Staff Cover Shortage

Dear Parent / Carer

As we move further into this term more pressures are being felt in schools especially with regard to staffing.

Whereas at the moment of writing we have so far been able to modify our arrangements to compensate for staff absences, this might not always be the case. 

Many of our staff are parents of school-age children and might find themselves without other childcare options should their child/ren need to isolate or return a positive Covid test result. Normally we would book supply cover through an agency however, on several occasions the agencies have been unable to source cover due to the unprecedented demands caused by the pandemic.

Whilst we will do everything possible to keep classes as they are there are some contingency plans linked with our risk assessment that might need to be used.

In certain circumstances, depending on which staff are available, some class bubbles could have to be combined in order to ensure adequate staffing ratios. Where the staffing levels available in school become unviable there might be the need to temporarily close a class and move to remote learning as a short term solution for that particular class. This route would only be taken where no other safe option was available. 

Should this be necessary you will be notified via the school blog and the school texting service. Learning will continue online during the period of class closure.

Regards

R Cook

Head Teacher