Parent update and information on Key Workers childcare over the Easter Holidays

02 April 2020

Dear parent/guardian

Parent update and information on Key Workers childcare over the Easter Holidays (6th April - 17th April 2020)

I hope you and your family are keeping well and I thank you for your continued support. Hopefully most of our families have already received additional packs of work delivered to your door for after the Easter break. A couple of families from the Coleraine/Portrush area will receive their packs of work through the Royal Mail over the incoming days if they have not already received them. 

As you know we have endeavoured to do all we can to support our families. Therefore we are proposing to continue to provide childcare for our key workers children during the Easter holidays, if staffing ratios allow for this.

We have been open everyday providing for the children of key workers since school has closed. To support our parents who are key workers in their vital role we plan to continue to provide this childcare throughout the Easter holidays. We hope you understand that this will be using a skeleton staff as this would normally be our Easter holidays for both pupils and staff. The childcare supervision in our school over the Easter holidays will be delivered by myself as Principal, by members of our Governors and possibly by volunteers provided by the Education Authority. This way I can give my staff a well earned break but still continue to provide childcare for our key workers children. 

I would like to remind parents that every alternative childcare arrangement should be explored before deciding to send children to school. School should, in effect, be a last resort. We remind parents that if you work part time you must only use the service for the hours and days you need. If you are able to work from home to accommodate this situation, then you should do so and care for your child at home. Any decision to send a child to school must be based on trust and we appeal to parents not to abuse the service to further promote the spread of the virus and put staff and other children at risk. Obviously it goes without saying, if your only option is to send your child to school, we will look after them to support you in your important and vital role.

I would appreciate that if you wish to avail of the childcare service for key workers children over the Easter holidays to send me an email on [email protected] by 5pm on Friday 3rd April indicating which days you need for the week beginning 6th April. This will then allow me to plan and organise sufficient staffing ratios.   

If you have any questions or queries, please get in contact.

Take care and stay safe,

Mrs Taylor

Principal of Portstewart Primary School and Nursery Unit