- 20 Mar
- 2020
COVID-19 UPDATE: SCHOOL CLOSED
IMPORTANT NOTICE
Platanos College has taken the difficult but necessary decision to close the school until further notice due to reports of a case of Coronavirus and under the recent government advice on school closures from Friday 20 March 2020.
During this period, we will also be carrying out an extensive deep clean of the entire school.
At the same time, we have taken steps to ensure that learning can continue to take place whilst our pupils are away from the school. Detailed information on these arrangements were already circulated to pupils, parents and carers, including our different methods of communication during this period.
The government has now also produced updated guidance on the provision for children of key workers. It states:
Parents whose work is critical to the COVID-19 response include those who work in health and social care and in other key sectors outlined below. Many parents working in these sectors may be able to ensure their child is kept at home. And every child who can be safely cared for at home should be.
Please, therefore, follow these key principles:
- If it is at all possible for children to be at home, then they should be.
- If a child needs specialist support, is vulnerable or has a parent who is a critical worker, then educational provision will be available for them.
- Parents should not rely for childcare upon those who are advised to be in the stringent social distancing category such as grandparents, friends, or family members with underlying conditions.
- Parents should also do everything they can to ensure children are not mixing socially in a way which can continue to spread the virus. They should observe the same social distancing principles as adults.
- Residential special schools, boarding schools and special settings continue to care for children wherever possible.
For further information on the government guidance, please visit their website using the link here.
For the above reasons, our closure is part of this national effort to combat the pandemic and prevent the spread of the Covid-19 Coronavirus in our local and wider community. However, as soon as it is safe to do so, and/or as advised by the government, we will provide details for reopening the school to pupils.
In the meantime, we continue to monitor our communication systems whilst the school is currently closed.
We thank you for your continued support and wish all members of our community all the best during this challenging time.