Dear parents and carers,

The government has now provided a much clearer and broader definition of who might classify as "key workers". The advice continues to state that the majority of children should be cared for at home but schools will remain open to provide care to a much smaller number of children who are especially vulnerable or whose parents have to be able to get to work as they are classed as key workers. We will be working hard today to get in touch with every family to determine whether you would need to send your child to school in the coming weeks. I continue to be concerned that for many of our children, their underlying medical conditions would be such as to make them more susceptible to the effect of Coronavirus and that for these individuals, being cared for at home is probably the safest option.

We are also looking at ways to help families whose children are entitled to free school meals. Probably a voucher system for you to buy healthy food for them would be the most suitable option but we still need to determine exactly how we can make this happen.

We have not been successful in contacting all parents yet, but at this stage we have 16 pupils needing to access school next week. We are liaising with Birmingham City Council in regard to the provision of transport, and will open Tuesday to Friday from 9am to 3pm. The kitchens will be thoroughly cleaned on Monday. Children in attendance from Tuesday to Friday will receive a school lunch.

School nurses will be in attendance, although fewer of them than usual. Physiotherapists will also be in attendance. Your child may not be cared for in his/her usual classroom or with his/her usual peers, or even by the usual staff (although all will be experienced school staff). However, we are confident that they will have a safe and happy day at school.

The provision will be under daily review and we will let you know of any changes as they arise. At this stage we are not sure whether we can provide a service during the Easter holidays and will be contacting you again to check whether this is something that is needed.

Thank you for your support and flexibility throughout the past week and going forward into the next few weeks. There will be staff at school to receive your calls on monday, so if you have any questions, please feel free to phone.