Dear Parent / Carer

Last night we sent you information regarding the latest guidance delivered by the Secretary of State for Education and the Prime Minister.  Although we are not sure at this point what the full implications are for our school, we wanted to write to you all to reassure you that we will do all we can to make things work for the Walkley Primary School community.

We know that there is a growing anxiety from many families and staff about continued school attendance but having watched the briefing from the Secretary of State for Education, I have to say that I think his plan is absolutely the right thing to do.  It will be a challenge for us to deliver what is being asked but I am lucky to be backed up by an amazing staff who are always ready to go above and beyond.  Last night, soon after the announcement, I was contacted by many staff who have expressed their willingness to support the effort to keep the country going – their dedication is an inspiration and I am humbled to serve this community alongside them.

If you haven’t seen the news yet, the essential points as we understand them are as follows:

• English schools will be closed to most children from the end of school on Friday.  This will be until further notice and an end date was not given. 
• Schools will stay open to look after the children of ‘key workers’ from Monday next week.  We expect to receive a list today detailing which jobs are considered to be key workers but our best guess at this time is that some examples may include:
  • NHS Staff
  • Emergency Service staff
  • Social Care staff
  • Teachers/School staff
  • Certain delivery drivers
  • Refuse collectors
• Schools will also be open to vulnerable children e.g. those with EHCPs or who have an open Social Care case etc.
• Schools may stay open for some of the Easter holidays.

In order to help offset the pressure that this will cause, the Government has pledged that:

• There will be no Ofsted inspections during this period.
• There will be no formal assessments i.e. no SATs     

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​​​​​​​For families who do not include any key workers, we will continue to support learning by providing online resources through the Lockdown Learning Log and the class pages on the school website.  We are saddened that we may not see many of our children for a while after this week but be assured that they are still our children – we want to continue to support them and are happy to do what we can from a distance until they rejoin us.  Also, please do continue to contact us for any family support or safeguarding matters – we are still, and will remain, your school.  We’ll still be here so give us a call if you need anything.

For families who do include a key worker and who will continue to attend school, we are beginning to plan what provision might look like.  We will be open for these children so that families can keep delivering essential services.  We intend to do everything we can to do our bit in what is the worst health crisis in 100 years; hopefully this will mean that health workers can continue to provide the care they need to, that Social Workers can keep checking on the vulnerable and that drivers can keep food and essential supplies being delivered.  Whatever it takes, we will be here to support for as long as we are able.

We would ask that families who think they may include a key worker, complete the slip on the letter sent home or emailed to you today and return it to school tomorrow, or alternatively contact us via email at enquiries@walkley.sheffield.sch.uk as soon as you can.  We need key worker families to let us know if you would like us to maintain a place for your child over the coming weeks.  This will help our planning in terms of knowing the number of children we need to take care of, and will help us mitigate the staffing challenges we continue to face.  It will also help us get on with planning some really fun educational activities and make sure the children have some brilliant memories made!  If you do not contact us, we will assume you do not require a place.

I will leave it there for now but am sure you will have many more questions about logistics and we will do our best to answer them over the next couple of days.  We may not have all the answers yet but we will update you as we progress. 

Thank you all for your continued support and understanding and especially to those parents and carers who have taken the time to send in encouraging messages over the past couple of weeks.

We all need to build new routines to accommodate the massive changes we’re facing whilst remaining purposeful and positive and as is the Walkley way, we will do this! Be sure, we will be here when you need us.

Yours sincerely

Val Sian
Headteacher and all the Walkley family