Key workers - school places for your children

From Monday 23 March schools will be closing but the government expects us to provide places for these children.

On Monday we will open Heron Hall Academy as the CHAT Hub School for eligible children. Address 46 Queensway, Ponders End, Enfield. See map here.

The CHAT Hub School will be open from 9am-3pm. By opening a Hub School we will be better able to manage staff absences. Heron Hall is also a large school with excellent facilities.

A meal/ packed lunch will be provided while the government position becomes clearer on this.

Please bring some information to show you are a key worker.

If you qualify as a key worker, DO NOT bring your children to Cuckoo Hall, Woodpecker Hall, Kingfisher Hall, or Enfield Heights. They must be brought to Heron Hall Academy.

If only one parent or carer is a critical worker, can I send my children into school? Children with at least one parent or carer who are identified as critical workers by the government can send their children to school if required.

The government has now issued its promised guidance on this:

Full advice document is here.

If your work is critical to the COVID-19 response, or you work in one of the critical sectors listed below, and you cannot keep your child safe at home then your children will be prioritised for education provision.

Health and social care
This includes but is not limited to doctors, nurses, midwives, paramedics, social workers, care workers, and other frontline health and social care staff including volunteers; the support and specialist staff required to maintain the UK’s health and social care sector; those working as part of the health and social care supply chain, including producers and distributers of medicines and medical and personal protective equipment.

Education and childcare
This includes nursery and teaching staff, social workers and those specialist education professionals who must remain active during the COVID-19 response to deliver this approach.

Key public services
This includes those essential to the running of the justice system, religious staff, charities and workers delivering key frontline services, those responsible for the management of the deceased, and journalists and broadcasters who are providing public service broadcasting.

Local and national government
This only includes those administrative occupations essential to the effective delivery of the COVID-19 response or delivering essential public services such as the payment of benefits, including in government agencies and arms length bodies.

Food and other necessary goods
This includes those involved in food production, processing, distribution, sale and delivery as well as those essential to the provision of other key goods (for example hygienic and veterinary medicines).

Public safety and national security
This includes police and support staff, Ministry of Defence civilians, contractor and armed forces personnel (those critical to the delivery of key defence and national security outputs and essential to the response to the COVID-19 pandemic), fire and rescue service employees (including support staff), National Crime Agency staff, those maintaining border security, prison and probation staff and other national security roles, including those overseas.

Transport
This includes those who will keep the air, water, road and rail passenger and freight transport modes operating during the COVID-19 response, including those working on transport systems through which supply chains pass.

Utilities, communication and financial services
This includes staff needed for essential financial services provision (including but not limited to workers in banks, building societies and financial market infrastructure), the oil, gas, electricity and water sectors (including sewerage), information technology and data infrastructure sector and primary industry supplies to continue during the COVID-19 response, as well as key staff working in the civil nuclear, chemicals, telecommunications (including but not limited to network operations, field engineering, call centre staff, IT and data infrastructure, 999 and 111 critical services), postal services and delivery, payments providers and waste disposal sectors.
If workers think they fall within the critical categories above they should confirm with their employer that, based on their business continuity arrangements, their specific role is necessary for the continuation of this essential public service.

Government guidance also says:
Critical workers
4.2 If only one parent or carer is a critical worker, can I send my children into school?
Children with at least one parent or carer who are identified as critical workers by the government can send their children to school if required.
Information we need.

Later today we will be issuing a form to capture the information we need to set up the hub school with adequate staffing, facilities, meals etc.

In the meantime, given the urgency of the situation, it would help us to know the following, to be emailed to [email protected]

Name of child, Date of birth, school they attend, Year group, how many days per week you will need, allergies