COVID-19 update: School Restart plans

Dear parents,

I am writing to update you on what is happening with our school and plans to reopen.

At the end of last week the Education Minister, Mr Peter Weir, sent out a letter outlining the Department of Education (DE) Restart Programme Approach for schools. While Mr Weir’s letter gives an overview of his plan, we await further guidance on the details which will hopefully come through before the end of the month.

In the meantime, our school staff and Governors are starting to work towards bringing our school children and staff back into school in a safe and structured way in the new academic year.

For now, all I can tell you with any great certainty is that we are planning the following:

• In line with current guidelines, we are planning for a phased return to school, which will probably involve pupils attending school for part of the week only and will start from the end of August/early September. At this stage, we cannot say for sure how long this phase will last for.
• Pupils will continue with remote learning for the part of the week when they are not physically attending school.
• We may also consider staggering start and finish times as well as break and lunch times to allow for continued social distancing requirements.

As soon as we have more concrete details we will let you know. With so many uncertainties surrounding the current situation, all we can do at this stage is reassure you that we will do everything we can, within the boundaries and guidelines provided, to ensure that the children coming in to our care in late August/early September will have the very best experiences we can give them. As you are aware, our staff share a strong sense of community and a genuine concern for our children and remain committed to providing the very best opportunities for the children in our care.

Please do not hesitate to contact me should you have any queries with regard to these issues using the email address: rmccarry629@c2kni.net 

Thank you for your ongoing support during this very difficult time.

Warm regards,

Roisin McCarry