Corona Virus updates

Arise School, Tanzania

 

At this uncertain time you can not help but worry about others around the world and how they are also affected. We have heard from our friends Sue and Ron about how coronavirus is affecting Arise School in Tanzania, the school Miss Rogers and Mrs Simm visited in February. 

Free School Meal Vouchers

Good morning. Parents who receive Free School Meals will receive their next vouchers in a couple of days covering the period 13 - 24th April (2 weeks).

If you have any questions or queries please copy the FAQ for Parents link below and paste into your web browser

http://help.wonde.com/en/articles/3843162-faqs-for-parents-supermarket-voucher

If you still have any queries after this please email us at crontonce@ldst.org.uk Thank you. Keep safe.

A Reminder

Communication to school - As the school is now re-purposed to support the Key Workers, the office is closed for calls. We will only be available to answer imprortant calls between the hours 9am to 10am and 2pm to 3pm. Please only call if it is an emergency.

If you need to contact us please email the school at CrontonCE@LDST.org.uk and we will respond to you as soon as we are able.

Thank you for your continued support

Easter Holiday

 

This is to update you on the arrangements for the Easter Holiday weeks starting from Week commencing the 6th April and week commencing 13th April.

School will continue to be open for the Key/ Critical workers children as well as vulnerable children. This will be for childcare provision only.

Remember Government guidelines state your child is safer at home if possible.

We have taken the decision to close the childcare provision on Good Friday and Bank Holiday Monday as there has been no request for childcare on these Bank Holiday days.

As these two weeks should have been the Easter holidays, staff will not be setting any work on SeeSaw or responding to any work posted. The teachers will begin and resume again on Monday 20th April to post and respond.

We hope you enjoy your Easter holidays and stay safe at this time.

We would like to thank all staff, children and parents for their continued support at this difficult time.

Mrs Thomson / Miss Roberts

 

Stay at Home is Best

Dear Parents

Update: School continues to be closed and for the foreseeable future with the ongoing Coronavirus situation.

We are working extremely hard to provide child care for vulnerable children and those parents who are critical workers. We are doing this despite the fact that many staff are having to self isolate as they themselves are vulnerable, displaying symptoms or have family members who are displaying symptoms.

I would ask all Parents to consider their position.

Your children are safest at home.

Therefore, please do not access the provision if one parent is currently at home or working from home, even if this changes daily./is on different days of the week.

Please be assured, we are here to support those Parents who desperately need to access this provision as either their child is vulnerable or they are critical workers who are not able to provide a safe childcare place in their own home as their work is critical to the continued fight against this virus.

Thank you for your continued support.

Mrs S Thomson

Children University Update 

Due to the school closure, we will not be collecting any passports for the Children’s University this year. We will add the hours children have obtained from out of school activities to their total next year. We will however add the hours they have accumulated from activities in school and after school based clubs. Although there will be no ceremony this year, these hours will be carried over to next year’s numbers. If you keep the passports until we return to school, we can then add them to their current total.

We will ensure any children in Year 6 will receive their certificate for this year. 

Also children can still gain credits from undertaking daily challenges that are available via Children’s University twitter or website here:

 

https://twitter.com/enrichedu

 

http://www.enricheducationuk.com/2020/03/home-activities/

Good afternoon

Can we ask all parents who have requested or is using our Key Worker Provision to send a quick email to our CrontonCE@ldst.org.uk email address stating their child / children's name and class/es.

Thank you

New Free School Meal voucher scheme introduced

Knowsley Council has introduced a new voucher scheme for Knowsley school children who receive free school meals.

Following the closure of schools on Friday 20 March, the council has been supplying packed lunches on a daily basis to those children who are eligible for free school meals.

This new voucher scheme will help to ensure that those children will still have access to food and will also help parents, carers and employees with their social distancing, as they will be able to use the vouchers during their essential shopping trips.

All schools in Knowsley have registered for this scheme and will be issuing vouchers to parents and carers via a text message. Initially, the vouchers will be issued on a fortnightly basis. Primary pupils’ parents/carers will receive a voucher for £32.20 and secondary pupils’ parents/carers will receive a voucher for £32.90.

