Charlton School

Dear Parents/Carers

You may be aware on Wednesday afternoon, the DfE announced that schools could place a training day at the end of next week and close on Thursday.  All schools within the Learning Community Trust, including Charlton, have made the decision to remain open.  Our arrangements for the end of term remain the same as per my letter sent on Monday, the details of which are repeated below.

On the last day of term, Friday 18^th December, school will be closing at 1.35pm, at which time school buses will leave. Students will be dismissed one-year group at a time, starting with Year 11 at 1.15pm.

Children who cannot be collected or make their own way home, may remain in school until 2.50pm. Please note that no dedicated school buses will be available at 2.50pm.  Should you require your child to remain in school until 2.50pm, please contact Mrs Ricketts (Attendance Officer) at school, who will update records accordingly.

On Thursday 17^th we are having a Christmas Jumper Day to raise money for Save The Children. If students do not have a Christmas jumper, they can always accessorise what they will be wearing with a Christmas theme. There is absolutely no necessity to go out and purchase anything new for this event.  Please ensure any clothes worn are appropriate for a school setting. Crop tops should not be worn.  The cost to wear their own clothes is £1.00.  It is an ideal opportunity to raise money for such a worthwhile cause.

Also, on Thursday 17^th December we will be holding our Christmas lunch, however there will also be a limited additional menu on offer. The cost is £2.40 for a main course and pudding. Children who wish to take up this option will need to ensure that their canteen account has had funds added to it prior to this date.

As we approach the last week of a very long term, I want to share with you some coronavirus news from the Local Authority and the requests they are making of the wider community over the Christmas period.

Coronavirus cases within Telford and Wrekin continue to fall steadily with a further 33% reduction in the week up to the 6^th December.  This has now taken the total of new confirmed cases below the National average again.

Further advice and guidance from the local authority is below, with more details at the following webpage:

https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/UKTW/bulletins/2b08ebc

Decline needs to be maintained ahead of Christmas

• There are early signs that the number of cases have plateaued since 3 December
• We need to maintain decline up to Christmas
• Rates among over 60s are plateauing since 3 December

Our current number of cases is similar to where we were back in October and it took us just 3-4 weeks to hit our peak – if we relax on the rules now then we may see big rises very quickly.  If we can get our cases as low as possible before Christmas, then we will be in a much better position to deal with any potential third wave in January.

The main thing we can do to help keep our numbers down is to continue to not mix households – this is key.  We all need to dig deep now in the run up to Christmas to get our numbers as low as possible – we can only do this if the whole of the borough plays their part.

What we need to do

• Do not mix households indoors
• Outside only meet with no more than six
• Wash hands, wear a face mask, keep 2m apart
• Get a test if you are feeling unwell as soon as possible. Information about getting tested for 'precautionary' symptoms is available on our website
• Isolate if you have any of three key symptoms
• We have 7 testing facilities in the borough so getting a test has never been easier. Book online and get an appointment within minutes

Please continue to do all we can to further reduce coronavirus cases in our community.  If your child or any family member has one of the three main symptoms of coronavirus, please do not send them to school. Please book a test and the family remain in isolation until the outcome of the test is known.

Yours faithfully

Mr A McNaughton

Principal