This post was updated on 21 March. New information on 2020 exams, key workers and free school meals. Please read again if these apply to you.
Unprecedented risks call for unprecedented measures. Like all schools in England, we reluctantly close our doors at the end of the day on Friday 20 March and will remain closed until further notice. This could mean months rather than weeks. It’s a major step with huge implications for all of us, and we know people across our school community are saddened and shocked by the situation facing our nation.
With the exception of the small group mentioned below, all students are expected to stay at home, following the social distancing guidelines issued by the Government.
Childcare provison for key workers and the most vulnerable
The government has asked parents to keep their children at home, wherever possible, and asked schools to remain open only for those children who absolutely need to attend. We will be running a childcare provision for a limited number of children - those of key workers and the most vulnerable.
The list is summarised below, but please also read the full guidance and list issued by the government. Only one parent needs to be a key worker to qualify.
| Key workers | Vulnerable children |
|---|---|
| Health and social care | Supported by social care |
| Education and childcare | Child in need or child protection plans |
| Key publics services | Looked after' children |
| Local and national government | Young carers |
| Food and other necessary goods | Disabled children |
| Public safety and national security | Education, health and care plans (EHCP) |
| Transport | |
| Essential utilities, communication and financial services |
If you think you meet the criteria and are likely to use this childcare service, it’s really important that you complete this form to let us know as soon as possible. It includes a ‘not sure’ option.
We will be in touch directly with the families who have contacted us via the form in order to give you more information about the arrangements in place. We will not be following the full national curriculum, but will provide safe, structured, educational and supportive care for students, and lots of hand washing! Students should wear uniform. School buses will not run after Monday 23 March, so students will need to make their own way to school.
You can contact Mrs Mitchell a.mitchell@rvhschool.co.uk if you need to or if your circumstances change.
Locally, we have been in discussions with other schools and the local authority about the possibility of setting up 'hubs', where you send your child to the nearest school, not necessarily your usual one. For next week at least, we are only opening to Ryburn students. Once we have a clearer picture of students and locations, we will be able to make the plans to best manage this across our local schools.
WHAT SHOULD STUDENTS DO AT HOME?
Students are expected to continue their learning at home during the school closure.
Maintaining a routine, continuing to study as normally as possible, and keeping a connection with school will be really important for us all during the period of school closures. It will help us mentally whilst we are confined at home and will stop students from falling behind in their studies.
We have prepared home learning programmes for all years in all subjects, which will be updated every week. This includes an alternative programme and extension activities to cater to the different strengths and abilities of our students.
We’ll also be trying to keep our spirits up and keep in touch through our social media channels. We’d encourage students to follow our Instagram channel @RVHS_school in particular where we’ll be interacting and sharing ideas and encouragement with each other.
YEAR 11 AND 13
This is a particularly difficult time for our students in Year 11 and Year 13 who were in the midst of preparing for exams. The government has now released more information on what to expect. Read our update for more information.
Other things we know:
Year 11 Prom will go ahead - but just not at the usual time. Think of it as a reunion!
Leavers hoodies will be produced. Everyone who paid for a hoody by the deadline of 20 March will receive one.
Free school meals
We are working with Tesco to issue vouchers to all students who get free school meals. This will be a voucher for £25 per student to cover two weeks. Vouchers will be sent by email so it is absolutely CRUCIAL that we have the correct email for you to send the voucher. Please complete the form below or respond to the email we are sending today in order to ensure you receive the voucher for your child. We expect the vouchers to be ready to send out by the middle of next week.
If we have not had confirmation of your email address by Wednesday 25 March, we will contact you to try to arrange a postal delivery.
After two weeks, we are hoping that there will be in place a national scheme in place to ensure these families are supported in feeding their children, and we will let you know what that is. If this is not set up, we will issue further vouchers, for a long as is required. We are doing all we can to ensure noone misses out.
If you have any questions, please contact our Finance office on finance@rvhschool.co.uk.
WELLBEING
It’s a time of stress and anxiety for all. Changes to our routine and prolonged isolation at home is not going to help. We have put together a page with tips and resources to support our students and families and will continue to add to this. Please take a look.
We’d like to thank all our staff for their support over the last couple of weeks. We have had almost 100% attendance from our staff, and a huge effort has gone into contingency planning and preparing work for the closure. We’d also like to thank our wider school community, families and students for their kindness and understanding.
#weareryburn #together