Easter Letter
Friday 3rd April
Dear Parent / Carer,
I would just like to firstly offer my thanks and gratitude for the support that we have received as a school and hope that all our Langley families are well and managing to cope in this surreal and unbelievable period.
It is important at times like these that communities, such as our school community, come together and support each other. We have tried using our various forms of communication such as twitter, the website, Seesaw and Tapestry to keep you as informed as we can. If there is something else that we can do or anything that is worrying you or your child or further information that you need, please contact the school via email and one of us will get back to you as soon as we can.
Please find below key information moving forward. As things change or unfold I will inform parents as soon as we are able to give clear advice and answers. Please continue to check the twitter feed and website for up to date information.
Online learning content
I hope you have been able to engage with the online learning that staff have been uploading over the last two weeks. You may be pleased (or not!) to know that there won’t be anything posted over the Easter holiday period. This is to give staff an opportunity to have some time away from technology with their families but rest assured they will be working hard to prepare content to be shared when the summer term start from Monday 20th April.
Provision of lunches
During the Easter period (except for the bank holidays) we will continue to offer those in Reception, year 1, year 2 and those eligible for free school meals the chance to come to school and collect a packed lunch between 12:00 and 13:00. Please note we have slightly extended this time slot to support social distancing.
Free School Meal e-voucher
Following the Easter period I will be e-mailing out e-vouchers to parents whose children qualify for Free School Meals. These vouchers will be to the value of £15 (£3 per day). Information on how to use them will also be sent with the first vouchers. As a result of this, Free School Meal children in year 3 and 4 will not qualify for packed lunch provision after the Easter period.
School Closure except for critical worker children
In an ever changing world, we have seen guidance alter on an almost daily basis for what schools are expected to offer for their local community. Our main aim as a school is to serve our community in the best way we can and hopefully have come some way to achieving this over the past few weeks.
Following the Easter period, we plan to continue to offer child care in line with the Government guidance to children of those parents whose professions are included within the critical workers list and / or are classed as vulnerable. However, wherever possible, even where parents are classed as critical workers, if the child can be cared for at home by another parent then they should NOT come to school. This is made clear in the Government guidance;
‘Children with a parent or carer who is listed on the government’s critical worker list should be considered for a school place. However, many parents working in these sectors will be able to ensure their child is kept at home. Every child who can be safely cared for at home should be, to limit the chance of the virus spreading.’
‘If children can stay safely at home, they should, to limit the chance of the virus spreading. That is why the government has asked parents to keep their children at home, wherever possible, and asked schools to remain open only for those children who absolutely need to attend’
Where we have agreed to take your child into school during this period, please inform us via email (office@langleyfirst.org.uk) the days you require each week so I am able to ensure we have appropriate staffing ratios. I appreciate that this can changed for our vital NHS staff so as soon as any changes are known please email and we will ensure we do everything to ensure we can support you. In addition, for our critical NHS workers, I appreciate we are entering possibly the most pressurised period so please complete the critical workers contact request form and return to school ASAP so we can ensure that, should you be kept at work, you do not have to worry about collecting your child(ren)
Again, if there are any concerns or anything that you are struggling with please contact school and we will endeavour to support wherever we can.
Stay safe,
Mr. T Jones
Headteacher
