Dear Parent and Carer
I hope that you and your loved ones are safe and well.
As you may know, the Minister for Education, Kirsty Williams, made an announcement at lunchtime today about the Welsh Government plans for the reopening of schools called ‘Check in, catch up, prepare for summer and September’. I wanted to ensure that you have received the details of this announcement.
The main points within this Welsh Government announcement were:
- all schools in Wales will begin to reopen from Monday 29 June
- the summer term will be extended by one week, therefore ending on Friday 27 July
- the October half term break next term will be two weeks long instead of one week
- in each school there will be a phased approach to reopening and it is expected that this will mean that, at most, a third of pupils will be present on school site at any one time
- there will be much smaller classes to ensure social distancing
- the limited ‘in school time’ for the last four weeks of the summer term will be supported with learning to complete at home, getting children and staff ready for a similar experience in September
Further guidance will be published by Welsh Government next week to support schools and local authorities. This is the link to the statement made by Kirsty Williams at lunchtime today: https://gov.wales/check-catch-prepare-summer-and-september-all-schools-wales-enter-next-phase
It is important to note, that the school experience from 29 June will not be as it was before. It is likely that most children will be in school for approximately one day a week from 29 June to 27 July as part of this phased approach to reopening. Our immediate focus will be upon “Check-in, Catch-up & Preparation” in readiness for September.
Our key priority, as ever, will be the safety of our pupils and staff. We are already working closely with CCBC officers to plan for a safe return to school. Childcare hubs have been successfully operating throughout this outbreak so there is already significant experience of working within these new conditions, providing safe, well managed learning environments.
The Minister has made it clear that the return to school at this time is not mandatory, but I hope that we will be able to reassure you and your child that they can return to school confidently. Over the coming weeks, I will be in contact with you to share how the return to St Cenydd will be managed, welcoming any questions or queries you may have.
I know these will be anxious times. We have been planning for some weeks how the school can reopen and how we will do so safely, putting the health and wellbeing of pupils and staff at the centre of all of our discussions and plans. We now have a date to work towards, and an outline of the initial expectations from Welsh Government. Once the government guidance is published next week, I will be able to give more detail about our plans ahead and I will write to you again outlining these once this is received.
But alongside any concerns, there will also be excitement about returning to school in some way, and for pupils to see their friends and teachers. So many of our pupils have told us that they are missing the routine of school, their classmates, their staff, and working together in their classrooms.
Thank you for your support and kindness over these past three months. Please take care and stay safe.
With thanks
Miss Collins
Headteacher
