Updated January 2021 return details

31 December 2020

Dear Parents and Carers,

We hope that you and your families remain well and have enjoyed the festive season.

You may be aware that because of the high COVID 19 infection rates the Government has decided to delay the opening of schools. As all of our students have Educational Health Care Plans and are classed as ‘vulnerable’ they are entitled to attend school from next week.

The Kemnal Academy Trust has closed all schools on the 4th January to provide time for staff to work across the Trust to review arrangements. Cleeve Meadow School will  be open from 5th January.

You may be aware that the government has announced it will be applying a ‘contingency framework’ for education and childcare settings to primary schools in areas of the country with very high rates of incidence or transmission of the virus. Bexley Borough is an area with very high rates of incidence. Please see detail regarding the contingency framework below.

The contingency framework:

This framework is designed to act as a containment measure where:

  • there is extremely high prevalence of coronavirus (COVID-19)

Where the contingency framework is implemented, pupils at special schools who are of secondary school age should continue to attend their education setting full-time. Whilst attendance is encouraged, it will not be mandatory and parents will not be penalised if their child does not attend.

As a school it is currently our position that with the present borough wide rates of infection, presently home is the safest option.

National Testing Programme

The school office staff and SLT will be at school and contacting all parents by phone on Monday 4th January regarding attendance, testing and home learning arrangements. We are aware that many of our students may be unable or unwilling to take part in the testing process and have copied the passage below from the NHS test and trace booklet regarding taking part in the programme.

‘Participation is voluntary for the programme and active consent is required either by staff, pupils or students or parents/legal guardians, as appropriate’.

We will be in contact as soon as possible to confirm any further detail.

Yours sincerely,

Alex O Donnell                    Juliet Morris
Executive Headteacher    Head of School