Knowsley council welcome back to school letter
Dear Parent / Carers,
I hope you have had a restful half term holiday and are all ready for a new half term of learning. I hope very much that the half term goes well for you all and I thank you for all that you are doing to support your child’s education.
I know that these are challenging and anxious times for us all and once again I commend the work undertaken by our schools and our families to maintain teaching and learning in safe and supportive environments. I have seen lots of examples on social media of great learning happening in our schools and at home. I hope very much that we will be able to build upon this as we move into the second part of the Autumn term.
Keeping good attendance when we can is now more important than ever; schools have worked hard to complete risk assessments and put measures in place to make school settings safe and this means that across Knowsley many children and young people are attending school regularly and achieving great things.
Thank you to all the children, young people and families that have, so far, maintained good attendance. I know a small minority of you remain concerned about sending your child into school, and I would urge you to discuss this with a member of staff. I am sure they will be keen to work with you to address your concerns and make sure your child does not have any unnecessary breaks in their education.
We know that at present COVID-19 continues to spread in our community, so now, more than ever we must continue to work together to do all that we can to stop it, keep each other safe and well and reduce the demand within our hospitals.
With cases also increasing nationally, you will be aware that the Prime Minister announced a national lockdown on Saturday 31 October, which comes into force on Thursday 5 November. Whilst there are no changes for schools or colleges, several new measures have been introduced across the wider community as part of this second lockdown. These measures are designed to reduce the chance of transmission in the community.
The ‘new’ national measures mean that once again non-essential shops, leisure centres, hairdressers, pubs and restaurants will all close (supermarkets and food shops will remain open). The restrictions will be reviewed on 2 December 2020 and you can read the full guidance around the restrictions on the Government’s website.
Schools will remain open for all pupils who are able to attend. To keep school a safe place it is important that we remain alert to the signs and symptoms of COVID19 and follow the guidance from Public Health. This includes:
- Staying at home if you have symptoms – a high temperature, new or persistent cough, loss of taste or smell – and book a test through www.nhs.uk/coronavirus or ring 119. Other members of your household need to stay at home until your test result comes back.
- If your result is negative, you (and other people in your household) no longer need to self- isolate. If it is positive, you need to self-isolate for 10 days from when you started with symptoms or from the date that you had your test if you don’t have symptoms and others in your household need to self-isolate for 14 days from when your symptoms developed / the date of your test.
- Wear a face covering when dropping off / picking up from school and other places such as shops, on public transport, in taxis and in hospital settings. (unless exempt)
- Leave the school premises when you have dropped off / pick up – don’t congregate in groups on the playground.
- Continue to regularly wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
- Maintain a 2m distance between you and others.
- Limit social interactions with others. As part of the lockdown restrictions, you can’t mix with people from other households (unless they are part of your support bubble) in any indoor setting or private garden.
- Remember to carry a tissue to catch coughs and sneezes. Bin the tissue and wash your hands afterwards.
Thank you once again for your continued support, I hope you all stay safe and well this half term.
Yours faithfully
Jill Albertina
Assistant Executive Director (Education & Early Help)