The vouchers can be spent at Asda, Morrison’s, Sainsbury’s and Tesco supermarkets, with more being added in the next few weeks.

Cllr Margaret Harvey, Knowsley’s Cabinet Member for Children’s Services said: “During these exceptional circumstances, while schools are only operating as a last resort childcare for children of key workers, it’s really important that we ensure that all those children entitled to free school meals are able to get the food they need. The council is fully funding this new voucher scheme to help support those families in greatest need and ensure that they can still buy the food they need for their children.”

The new voucher system will be in place from Monday 30 March and is fully funded by Knowsley Council. It will remain in place until the Government implements a national scheme.

If you are a parent or carer and have any questions about the text message you have received about your voucher, or if you believe your child is entitled to free school meals and should have received a text message and haven’t, you should contact your school office (CrontonCE@ldst.org.uk)

If you are self-isolating and unable to leave the house, please follow the advice about asking a relative, friend or neighbour to help with your essential shopping. You will be able to forward the voucher to a person who is helping you and they can redeem it for you.

More advice is available here https://www.knowsleynews.co.uk/coronavirus-what-you-need-to-know/

Supermarket Vouchers for Free School Meal eligible children 

 

Dear Parent / Carer,

We hope this letter finds you well.  As you are aware, school sites are now closed to the majority of children and staff and are operating only as a last resort as emergency childcare centres for those key children identified by the Government.  In line with Government guidance, School and Knowsley Council have  worked tirelessly to be able to help support you to provide free school meals for your child during these unprecedented times.  Thank you for your patience whilst we work to resolve such matters.

If your child currently receives means tested free school meals and is not attending school during this period of time, Knowsley Council has made arrangements for you to receive food vouchers via a partnership with Wonde.com.  These vouchers will be sent once a fortnight, in the first instance via TEXT or EMAIL to your mobile phone. Knowsley Council will fund this service until a Central Government scheme is up and running. For Primary School Pupils the voucher will have a value of £32.20 and for Secondary School Pupils the voucher will have a value of £32.90.

You will shortly receive a text message from Wonde to confirm which supermarket you would like to use your voucher in. The supermarkets currently available are ASDA, Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Morrison’s (however Wonde are adding more in the near future).

If you have any questions about the message that you receive from Wonde, or if you believe you should have received a message from Wonde and haven’t, please contact the school or emailing school at Crontonce@ldst.org.uk  by the end of Friday 27^th March 2020. Further updates about the scheme will be provided shortly both via Knowsley News (www.knowsleynews.co.uk), the school website and social media.

We hope that you are keeping you and your family safe and thank you once again for your patience and support during these unprecedented times.

Wonde Voucher Messages

School Closure - Day 2

Following the Prime Minister’s broadcast 8.30pm Monday 23rd March and the new stricter measures regarding social distancing and quarantine measures (otherwise referred to as 'lockdown') we urge all parents/carers to carefully consider their child's place at school.

Click here for full guidance on staying at home and away from others

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/full-guidance-on-staying-at-home-and-away-from-others

While the guidance for schools and the guidance for parents/carers has not changed everyone must review if the place is essential.  It is very clear, and always has been, that the safest place for your child is at home.  School closed on Friday 20th March.  School is open for children of key workers only and our most vulnerable children.  This does not mean that these children must have a place.  Families in these circumstances must carefully consider their childcare options and only bring their child/children to school as a last resort.

Our staff team are committed to supporting our school community.
Those staff with underlying medical conditions and those who are vulnerable themselves are not allowed to come to school but instead are supporting us by working from home, e.g. updating Home Learning and maintaining contact through our Twitter, Facebook and Website accounts.
Those staff who are able to come to work have worked together to create a rota of staffing to meet the needs of children attending school.  This rota provides a skeleton staff as we do our best to minimise contact for them.
We urge all parents and carers to consider the risks of this unprecedented national and global crisis.  Please help keep your family safe and your school safe.  Only bring your child/children to school if you have no options of childcare at home. 

