Dear Parent/Carer,
As you know, the Welsh Education Minister has made the announcement this week that all schools in Wales will be closed to pupils as of Friday 20th March 2020. Her full statement can be found here:
We have since been advised that schools are now being re-purposed to provide emergency childcare for key workers who will be supporting essential services throughout this national crisis. All educational provision has been suspended. We do not know how long this will be the case.
Our cluster of schools is proud to be supporting those providing essential services such as healthcare. Please see the information sheet that follows this letter for more details about the way in which we will be doing this, and the provision that will be available to those that qualify for it.
With regard to continued learning, the Easter break for pupils has been brought forward and will begin on Monday 23rd March. Pupils are not expected to carry out learning during the two week holiday from this point. Each school will, however, be making contact with you regarding activities that your child can carry out should you wish them to, and with further updates on possible home-based learning following the holiday.
As we do not yet know how long school closure will be in place, the situation will be kept under constant review and you will receive daily updates and news. Bishop Vaughan’s website will provide these updates and news, as well as links to any specific information on the websites of all of the Catholic primary schools. You will find the school website here: https://www.bishopvaughan.co.uk/news and can follow the school on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/Bishop_Vaughan.
This is a very unusual set of circumstances for our schools, as for all, and we know that you will have lots of questions. We will do our best to answer some of those within these daily updates.
As a group of school dedicated to ensuring the wellbeing of your children throughout this most difficult period, we assure you of our commitment to supporting you in the very best ways that we can and we thank you for your understanding in this exceptionally challenging and constantly evolving situation.
With our prayers for you and your families throughout this time, as always -
Yours faithfully,
Mrs Pole, Mrs Heald, Mrs Stack, Mr Lewis and Miss Richards
Headteachers of Bishop Vaughan, St. Joseph’s Cathedral School, St. Joseph’s Clydach, St. Illtyd’s and St. David’s Schools.