Dorothy Gardner Centre

Mary Paterson Nursery School

Queens Park Children’s Centre

Dear parents/carers,

Yesterday, the government announced that schools could close on Thursday 17th December instead of 18th December. The reason for this is because schools have been asked to support with Covid-19 track and trace for 6 days after closure. This would mean that school staff would have to be available to support track and trace up until the 24th December. It could also mean that we are asking families to self-isolate on Christmas Eve.

For this reason, we have accepted the government’s invitation and the last day of term will be Thursday 17th December.

I understand that this may cause some inconvenience and it was not an easy decision to make but I feel it is important that we reduce the risk of families and school staff having to isolate over the break. This has been an incredibly challenging year and everyone deserves time with their families and loved ones.

To continue to support with track and trace, can I ask that from the 18th December to the 23rd December that if a child tests positive for Covid-19 that you text the test results to 07881047221. Please do not call the school as the office will not be open.

This phone number should also be used if a child tests positive at a weekend.

Please see individual school letters with school specific arrangements.

Yours sincerely

Mr Commins

Executive Headteacher