Formal Request for Supervision of Key Worker/Vulnerable children 1st-5th March 2021

Dear Parents/Guardians,

I am still awaiting direction from the Department of Education on the return of Nursery-Primary 3 children on the 8th of March.  I will communicate details of this when I am informed.  Remote learning for all pupils will continue next week.

In order for us to plan for future provision, a questionnaire will be issued on Microsoft forms to parents/guardians each week to complete on whether they require supervision of their children.  A form must be completed for each child requiring supervision. 

I would like to stress to only consider supervision in school for your child if no other options are available.  Our weekly requests are increasing, and it is becoming more challenging to ensure appropriate staffing ratios.  The safest thing we can do is stay at home.  If you only require a few days supervision for your child, please only select these specific days.

A new form will be available for parents/guardians to complete each week.  This form for requesting supervision must be completed by 10am on Thursday 25th February 2021.  Late applications will not be considered as we need time to plan.  Once the form has been completed, we will contact you only if we cannot accommodate your child.

If you have several children being supervised, in different year groups and finishing times, you can collect all your children at the earliest finishing time applicable for your family. (E.g. If you have a child finishing at 1.30pm, you can collect all your children at this earlier time).  Children in the Nursery or the foundation stage cannot be supervised in school after their normal finishing time.

Please continue to exercise social distancing in and around the school grounds.

The link for the Microsoft Forms questionnaire for supervision 1st-5th March can be found at the bottom of this page.

Definition of key workers:

• Health and Social Care.  This includes doctors, nurses, midwives, paramedics, social workers, home carers and staff required to maintain our health and social care sector;
• Education and childcare.  This includes pre-school and teaching staff, social workers and those specialist education professionals who will remain active during the Covid-19 response;
• Public safety and national security.  This includes civilians and officers in the police (including key contractors), Fire and Rescue Service, prison service and other national security roles;
• Transport.  This will include those keeping air, water, road and rail transport modes operating during the Covid-19 response;
• Utilities, and Communication.  This includes staff needed for oil, gas, electricity and water (including sewage) and primary industry supplies to continue during the Covid-19 response, as well as key staff in telecommunications, post and delivery, banking and waste disposal;
• Financial Services - This includes staff needed for essential financial services provision (including but not limited to workers in banks, building societies and financial market infrastructure);
• Food and other necessary goods.  This includes those involved in food production, processing, distribution and sale, as well as those essential to the provision of other key goods (e.g. hygiene, medical, etc.);
• Retail. This includes those workers who have been working throughout the pandemic in food retail, for example, and will now extend to those working in other retail businesses permitted to operate by the Executive  from June 2020;
• Other workers essential to delivering key public services such as the National Crime Agency; and
• Key national and local government including those administrative occupations essential to the effective delivery of the Covid-19 response.

Definition of a vulnerable child:

• A child who has an assigned social worker because he or she is a child in need, in need of protection (or on the child protection register) or is a looked after child.
• A child in need includes young carers, children with disabilities, and children living in families where there is domestic abuse, substance abuse, and / or mental health difficulties.
• A child who is receiving support from, or has been referred to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS).
• A child who has a statement of Special Educational Needs (SEN), a child who is accessing EOTAS, or a child who normally accesses Education Nurture Units.
• A child who is ‘on-the-edge’ of receiving support from children’s social services.
• A child who is in need, including in need of protection, but whose need is not known to statutory services.
• A child who is not known to statutory or voluntary and community support services but who is vulnerable because their family is under increased pressure due to Covid-19 related circumstances.
• A young person who was previously a looked after child, whether or not they are receiving support from statutory services.
• A child who has been placed for adoption.
• Asylum seeking and refugee children and children whose parents have no recourse to public funds.

THIS FORM HAS NOW CLOSED.  LATE REQUESTS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

Kind Regards,

Mrs S. McCafferty