School Closure COVID-19

19th March 2020

Coronavirus update – school closure to most pupils

Following on from my last update, I am now writing to let you know that we have now been instructed to close the school to almost all children after this Friday until further notice.

As advised by the government, we will do all we can to stay open for the children of key workers (e.g. NHS staff, police, others in frontline services) and children with certain needs.

We are waiting for the government to publish more information on what this means, but it would help us in the meantime if you could let us know if you think your child may fall into one of these categories. Please contact the School Office on 0121 675 3319. You will be asked for your child’s name and class, your name and job that you do. We will be in touch again as soon as we are sure who this does apply to.

All other children will need to stay at home, so we ask that you do not send your child into school from Monday onwards.

Please note that this is a national closure – as you may have heard in the news – so while it is a challenging situation, we are not alone. We will re-open fully as soon as we can and will let you know when this is by text. It will also be posted on the School website and Twitter feed.

What we will continue doing while your child is at home

Your child’s learning is of course important to us, so we will continue to help your child to learn. Your child will have come home tonight with a resource pack of work and we will be posting work up on the children’s class pages of eSchools.

Please look at the school website www.stwilfrd.bham.sch.uk.

Click on Login on the top right of the home page and enter using your username and 4 digit password. This is the same login that you use to book parents’ evening appointments. Children from Reception -Y6 have their own logins.

Click on the button – Classes. If you have more than one child at St Wilfrid’s, you will be able to see their classes. You click on the class and you will see the homepage for your child(ren). This gives parents and students information about learning, useful websites and any other news. This page will be updated regularly. The login also enables parents to see what homework has been set. There will be occasions when children can ‘chat’ to each other and their teachers. This is a great way to ensure that all our families are safe and well, but we do remind you and the students that children must be respectful and responsible online.

If you have forgotten your password then please email mylogin@stwilfrd.bham.sch.uk

Parents and pupils will be able to contact the school and teachers through eSchools, though I do request that you keep correspondence to normal school hours.

If your child usually receives free school meals we will also be in touch with more information about how we will continue to provide this, with support from a scheme that the government will be announcing.

This is as much as we know right now and we appreciate your continued patience as we deal with this ever-changing situation. We understand that this latest news will have an impact on you and your family and it is far from ideal, but we will continue to keep in touch with any updates as the situation develops.

It is a very worrying time for the whole of our school community and indeed the world. We will be continuing to monitor directives closely and will react accordingly.

At this present time we need to do all we can to support our vulnerable children and adults – please do keep them in your prayers.

If you want to get in touch to share any concerns, please do not hesitate to do so via the School Office on 0121 675 3319.

And remember: if you or your child feels ill and you want to know what to do next, please use NHS 111 online.

Thank you again for your continued support.

We will be in touch with more information when we can.