Letter from Heads of School

22 June 2020

Dear Parents and Carers

It has been several weeks since the government asked for schools to open more widely to children in Early Years, Year 1 and Year 6 and then made a subsequent announcement that schools can choose to reopen before the summer break only if they are able to. We would like to update you with what is happening here at Haxby Road Primary Academy.

Over the last few weeks we have seen a dramatic increase in the number of children attending school who fall within the category of ‘vulnerable’ or are children of key workers. We started with 12 children attending at the beginning of lockdown, but we are now nearer to 90 attending each week and requests for places are ongoing. We are trying as hard as we can to accommodate all requests that fall within these categories, as this remains the priority group.

All children attending school now belong to a ‘community bubble’. Our bubble capacity ranges from 7-11, depending on the size of the room. As a result of the limitations put on us in terms of bubble sizes, we are nearing the point where requests for places may exceed our capacity in school. If this becomes the case then we would need to refer you to the Local Authority, however, we are doing everything we can to accommodate all children at Haxby Road who require a place.

This does mean that for the foreseeable future, our school will not be able to offer wider opening to Early Years, Year 1 or Year 6 children. We will, of course, continue to provide daily support with home learning and weekly phone calls to those children and parents who would like additional support. Mrs Meiklejohn will also continue weekly phone calls to the children and families she has been working with. We know that lots of the work we set is through Google Classroom, Seesaw and Evidence Me, but we would like to offer parents the option of receiving another home learning pack (paper version) for the remainder of the term, should you prefer it.  Please phone school if you feel this is something you require (01904 555590).

As always, we continue to follow the guidance issued by the Department for Education in consultation with colleagues at Ebor Academy Trust. We know this is a difficult time for everyone and should you have any concerns or questions, please do not hesitate to contact Mrs Winter or Mrs Malster-Hinett.

Thank you for your continued support of our school.

Yours sincerely

Mrs Winter and Mrs Malster-Hinett