3^rd January 2021

Dear Parent/Carers,

Happy new year! Firstly, I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas. It was probably a lot quieter than you had intended it to be but hopefully you still had a wonderful time.

As you will probably be aware, there has been much talk in the media regarding the re-opening of primary schools tomorrow. I have waited until today to write to you as the situation appears to be developing by the hour and I wanted to give you the most up to date information that I have. 

·      The government are saying that all primary schools (with the exception of London boroughs) should open tomorrow as normal.

·      Somerset County Council has stated that primary schools in Somerset should re-open tomorrow.

·      Unions have been clear that school staff should not come into work and they should be working from home.

The increased number of cases and the new strain of the virus has understandably concerned many people. We have worked hard last term to make school as safe as it can possibly be. As a result, we had no positive cases in school. There have been no reported positive cases from staff or children over the holiday period either. This was only able to happen with the hard work and compliance to the many new rules by staff, children and parents.

I have spoken to all members of staff today and we will be opening school tomorrow as normal. We fully understand the impact the first lockdown had on our children and parents and we will do everything we can to safely keep our school open.

Obviously, I would like parents to be additionally careful during drop off and pick up times. Where possible, parents of Year 5/6 children to wait out of school grounds for their children and parents of Year 3 /4 children who are waiting on the playground to ensure social distancing from other parents who are waiting.

Could I ask that parents who are waiting on the bridge area maintain a social distance from other parents. This virus spreads so easily we all need to ensure that we do everything we possibly can to stay safe.

If you would like to speak to me about any concerns regarding sending your children back to school, please ring the school office and they will make a telephone appointment with me. We are here to help and we will do everything in our power to ensure everyone is as safe as possible.

With many thanks

Helen Mullinger

Helen Mullinger

Headteacher