Return to School January 2021
Dear Parents and Carers,
I just wanted to update you following Welsh Government’s announcement yesterday regarding our return to school in January.
As you will have seen, there will be a phased return to school for pupils in January. This will look different for every school dependent on their circumstances and staffing levels. Welsh Government are expecting a sharp rise in cases over the Christmas holidays and in January which is a great concern considering the high rate of cases we are currently seeing. This could mean that many school staff are affected and are having to isolate and low staffing levels means it will be unsafe for us to open to all pupils.
The Caerphilly Local Authority approach is for all schools to adopt distance (online) learning for all pupils on Monday, 4th and Tuesday, 5 th, January. On these days, online learning will be provided for all children while we assess our individual school situation, review our risk assessment and assess when it will be safe for us to re-open fully. This will very much depend on safety and on our staffing levels and we won’t know this until we return to school. I can assure you we will re-open as quickly as soon it is safe to do so. The safety of the staff and children remains our highest priority. From Wednesday, 6 th January, childcare provision will be offered to the children of eligible key workers, as outlined by Caerphilly LA, and to vulnerable pupils. This is being managed by Caerphilly Local Authority and details on how to access this provision is included in the Chief Education Officer’s letter that I have included below. If staffing levels are at an appropriate level and it is safe to do so, it is possible that school could re-open to all pupils from Wednesday, 6th January but we won’t know this until we return to school on Monday, 4th January. All pupils will be back in school for face to face learning by Monday, 18th January 2021, at the latest, with the exception of classes closed due to selfisolation or staff shortages.
I appreciate this is very confusing and vague for you all. This is not a school decision but a national decision from Welsh Government following their consideration of the high numbers of covid-19 cases across the country and the continued increase in cases. The situation is changing daily. My suggestion is for you to prepare for a minimum of 1 week of blended learning but we will assess our school situation immediately on our return to school on Monday, 4th January and will contact you about the arrangements for the rest of that week.
I hope you all have a safe and Merry Christmas,
Kind regards,
Mrs L Wangiel
Welsh Government School arrangements for the new term in January 2021
Dear Parents and Carers,
As we start to prepare for the Christmas break, the situation in Wales is changing rapidly but I hope you are all staying safe and well during this difficult time.
As you will be aware, today the Welsh Government announced the arrangements for the return to school in January 2021.
Following this statement about the return to school arrangements in January, the following approach will be taken by schools in Caerphilly County Borough.
This decision has been based upon the increasing number of staff shortages due to positive cases and self-isolation together with the concern that these numbers are, of course, unpredictable for the first week of term. All risk assessments will have to be reviewed.
Primary schools, Trinity Fields, The Learning Centre and EOTAS settings
Monday 4th January and Tuesday, 5th January will be distance learning days for all schools, whilst staffing levels are confirmed. If a school has booked an inset day then the 5th and 6th are used for distance learning days. Individual schools will communicate specific arrangements.
Following these distance learning days, face to face provision will be available for eligible key worker childcare and vulnerable pupils, and schools will contact other groups/classes of pupils to begin their learning on site.
Pupils not on site will continue to have distance learning provision.
All pupils will be back in school for face to face learning by Monday, 18th January, 2021, at the latest, with the exception of classes closed due to self-isolation or staff shortages.
Secondary Schools
Monday 4th January and Tuesday, 5th January will be distance learning days for all schools, whilst staffing levels are confirmed. If a school has booked an inset day, then the 5th and 6th will also be distance learning days.
Following these distance learning days, face to face provision will be available for eligible key worker childcare and vulnerable pupils, and schools will contact other year groups of pupils to begin their learning on site, with priority given to years 11, 12 and 13.
All pupils will be back in school for face to face learning by Monday, 18th January, 2021, at the latest, with the exception of classes closed due to self-isolation or staff shortages.
Other points to note
- Pupils entitled to free school meals will continue to receive deliveries as up to now
- Pupils having provision on site will be required to bring a packed lunch
- The Welsh Government list of key workers is extensive, so priority for applications will be given to those from frontline emergency services, social care and education staff in the first instance, in line with our current context in Caerphilly County Borough.
We are currently reviewing eligibility of previous childcare applications so that parents/carers can be informed of the outcome next week.
Please contact the educationwelfare@caerphilly.gov.uk mailbox to apply if:
- your circumstances have changed since March, 2020, e.g. school, occupation, etc., or
- it is a new application