Several more Banbury area schools will not reopen due to Covid-19

At the moment, the Government advice is for all primary schools to reopen but many teaching staff have been meeting to discuss the matter, with many having safety concerns.

The Prime Minister is set to make an announcement tonight on the current Covid-19 restrictions across the nation.

A Banbury primary school, St Mary's Church of England Primary School in Southam Road, Banbury, closed from today, Monday January 4 through Friday January 15.

St Mary's Primary posted the following message on its website (http://www.banburystmarysschool.co.uk/) notifying people of its closure: "Following the directive of the Teacher Unions we are unable to open the school safely.

"We will be reopening on Tuesday 5th January to children of frontline critical workers and vulnerable children only. We will be in touch with families to check if you are in these categories during Monday. All other children will learn through our home learning provision and will be in touch with you to support how you access this.

"This information has fallen on school leadership teams with little notice and we apologise for the inconvenience this will cause.

"I am sure you are aware Cherwell, and Banbury especially, has particularly high Covid rates at this time. We continue to encourage you to keep the Tier 4 restrictions so that we can return to school together as soon as possible."

Cherry Fields Primary School in Wardington Road, Banbury, will be closed until Monday January 11.

Bloxham Primary School has partially closed due to Covid-19.

The headteacher, Matthew Ingall, sent out a letter to parents, which said: "As a result of recent events, and in consultation with the chair of the governing body, I am writing to let you

know that it is currently only possible for us to fully open the school to year 6 children. For all other year groups (foundation stage, and years 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5) we can only accept the children of key workers, as well as vulnerable children.

"This arrangement will be in place until at least 18th January 2021, and we will review it regularly. This decision has not been taken lightly and is based upon ensuring the safety of all children in school. This provision will start from Tuesday 5th January 2021. We will be setting up remote learning for all other children from Wednesday 6th January 2021 and will provide further information on how you will be able to access this as soon as we can."

For more information on the other details in the letter use the following web link: https://bloxhamprimary.co.uk/sites/default/files/newsletters/letter_4th_january1.pdfKing's Sutton Primary Academy has also bee impacted by the latest developments of Covid-19, and is not scheduled to reopen to pupils this week.

A letter to parents and carers about the closure or delayed reopening, some of which said: "From Tuesday 5 January 2021 we anticipate that the majority of children will move to remote learning from home. Key worker, vulnerable children and those with EHCPs will be offered face-to-face provision. However, this is dependent on the union response to safety measures and to the availability of staff to remain on site safely."

For more information on the delayed reopening at King's Sutton Primary Academy see the following web link: https://www.kingssuttonpa.co.uk/202021-academic-year/The South Warwickshire school, Kineton Primary, will partially reopen to pupils on Tuesday, January 5.

For children in reception, year 1 and year 3, the school will be open as usual and children are required to attend (any absences not related to illness, Covid-19 or any other exceptional circumstances will be unauthorised), with arrival and leaving arrangements the same as last term.

Kineton Primary School will be closed for children in years 2, 4, 5 and 6, except for vulnerable children and those of critical workers.