Dear Parents / Carers,

Since writing to you yesterday, there has been little change in what is happening in schools in Swansea, or indeed Wales.  Despite the Prime Minister advising that we should be avoiding social interaction as much as possible, this appears to not currently apply to schools and we have been told to remain open as normal.  All Swansea schools have been sent the following guidance in the last half hour:

We want to reassure residents that, in collaboration with our partners, all necessary steps will be taken to ensure the wellbeing of our communities.

At the moment council services remain open. Following the government announcement today we will be assessing the position and making further detailed announcements tomorrow.

Government guidance is that schools should remain open for the time being. The message to parents is that, as in other areas of Wales, schools will open tomorrow as normal and the position will be kept under continuous review.

Residents and parents are urged to follow the Government’s revised social distancing guidelines and anyone who is experiencing symptoms should continue to follow Public Health Wales advice which can be found here: https://phw.nhs.wales/topics/latest-information-on-novel-coronavirus-covid-19/

Today, some parents took the decision to keep their children off school – this is a decision that we respect and understand.  For the children that are coming to school, could I please bring your attention to the following additional measures that we are putting in place:

Morning Drop-Off:

As we practised this morning, we will not be asking the children to line up on the yard before coming into class.  All staff will be in their classrooms and doors will be open form 8.40am.  As soon as pupils arrive, and up until 8.55am, they should come straight into class and not wait to line up on the yard.  Breakfast club pupils will be escorted to class as normal.  The side gate will be locked at 8.55am, so children that arrive after this time must be signed in at the main reception as normal.  We are doing this in an aim to avoid having large groups of people on the yard having to wait for school to start.

As soon as pupils arrive at school we will be asking them to wash their hands.  Could you please also remind them as you drop them off?

End of School Collection:

From tomorrow, the side gate will be open from 3.00pm.  The children will be ready and you will be able to collect them any time from then.  If you make your way to your child’s class door, the staff will hand your children to you.  Please do not feel that it is now compulsory that you collect your children at 3.00pm, it is merely an option to try and spread the flow of people and limit the amount that are in the yard at the same time.

Could we please ask that families do not congregate in the yard once you have collected your children.

Water bottles:

As of today, the school water fountains are out of commission.  Could we please remind you to ensure that your child brings a drinks bottle to school with them.  It is also important that we remind them not to share with their friends.

Finally, I must say that the children have been absolutely brilliant in listening to guidance.  As a result, we have managed to have a relatively normal day in school, which has been a relief given the current situation. 

As you know, guidance is changing constantly and we are monitoring it very closely.  Please again be reassured that we are doing whatever is necessary to protect the interests of our children, and of school community.  As soon as we have more information, we will be sure to share this with you.

Many thanks,

Mr. Cox