14th October 2020
Dear Parents and Carers,
As you are well aware and despite all our measures to reduce infection, several member of our school community have tested positive for COVID-19. For families directly affected by these cases, we know that self-isolation and disruption to your child’s learning has caused you worries on many levels.
We also understand that, even if your child has not been asked to self-isolate, the growing concern about increasing cases in school locally and nationally is causing anxiety and disruption for everyone.
Today I spoke to the Dudley Public Health Office and they informed me that our positive cases within school are now classed as an ‘outbreak’. They are also concerned that we have a spread of symptomatic cases across the school. Although these staff members and pupils are at home, I believe that if we do not respond quickly, we will be facing a much larger problem.
In light of this information and after seeking approval from our Governing Body and the Local Authority, I have decided to make the decision to close the school from 3:30pm on Friday 16th October and will re-open on Monday 2nd November (after the half term break).
I know this decision will cause concern and inconvenience for many families, however my priority right now is to reduce the risk of further infection and to protect the health and safety of all members of our school community. Closing the building for two weeks will create a ‘circuit break’ to prevent further infection and allow for an intensive deep clean of the entire school.
Please be assured that this decision has not been taken lightly; we have taken all family circumstances into consideration but strongly believe that this is the most effective yet least disruptive action we can take.
This is a week's closure for which home learning packs and online learning will be provided. Following that, we will have our usual week's half term. Further information regarding home learning resources will come home with children tomorrow.
If you have any concerns, please talk to your class teacher in the first instance. You can of course contact me at any time if you would like to discuss this further.
Once again, I apologise for any inconvenience or additional worry this may cause.
Mrs Amy Cooper
Head teacher
