Due to the inclement weather and weather alerts Willington Primary School will be CLOSED today (Thurs 14th January) to ALL children both key worker and vulnerable. We apologise for any inconvenience. Online work will be available for the children to access via the usual channels.

School work for ALL children (including nursery) will be available to access from 10am on Tuesday 5th January via the Seesaw app. Instructions on how to access the app can be found by clicking this link.

If you require an access code please contact your child’s class teacher via Dojo.

Thank you.

Dear Parent/carer,

I am sure that you are aware of the ongoing discussions between teaching unions, the Government and SAGE regarding the safety of opening schools in light of the current rise in COVID cases.

Schools are waiting for greater clarity from the Department of Education and are looking at how we can strengthen our risk assessments in light of the current situation. As a consequence we are delaying the reopening of our school until Monday 11th January. From Tuesday 5th January to Friday 8th January the school will be open only for the children of Key Workers and Vulnerable Children. All other children will be provided with remote learning to enable them to work from home (details to follow in due course).

We will review the situation towards the end of the week so that we can inform you on Friday of any further changes in light of the emerging picture across the country and County Durham.

I am sorry that this information has come at such short notice but I am sure you will appreciate how quickly circumstances have changed over the past two weeks; it is not a decision that has been taken lightly. This link provides information about Key Worker groups and Vulnerable children. As in the first lockdown to be eligible for Key Worker childcare, both parents must be Key Workers and have no other support bubble or childcare option. If you are a Key Worker and you meet the criteria for a childcare place; please telephone Mrs Walker on: 07766 510933 as soon as possible to let us know which day or days that you require childcare. We will then be back in touch with you later this afternoon to confirm times.

Kind Regards

Mr Cornforth

Headteacher

Dear Parents/Carers,

I’m sure you will have been listening to the discussions surrounding the reopening of schools on the news in the last few days.  The government’s response to the pandemic is constantly changing and there is a great deal of speculation regarding the transmissibility of the new variant COVID strain.

Our priority will always be to minimise risk in order to make school as safe as possible for our pupils and staff.  For this reason, I will be in touch as soon as possible tomorrow regarding reopening on Tuesday 5^th January.  I realise that this is very short notice but we are waiting for more information before making a final decision.

Thank you for your patience and support in these challenging times.

Mr Cornforth

Dear Parents/Carers,

Our last day of term will be Friday December 18th.

If your child develops symptoms on Saturday 19th or Sunday 20th December, please get them tested and inform school if the test result is positive. You can do this by calling: 07766 510933.

When you leave your message, please include the name of your child, their class and the date that their symptoms started, as well as your own contact details.

(N.B. This messaging service will be monitored up until Thursday 24th December to allow time for test results from the 19th and 20th to be returned.)

From Monday 21st December – If your child develops coronavirus symptoms from Monday 21st December onwards, they must be tested and, if positive, follow the advice of Test and Trace. You do not need to inform the school of any symptoms which occur from this date.

We hope you all have a safe and happy Christmas.

Willington Primary School.