Dear Parent/Carer,
I am sure families will be aware of the announcement from the Prime Minister yesterday that the most current restrictions will continue to be in place for a few more weeks. The planned wider reopening on the Monday 21st June has been moved to Monday 19th July, to allow further roll out of the vaccine programme in order to keep as many people safe as possible. With this information, I thought it would be best to inform parents/carers of the implications for schools across Gateshead and our school in particular.
In essence, Gateshead schools will be organised as they currently are until the end of the summer term. For Harlow Green, this means we will, amongst other measures, continue to:
- Keep children within their class bubbles
- Have the same system for the dropping off and collecting of children
- Request that parents/carers, along with other visitors to the site, wear face coverings
- Restrict the number of visitors into school
- Keep high levels of hand hygiene through regular washing
- Have staff wear face coverings in communal areas
Although we would like to have a summer term with events which involved parents/carers, this will not be possible. We are working closely with Gateshead Council teams to assess what we can implement safely within the parameters set before use, but these will be for more essential aspects, if at all possible.
It is important to be aware we will still be ensuring that a range of activities and experiences are implemented for the children. We are still organising educational visits and there will be a sports week during which children will compete in a “sports day” but, inevitably, without an audience of parents/carers.
As a staff, we know that the continued restrictions will be disappointing for many but, ultimately, our role is to do all we can to protect our community and ensure that we have a part in restricting the amount of people who could become seriously ill with this disease. We hugely appreciate the support and understanding that we have had from families and know that we can continue to work together for the rest of the term in the best interests of everyone.
Over the coming weeks, we will continue to provide families with information about school and events so that you are aware of what the children are involved in and how we intend to make the last five weeks a safe and enjoyable experience.
Stay Safe,
Mr M. Malik
HEAD TEACHER
