Following the Prime Minister’s announcement today (Wednesday 30th December) and the publication of the accompanying guidance it is now clear that Croydon schools, including our schools within the Pegasus Academy Trust, will not reopen on 5th January as planned. Nursery classes attached to our schools will also be closed. This is disappointing for us all but understandable given the rapidly growing numbers of COVID-19 cases in London.
In the weeks before the Christmas break we had a number of classes self isolating and we have a well rehearsed plan for online learning. In the first instance:
- A set of work for each year group will be published to each class blog on Monday 4th January at 3pm;
- Children should log in to their blogs and work from this isolation work on Tuesday 5th January;
- Twice daily live Google Meets at 9:15AM and 2:15PM for each class will then begin from 9:15AM on Wednesday 6th January.
- Attendance at these meets is compulsory and those who have not logged in will be immediately contacted as part of our safeguarding duty. The first meeting of the day will stay open until 10AM to allow children who are sharing hardware in their family to log in. We do have Chromebooks to lend in some cases – more details will follow from individual schools.
- At these Google Meets school staff will explain the work set each day for the children in their class and where good examples of work should be uploaded. At the 2:15PM meeting children will share work that they have done that day;
- More details will follow but it is absolutely critical that all children are aware of how to log in to a Google Meet. They have all practised this in school. We ask that parents and children practise this on their own equipment before Wednesday 6th January so that they are ready to join the Google Meet.
We will also be providing education for the children of frontline critical workers and vulnerable children on each school site between 9:00 and 3:15 only. In the first instance we will offer places to those children previously identified in the first full lockdown in March 2020. There will be additional spaces to allocate on each site once these first families are accommodated. As staff will be required for online learning the numbers that can be taken in critical worker provision will be limited. If demand outstrips supply places will be allocated according to our tiering system. This provision will start from 9:00AM Wednesday 6th January and individual schools will explain their arrangements for attendance to qualifying families before that date. Please do not contact the schools about this provision until Monday 4th January as this is when we return to work.
It seems unlikely at this stage that any schools in Croydon will reopen before Monday 18th January at the earliest and parents should plan on this basis.
More updates will follow on this page so please check back when you can.
Jolyon Roberts
