The letter below gives some clarification on catering arrangements for next week for children attending Emergency Childcare and for those entitled to Free School Meals.
Repurposing of Schools in the Penyrheol Cluster – Monday 23rd March 2020
Dear Parents / Guardians,
Thank you for your patience and support in these unprecedented times. All schools across Swansea are closed from 3.20pm Friday 20th March. Government information is changing rapidly. Our Local Authority is working tirelessly to guide schools during this repurposing phase. This is a national crisis. There is a recognition that schools are crucial to the National Strategy, and all school staff are very much valued as essential workers.
The Local Authority emergency strategy board meets daily and clusters have been asked to work collaboratively to provide central hubs as childcare for essential workers. We are aware that the Government has issued a list of essential workers. However, at this stage our schools, catering and cleaning services do not have the capacity to support the full Government essential workers criteria. Therefore, the Local Authority are offering a phased approach to Emergency Child Care for pupils that are between 3 to 14 years old starting with:
- Blue Light / emergency services;
- NHS frontline workers;
- prison officers;
- Primary / Secondary school staff;
- private, public social care workers.
In the first instance if both parents, or a single parent, are essential workers they can access this service. From Monday 23rd March 2020, all schools in the cluster will be open to their pupils who fit the Emergency Care criteria.
All available staff from the cluster schools will be deployed on a rota basis. The next phase of the repurposing of schools will look at vulnerable pupils. Further details will be communicated as more information and resources become available.
Please be mindful that schools will be open for childcare purposes only and not to provide statutory education. Please can we also ask you to only use the Emergency Child Care Centres (schools) for emergency childcare only. We have a duty of care to our staff that are in the schools and equally as important, we have a duty of care to our families. The key government guidance remains that children are safer at home and not in large group settings.
The schools will be open between the hours of 8am and 5pm, Monday to Friday, in the first instance and children should attend the school that they go to. Families who need to access these Emergency Child Care Centres (Schools) are able to come in to school at any point during the day.
Children who access the centres will need a packed lunch if they have specific dietary requirements. Children who require a school meal will be provided with a cold option. Free School Meals pupils from the individual schools from Monday onwards will be able to pick up “Grab and Go” bags, which can be collected from the school during the normal lunch hour (12 to 1pm). Children will need to come to the main entrance to collect these and not in to the school building.
We also would like to reiterate the NHS guidance around self-isolation and any children or members of the families that are displaying any symptoms should not attempt access to the schools and self-isolate for 14 days.
We would collectively like to thank you for your ongoing support at this unprecedented time. We will communicate with yourselves regularly throughout this period of transition and keep you up to date with any relevant information. We ask you to stay safe, look after your families and together we will overcome this.
Kindest regards
Penyrheol Cluster Headteachers