Dear Parent / Guardian,

In response to recent government directives, I wish to make the following clear in relation to Greswold:

From Monday 23rd March, Greswold, including Greyhounds, will be closed to the vast majority of pupils.

From Monday 23rd March, Greswold will offer care to:

•    our children who have an EHCP  
or 
•    have an attached social worker 
or 
where parents are critical workers and cannot provide their own safe care for their children. Please see below for the current definition of a critical worker.

From Monday 23rd March, the care that can be provided for children of critical workers or those with EHCP/social worker will be between 8.30am and 4pm only. Parents will need to provide the children with a full packed lunch including drinks. Children will not be required to wear school uniform.  It is intended to continue this care during the Easter holidays but not including Good Friday or Easter Monday.

In order for us to plan for Monday 23rd March and beyond, it is essential that parents who are identifying as critical workers inform us if they cannot provide their own safe care to their children by email 25office@greswold.solihull.sch.uk or phone 0121 705 4738 by 12pm today. If you notified us yesterday, please do so again so we have one updated list.

The current definition of a critical workers includes:

Health and Social Care - This includes but is not limited to doctors, nurses, midwives, paramedics, social workers, care workers, and other frontline health and social care staff including volunteers; the support and specialist staff required to maintain the UK’s health and social care sector; those working as part of the health and social care supply chain, including producers and distributers of medicines and medical and personal protective equipment.

Education and Childcare - This includes nursery and teaching staff, social workers and those specialist education professionals who must remain active during the COVID-19 response to deliver this approach.

Key public services - This includes those essential to the running of the justice system, religious staff, charities and workers delivering key frontline services, those responsible for the management of the deceased, and journalists and broadcasters who are providing public service broadcasting.

Local and national government - This only includes those administrative occupations essential to the effective delivery of the COVID-19 response or delivering essential public services such as the payment of benefits, including in government agencies and arms length bodies.

Food and other necessary goods - This includes those involved in food production, processing, distribution, sale and delivery as well as those essential to the provision of other key goods (for example hygienic and veterinary medicines).

Public safety and national security - This includes police and support staff, Ministry of Defence civilians, contractor and armed forces personnel (those critical to the delivery of key defence and national security outputs and essential to the response to the COVID-19 pandemic), fire and rescue service employees (including support staff), National Crime Agency staff, those maintaining border security, prison and probation staff and other national security roles, including those overseas.

Transport - This includes those who will keep the air, water, road and rail passenger and freight transport modes operating during the COVID-19 response, including those working on transport systems through which supply chains pass.

Utilities, communication and financial services - This includes staff needed for essential financial services provision (including but not limited to workers in banks, building societies and financial market infrastructure), the oil, gas, electricity and water sectors (including sewerage), information technology and data infrastructure sector and primary industry supplies to continue during the COVID-19 response, as well as key staff working in the civil nuclear, chemicals, telecommunications (including but not limited to network operations, field engineering, call centre staff, IT and data infrastructure, 999 and 111 critical services), postal services and delivery, payments providers and waste disposal sectors.

We will continue to communicate with you regarding any updates or necessary changes. Please follow government guidance on social distancing and self-isolation. I know that you appreciate that keeping school open for identified pupils is reliant on our own dedicated staff being able to work. Thank you for your continued support.

Karen Scott
Headteacher