Christmas Holiday COVID Notification Expectations and Associated Date Changes
CHANGE OF DATE: Friday 18th December – SCHOOL CLOSED
On 8th December, the Department for Education (DfE) declared that if schools stayed open until Friday 18th December then school leaders may have to communicate isolation decisions to families up to and including Christmas Eve. As a result, the DfE decided to announce that schools could close to pupils a day early and make Friday 18th December an INSET Day.
All Raedwald Trust schools will be taking up this option. This means that our previously published INSET Day on 12th February 2021 will be cancelled and will now be a normal school day. We hope that this action will reduce the risk of lots of people having to isolate over the Christmas holiday. It also means that if we are unfortunate enough to have to isolate pupils or staff, they should know by Wednesday 23rd December at the latest, so that families’ Christmas Bubble arrangements can be changed and elderly relatives are not put at further risk.
I am aware that this may impact on some people’s working arrangements and we are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.
Even though our schools will be closed to pupils over the Christmas break, it is important that if your child develops symptoms within 48 hours of being at school (i.e. before end of the day on Saturday 19th December) and subsequently tests positive for COVID-19, you should contact the Raedwald Trust by emailing covid@raedwaldtrust.org and a member of Raedwald TrustTeam will contact you to discuss next steps. This email address will be checked regularly up until late afternoon on Wednesday 23rd December.
If your child develops symptoms on or after Sunday 20th December, you DO NOT need to contact the school.
You must, however, follow the directions you are given by NHS Test and Trace.
If your child is required to isolate during the Christmas holiday and this means that they will not be able to return to school on Tuesday 5th January, please phone the school on Monday 4th January to make us aware of their predicted return date.
At St. Christopher’s Academy we pride ourselves in having a nurturing environment which supports the whole child and staff work tirelessly to build and maintain positive relationships with pupils and their families. Working alongside mainstream schools, families and any relevant professionals we seek to enable our pupils to return to mainstream education or move on to their next provision as appropriate.
A strong element of our ethos is upholding our five core values of resilience, respect, engagement, success and reflection. These core values underpin and promote what we do at St. Christopher’s Academy; the children are an integral part of this process. With support, children become adept at both recognising and meeting these core values, meeting targets and experiencing success in weekly achievement assemblies.
St. Christopher’s Academy strives to ensure pupils have the opportunity to develop inside the classroom while also accessing a broad range of extracurricular activities. Currently we offer activities such as Forest Schools, Drama and Music workshops and a bespoke P.E. curriculum. These sessions develop self-esteem, confidence and engagement. Please have a look at our full curriculum offer in order to see everything we do!
St. Christopher’s Academy
103A Renfrew Road
Ipswich
Suffolk
IP4 3HG
Tel: 01473 725115
Email: adminstchristophers@raedwaldtrust.org