North Down Primary Principals’ Group
20th March 2020
Yesterday evening the Minister for Education in Northern Ireland, Peter Weir MLA, made a statement outlining that all schools will close on Friday 20th March.
Schools have been requested to provide a childcare facility with a skeleton staff for children of identified key workers. However, the statement left school principals with numerous questions and we have sought urgent clarification. As a result, schools need time to plan for this provision and therefore every primary school in the North Down Area will be closed to all pupils on Monday.
While we wish to support you and your families at this difficult time, we need to ensure that
the provision of childcare does not increase the risk of infection for either your children or our staff.
It is vitally important that schools have an indication of how many children meet the criteria outlined below. Parents who have not already contacted Mrs Stitt should contact school by 11am on Monday morning outlining how they meet the criteria, if they wish to be considered for the offer of a place. This can be by emailing the attached application form to lbell433@c2kni.net
Before contacting school – Points to Consider:
Once key information has been gathered and decisions made, only families with an offer of a place should attend the school. It could potentially be impossible to accept the number of families who may apply for provision, given the extensive nature of the Minister’s keyworker list. Schools will be in contact with parents requesting places early next week.
Yours sincerely
NORTH DOWN PRIMARY PRINCIPALS’ GROUP
LIST OF KEY WORKERS AS OUTLINED ON DOCUMENTATION ISSUED TO SCHOOLS ON 19TH MARCH 2020
Please work with us to ensure that schools operate with a limited number of children and staff
APPLICATION FOR CHILDCARE SUPPORT FOR CHILDREN OF KEY WORKERS
New applications (other than those who have already contacted PPS):- Please email your response by 11am on Monday 23rd March, with the following information included
Children’s Names and class
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KEY WORKER ROLES
Parent One _______________________
Parent Two ________________________
Alternatively, please confirm your key worker role as a single parent ________________________
If possible, please note any particular considerations the school should be aware of if we need to manage who can access this offer of childcare support.
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We STRONGLY underline the fact that, given the timeframe, this provision will not be in place for Monday 23rd March.