Covid-19 Briefing for Pupils, Parents, Carers
07 January 2021 at 10:38:45
Information correct at date of publication.
Due to the fast-changing nature of the current situation with Covid-19, the guidance included in this briefing can be subject to rapid change. This briefing takes into account the information from the First Minister's address on 4th January.
A further announcement specific to education is expected from the Deputy First Minister on 5th January and this may change or provide further clarity on the content of this briefing.
Stornoway Primary Extended Closure
Despite continued work today on the heating and hot water systems at Stornoway Primary, it has not been possible to repair all the damage caused. As a result, the school and nursery will remain fully closed on Thursday 7th January.
Alternative provision for vulnerable pupils and children of key workers will be:
Primary Pupils
Continue to attend at the Nicolson Institute with the same arrangements that were in place for Wednesday. School meals will be provided and the school buses will operate to and from the Nicolson.
Nursery (3-5)
Provision will continue to be at Laxdale School for the remainder of this week.
Childcare Centre (0-3)
For these children, the provision will be at the old Childcare Centre building at Columbia Place. Parents should not report to the new Stornoway Primary building.
We wish to reassure all pupils, parents and staff that Comhairle staff and our contractors are doing everything we can to get the systems reinstated in Stornoway Primary and will continue to do so. We will provide a further update tomorrow about Friday.
Topics
School & Nursery Start Dates for Term Three
School & Nursery Start Dates for Term Three
Based on current Scottish Government information, the arrangements for the commencement of term three will be as follows:
- Schools will be open to staff only from 6th January, as planned.
- Children of critical key workers and vulnerable pupils will be able to attend school from 6th
- Year-round nurseries will open to children of critical key workers and vulnerable pupils from 5th January and term-time provisions from 6th
- All other children and young people will be subject to an extension of the school holiday through to 8th
- Subject to review, the Comhairle may review and reinitiate the locality hub provisions rather than retaining provision at all schools.
- Online learning will commence from 11th January for the vast majority of pupils and will continue until at least 1st The only exceptions will be those permitted to attend school as children of critical key workers or vulnerable pupils.
- Schools may begin to re-open to all pupils from 1st February, but will be subject to further review on 18th January and confirmation from Scottish Government about arrangements.
Children of Key Workers
A summary of the arrangements for key workers to access school attendance for their children is provided below. Definitions of key worker status are provided in the next section.
- Initial key worker provision for 6th-8th January 2021 is expected to be at your own child's regular school and it will operate at regular times. Locality hubs may be introduced in due course after 11th
- Any key workers who had this status agreed during the 2020 lockdown (23rd March to 26th June) will continue to be eligible and do not need to reapply as long as your employment status has not changed.
- Online registration is now available for new registrants wishing to access Key Worker provision. Fill in the Key Worker Registration Form .
- Where more than one parent has caring responsibility for a child, both parents must be key workers to access the provision.
- In all cases, you must only use the provision when there is absolutely no alternative childcare available and only during the hours of work.
- Key workers working from home are not eligible to access school attendance.
- Please be prepared for schools to challenge or investigate key worker attendance, as it is a requirement for them to ensure eligibility.
Key Worker Definitions
Key worker status is defined in three categories and Comhairle schools will initial provide school access for all three but we do reserve the right to restrict attendance to certain categories in the future.
Category 1
Health and Care workers directly supporting COVID response, and associated staff; Health and Care workers supporting life threatening emergency work, as well as critical primary and community care provision; Energy suppliers (small numbers identified as top priority already); staff providing childcare/learning for other category 1 staff.
Category 2
All other Health and Care workers, and wider public sector workers providing emergency/critical welfare services (for example: fire, police, prisons, social workers), as well as those supporting our Critical National Infrastructure, without whom serious damage to the welfare of the people of Scotland could be caused.
Category 3
All workers (private, public or third sector) without whom there could be a significant impact on Scotland (but where the response to COVID-19, or the ability to perform essential tasks to keep the country running, would not be severely compromised). This includes the food supply, retail and transport sectors.
In the interests of public safety, the Comhairle has a duty to ensure that attendance at school is kept to an absolute minimum during this period of Covid-19 restrictions and parents should only request to use the provision when they are critical key workers and have no safe alternative provision available to them.
Vulnerable Pupils
During the period of restricted attendance, continuous provision will be made for vulnerable pupils to attend at school. This provision is put in place by mutual agreement between the school or nursery and the child's parents.
It is a matter for individual schools and nurseries to identify the pupils eligible for attendance due to vulnerabilities. This process will begin from the register established during the 2020 lockdown and will be updated accordingly, to take account of any changes of circumstances since August.
Online Learning Arrangements
From 11th January, learning will be online and remote for all pupils except children of confirmed key workers and pre-identified vulnerable pupils, who will be permitted to attend school.
Each school will provide information about their individual arrangement for online and remote learning during the period of 6th to 8th January in preparation for commencement on 11th January. Depending on the digital resources, curriculum programmes and the ages and learning needs of pupils, arrangements may vary from school to school.
In addition, e-Sgoil will continue to work alongside our school staff to provide access to relevant elements of the National Curriculum Offer, if that is required.
Please note that the period 6th-11th January is an extension to the holiday for pupils and online learning will not be provided over this time.
School Transport & Meals
It is expected that a school transport will operate as normal for 6th January and will then be reviewed based on key worker demand. This will be subject to change at short notice and any affected parents will be notified of specific arrangements affecting them.
School and nursery meals will continue to be available for any pupils permitted to attend school during 6th-29th January. There may be changes made to the menu offer and this will be communicated by individual schools to their own families.
Links to Latest Advice
The following links provide access to the most current published arrangements relating to Covid-19.
Scottish Government Coronavirus Index of Information
Scottish Government Advice for the Festive Period
Scottish Government Latest Protection Levels
Scottish Government Advice for Travel & Transport
Scottish Government International Travel Advice
CNES Coronavirus Information Page
NHS Western Isles Coronavirus Site
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