providing a school meal as a packed lunch. This can be collected at 1.00pm on 15th and 16th March from our main reception by your child, or by a parent/guardian. To help us cater appropriately, we do ask that you please complete and return the relevant form attached to this letter by 10.00am on Monday 13th March 2023, stating whether your child will need a free school meal on this day.

The link to the online form is here: https://forms.office.com/e/apDjTrmG5m

For students who are not in school, online learning will be provided for those students who are able to access it. This will include some live lessons from staff who are in attendance at school and online tasks that can be completed at any point in the day. We know that due to childcare arrangements, it will not be possible for all students to be online or access IT and there is no expectation for students to catch up on this work set this day.

Yours faithfully,

Zoe Andrews

Principal