Thank you

 

Lunches in School

Sadly, Paula our cook will not be in school after today. Therefore if your child will be in school can you please ensure they bring a packed lunch with them from tomorrow. Thank you.

 

Communication to school

As the school has now been re-purposed to support the Key Workers, the office will be closed for calls. We will only be available to answer important calls between the hours 9am to 10am and 2pm to 3pm. Please only call if it is an emergency.

If you can, please email the school and we will try our best to respond to you in an appropriate time.

 

Information for Key Workers

As some parents are only needing their children to be cared for in the morning, could we please ask that they are picked up at 12 o’clock or 1 o’clock if they are having a lunch. Please come to the front entrance and press the bell. We will then send your children out to you. If you have only asked for an afternoon place please bring your child at 1pm after their lunch. At the beginning (8.50am) and end of the day (3.15pm) please pick up from the Junior Entrance as arranged. Thank you

Please return the letter sent home with your child today regarding important information as soon as possible.

 

 

If your child was absent last week and you haven't had their work pack these will be available from the main school foyer between 9 - 10:00 am tomorrow morning.. To try and keep contact to a minimum, we ask if parents can collect / deliver for others.

If you need to contact school please telephone or email, do not visit school.

Keeping in line with Government guidelines on social distancing, we ask that parents bringing their child into school, including nursery children, please take them to the main playground and maintain the minimum 2m distance from others. Thank you for your continued support.

Free School Meal Information

Good afternoon.

Please also check out the current Coronavirus information on Knowsley LA website. It gives information on children who are entitled to free school meals if your child will be staying at home.

Please note this does not include the Infant free School Meal scheme.

We understand this is an interim measure until the Free School Meal vouchers scheme begins.

The link can be found at https://www.knowsleynews.co.uk/coronavirus-what-you-need-to-know/

We will update parents as soon as we hear anything further. Stay safe everyone

Dear Parents

Thanks to all those Parents who have been sharing information with us this morning regarding key worker status. We are currently awaiting further guidance from the DFE and will hopefully be in a position to share with Parents which children meet the criteria for access to school during the closure. We will ensure that we follow the guidance carefully.

Thank you for your continued support. 

 

Dear Parents
Following tonight’s announcement about school closures, we want to work quickly to identify all families who we will continue to provide education for.  If you are a key worker (NHS, emergency services, delivery drivers) please can you contact us tomorrow. We need to identify which children will continue to attend school throughout the closure. We will need to plan to address our families level of need. If you are not sure then please call and speak to us and we will try to clarify what limited information we have. Thanks for your continued support in these difficult times . Mrs Thomson .

Updated guidance for education settings on coronavirus (COVID-19)

Today, the Department for Education and Public Health England have issued updated guidance for education settings on COVID-19. This guidance will assist staff in addressing COVID-19 in educational settings. This includes childcare, schools, further and higher educational institutions.

What you need to know:

The updated guidance can be found here:

·         https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-educational-settings-about-covid-19/guidance-to-educational-settings-about-covid-19#contents

Dear Parents/Carers,

This letter aims to update you on our preparations within school in response to the spread of Coronavirus (Covid 19) at 3.30pm on 17.3.2020. Updates from the Department for Education, Knowsley Council and Public Health England have been used as a basis for our planning. We recognise that people will understandably be concerned at this time, therefore we just want to reassure you that the school is monitoring the situation closely, is in regular contact with relevant authorities and has comprehensive plans in place. This will be a worrying time for you all and would like to assure you that comprehensive plans are in place in school.

Currently, there are no school closures in Knowsley. The Local Authority will continue to advise schools of actions in line with Government recommendations.

Day to Day Response

We are encouraging all of our staff and children to follow Public Health guidance and keep high levels of personal hygiene; this includes making sure that we are directing children/students and staff to wash their hands:

• • before leaving home
  • on arrival at school
  • after using the toilet
  • after breaks and sporting activities
  • before eating any food, including snacks
  • before leaving school

Children can bring hand sanitiser to school with them to use throughout the day if they wish but please be assured that we have plenty of hand wash available in school for children to use.

