Dear parent/carers,
I am writing with regard to the Coronavirus health crisis and its effect at Manor.
Firstly, I would like to thank you all for the huge support you have shown us over this time. I appreciate that it is a worrying time for everyone. Our staff have gone way over and above in their support for school and our students have shown a good amount of maturity and proportionality in their response too.
Today, we have ten teaching staff who are self-isolating at home for the next 14 days. You will appreciate that the school cannot continue to run normally with so many staff off work for at least two weeks. After careful consideration of our options, we have decided to close to Years 9 and 10 until Monday 30th March. By doing this we can maintain contact with year 11 at a critical period of preparation for their GCSEs, and support parents of our youngest students who might feel concern at leaving their children at home unsupervised whilst they work. If our staff numbers continue to fall further we may need to close to other year groups.
You will appreciate that this is a very difficult situation to manage for schools and I am very aware of the inconvenience that this decision will cause you. I hope you will understand our reasoning. Moving forward there are many issues about which we are unsure. Will schools be closed? How long will they be closed for? What will happen to GCSEs if schools are closed?
I am sure the answers to these questions will become clearer in the near future. If we are required to close completely, we will keep in touch with you via email and social media and set home work for students through Showbie. Parents can also use the websites mentioned in our last letter to find other work to get on with.
Thank you so much for your ongoing support.
Best regards
Mr S Barber
Principal, Manor Church of England Academy
