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IMPORTANT UPDATE FOR PARENTS AND CARERS

I hope that you had a restful half term break. We were very pleased to welcome the children back into school this morning.  It was lovely to see so many smiley faces – parents and children alike!
Following Saturday’s announcement regarding the second national lockdown which comes into effect on Thursday 5 November, we felt it was necessary to provide some important updates regarding the implications for our school family.
As you are undoubtedly aware, a key element of keeping the school environment safe for everyone is to prevent exposure to Coronavirus by isolating any child or adult who shows symptoms.  Below are some key points for parents:
– With effect from tomorrow morning, please ensure all adults wear face coverings when dropping and collecting children.  Staff will also be wearing face coverings at this time.
– You must socially distance from other parents at the start and the end of the day and please avoid congregating in areas around the school site.
– Please keep in good contact with school to inform us if your child or household needs to self-isolate.
– Children must not attend school if they, or somebody in their house, displays symptoms of Coronavirus.
We have contacted parents and carers of children in Year 5/6 separately with regard to the planned visit to Murton Park on Friday and will continue to update you as we know more.
We have taken advice from North Yorkshire County Council in relation to the after school GOAL clubs, which were due to start this week (Tuesday – Year 3/4; Friday – Year 5/6)  Until we receive further DfE guidance, we are regrettably unable to start these as planned at this time.  Again, we will keep in touch with you as we learn more.

The forthcoming weeks will undoubtedly present challenges, once again, for our children, staff, parents and the wider community. This seems to be the cycle we are facing at the moment; we adapt, start to recover, find some rhythm and then with little or no notice, we must change course again.  As a school, we sympathise with everyone who is being affected by Covid-19.  We would like to assure you that if you have any specific issues that you think we need to be made aware of that may impact the safety and/or education of your child, we are here to help so please do not hesitate to get in touch.  Similarly, if you need some kind of support but do not know where to ask for it, we may be able to point you in the right direction.  It is important that we are all able to help each other as much as possible during this difficult period.

Looking at what is happening in schools in our local area, it is inevitable that we may regrettably be forced to close a group, or the whole school, before the end of the Autumn term.  I am aware that more families, including our staff, are being told to self-isolate and this obviously impacts the rhythm we try to find in school but also the ability to provide a safe and good education for the children.  If closure of any form does take place, it will be as a last resort and will be in accordance with advice from the Local Public Health Protection Team.  It is crucial to try to remain optimistic that we can avoid a closure, but also to be realistic to the fact that it may happen, and to be prepared for that eventuality if it does occur.  As long as it remains safe for us to stay open, we will do so. 

All things considered, it looks as if we will need even more stamina, resilience and endurance as this term unfolds.  I have every faith that we at Crayke are united in a common purpose – keeping all children, families and staff at our school, including those who are extremely vulnerable or in higher risk categories, safe.  Thank you for your ongoing support.

Judi Jackson
Headteacher