Dear Parent/Carer,

Although all schools officially closed on Friday afternoon at 3pm, we recognise our duty to support Key Workers in posts which ensure that essential services can be delivered and cover tasks within the local community which support the vulnerable and aid community resilience. Definitions of key workers and eligibility are outlined in Appendix A. This service is for families where both parents/carers are key workers or in the case of single parent families, where the main care giver is a key worker.

It is essential to stop the spread of COVID-19 that people who can work from home do work from home.  The remaining education support service should only be accessed by those who absolutely require it to enable National Health Service and other critical services to continue and also for vulnerable young people. We appreciate your cooperation with this.

Arrangements for week beginning Monday 23^rd March 2020

If you are an eligible key worker, who has no other suitable childcare arrangements then your child can attend school as normal on Monday 23^rd March, school transport will run as normal.  If you are able to go in person to school or establishment, staff will ask you to complete a proforma.  If you are unable to do that then the school or establishment will contact you to gather information.

Future Plans

Over the course of this transition week, the council will collect data from across Schools and Centres and use this data to inform its planning.  This may involve closing some schools and moving to a cluster/hub model, with only identified schools and centres remaining open to support Key workers who have no alternative childcare in place.  In practice, this may mean that your child attends a different school, but within their locality.

Meeting your needs

This week, you will be asked to complete a form to provide us with essential information about you and your child.  This will include information about your employment, work patterns and emergency contact details. This information will be used by the council to build up a picture of the requirement for education services across each locality. The more information you provide the more prepared we can be.  Further information will be provided about this later in the week.

School Meals

All children who are entitled to free school meals will be able to access these meals. If you need to access this support please take your child to their usual school at the school’s normal lunchtime.

Breakfast clubs will be open in those schools that normally offer them.

SQA Course Work

Scottish Government have clarified your child should not attend school to complete any SQA course work.  The school may ask you to complete course work remotely.

Teachers know your children well and already have a wide range of evidence on which to base their professional judgement. Estimated grades will be based on predicted attainment, coursework and assessment. They will NOT only be based on prelim marks. Since all estimates and professional judgements have not yet been carried out, I would ask that you do not contact the school at this time for that information. Although there is no process for appealing professional judgement, the SQA have indicated that their post results service will be free of charge this year. Further information on this will be issued in due course.

Finally, UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES should any child who has symptoms of coronavirus, or who lives in a household where someone has symptoms, present at school. The whole family must follow the self-isolation advice.

Thank you for your continued cooperation and support.

Yours sincerely

John Robertson

Headteacher

Appendix A: Identified Key Workers/Eligibility

Please note that the first presumption is that this service will only be accessed when no other suitable childcare arrangements can be identified.

Please note that the first presumption is that staff who can work from home will work from home and that this service will only be accessed when no other suitable childcare arrangements can be identified.

click here for key worker form

KEY WORKERS

All North Lanarkshire schools will be open on Monday for the children of the following categories of key workers
It is essential, to stop the spread of transmission of coronavirus, that people who can work from home do work from home. This is not business as usual and it is vital that this support being offered is only accessed by those who absolutely require it to enable NHS and other critical services to function.

If you’re a key worker who requires support, please take your child to your normal school on Monday. We will review these arrangements over the coming week and it is likely we will fully close some schools but we will inform you of this and the alternative provision we will put in place.

UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES should any child who has symptoms of coronavirus, or who lives in a household where someone has symptoms, present at school. The whole family must follow the self-isolation advice.
Key worker categories:

Category 1

Includes:
·       Health and care workers directly supporting COVID-19 response and associated staff
·       Workers supporting life-threatening emergency work as well as critical primary and community care provision
·       Staff of energy suppliers
·       Staff, including teachers and early years workers, providing childcare and learning for other key workers and staff who support school buildings

Category 2

Please note that the first presumption is that staff who can work from home will work from home

·       All other health and care workers including home support staff and care home staff
·       Emergency services staff, including police, fire and rescue, prison officers
·       Military personnel
·       Social workers

Those supporting critical national infrastructure including:

·       Staff keeping air, water, road and rail passenger transport operating
·       Oil, gas, electricity and water and sewerage workers
·       Logistics staff including drivers and transport workers
·       Food and other necessary goods staff including food production, processing, distribution, sale, delivery as well as those essential to the provision of hygienic and veterinary medicines
·       Staff in essential financial service provision including: banks, building societies and financial market infrastructure; IT and data infrastructure; postal services; civil nuclear, chemicals and telecommunications; payment providers; waste disposal.
·       Journalists and broadcasters

Category 3

Other council and associated staff in the following categories. Please note that the first presumption is that staff who can work from home will work from home

·       Strategic-level management and support staff
·       Waste services staff
·       Fleet services staff
·       Cemeteries staff
·       Property repairs and maintenance staff including frontline workers of Mears and Saltire
·       Roads and lighting maintenance staff including staff of Amey
·       Facility support services including cleaning, catering, school crossing patrollers and janitorial staff
·       Human resources staff including payroll and employee service centre
·       IT staff
·       Communications staff
·       Finance staff including welfare, revenue and benefits staff and municipal bank staff
·       Registration staff
·       Essential legal services
·       Psychological services staff

SCHOOL MEALS

All children who are entitled to free school meals will be able to access these meals. If you need to access this support please take your child to their usual school at the school’s normal lunchtime, but only at their normal lunchtime.

Breakfast clubs will be open in those schools that normally offer them, will be open.

S4, S5 and S6 PUPILS

A normal timetable will not be operating. Only the following pupils should attend at school:

·       Children of key workers as detailed above.
·       Pupils who have already been instructed by their schools to attend at a specific time for coursework purposes.
Other S4, S5 and S6 pupils will be contacted by schools in due course to arrange completion of coursework. Schools have already informed pupils about arrangements for online learning.