You may have seen in the press that the DfE have suggested that schools close next Friday 18th December in order that they will not need to be on call to support track and trace contacting beyond 23rd December. However, schools do not have to do this if they do not want to rearrange the agreed term dates and teacher training days which will already be planned.
As a school we will therefore REMAIN OPEN up to the end of term as normal. School will close at 3pm on Friday 18th December and reopen on Monday 4th January 2021. We think that asking parents at this late stage in the term to make alternative childcare arrangements for the last day of term is unfair.
As school leaders are being asked to continue to support national efforts for track and trace , if a pupil tests positive for Covid 19 at anytime up to 6 days after the last day of teaching (i.e. up to and including 24.12.20), they will need to report this to school so that close contacts can be told to self isolate. Beyond 6 days, schools will not be called upon to engage in supporting track and trace.
Further details on how parents should contact the school during the holidays to report positive cases of Covid will be shared before the end of term, once the Local Authority provides us with advice on how best to manage this process.
Further details to follow.