Our standard cleaning processes will continue but are also taking extra precautions within our cleaning arrangements and making sure that frequent contact points such as door handles are cleaned more regularly.  Our Cleaning Provider has assured us that plans are in place to provide an enhanced or deep clean quickly as and when required.

We have talked to the children/students about how viruses spread so that they can make sensible choices and follow the Public Health Guidance and ensure they carry tissues to ‘Catch it, Kill it, Bin it.’ This has been done in a sensitive way so as not to alarm the children.

Signs and Symptoms of COVID-19

The most common symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) are:

• new continuous cough and/or
• high temperature

For most people, coronavirus (COVID-19) will be a mild infection

Generally, these infections can cause more severe symptoms in people with weakened immune systems, older people, and those with long-term conditions like diabetes, cancer and chronic lung disease. There is no evidence that children are more affected than other age groups – and it is important to remember that very few cases have been reported in children so far.

If you or a family member present with these symptoms the advice of health professionals is to self-isolate for 14 days. Guidance on https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-stay-at-home-guidance/stay-at-home-guidance-for-people-with-confirmed-or-possible-coronavirus-covid-19-infection

After 7 days, if anyone is still unwell, then seek medical advice NHS 111 online. If you have no internet access call NHS 111. If symptoms worsen during your self-isolation, seek prompt medical advice.

If children feel better after 7 days and no longer have a temperature, they can return to school. The guidance does say that a cough may persist for several weeks in some people, despite the Coronavirus infection having cleared.

Reporting Absence:

The procedure for reporting absence remains the same. If your child is showing signs of COVID 19 and there is a need to self-isolate. Their absence will be recorded as an illness and therefore authorised. If you child is absent from school as they are self-isolating, as a result of a family member showing symptoms then this will also be authorised. Please ensure that you share with office staff the reason for your child’s absence so that we can record this in our registers appropriately. All absences as a result of COVID 19 will be authorised.

Communication

All information needed in relation to changes at school will be posted on

• Website – www.crontonce.co.uk
•  Twitter – @crontonceschool  
•  Facebook – CrontonCEPrimary - Images of Mrs Thomson should appear
• Texts via parent app – Primary Site (website)

Changes at school will be posted on school official channels i.e. twitter, website and Facebook. Please do not rely on other sources such as non-school related social media to inform your decision making around school attendance and school closure.

Planning in Place:

The Council is working to ensure that any local response to COVID-19 is co-ordinated and services to schools are included in this planning. Contingency plans are in place for Council services to schools and we are receiving regular updates in relation to this.

An important part of our preparations are making sure that we have contingency plans for a variety of scenarios, including a temporary closure if instructed to do so by Public Health England.

We have made the decision to cancel any non-essential visitors to school and staff have been instructed to not attend any non-essential meetings offsite.

Therefore the following will now apply

• all clubs will now be cancelled (Fit & Fun, Funjitsu, Football, Hockey, Revision, Multi-Sports, Archery, JuJitsu, Choir, Table Tennis, Dance Club)
• all music lessons will be cancelled (Keyboards, Clarinets, Year 4 Wider Opportiunities)
• all parents meetings will be cancelled (Llandudno, Robinwood, Colomendy)
• all events will be cancelled (Music Concert @ St Edmund Arrowsmith, Year 4 Play in a Day)

 

Instruction from Government to close for a specified period of time

 

We are currently preparing work for children to complete at home should this need arise. We are in the process of setting up SEESAW for years 1-6 which will enable children to access work provided by teachers. More detailed instructions will be given at the appropriate time. We will also provide some paper based work packs for children to complete and access to a range of on-line learning resources used in school.  Nursery and Reception children will also be provided with a pack of resources with relevant home learning activities for them to practise. More information will follow shortly.

 

 

We hope that implementing such plans will not be necessary but we will always make decisions with the needs, health and welfare of children first.

 

Thank you for your continued support and your understanding in this matter.

 

Yours faithfully

 

Mrs S.Thomson

Headteacher

 

 

The full stay at home guidance for households with these symptoms can be found here:

·        https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-stay-at-home-guidance