Key worker parents heed government advice and keep kids off school in North Northamptonshire

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson had asked key workers over the weekend to send their children to school only if they had no other option.
Schools across the country closed on Friday and most parents and carers are now homeschooling.Schools across the country closed on Friday and most parents and carers are now homeschooling.
Schools across the country closed on Friday and most parents and carers are now homeschooling.

Key worker parents in North Northamptonshire have heeded calls not to send students into school unless absolutely necessary.

One of Corby’s biggest schools Lodge Park Academy said that it had under ten pupils turn in for lessons today (March 23 ) and the chief executive of Brooke Weston Academy Trust has thanked key worker parents for listening to government advice to only send in students if they had no other option.

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The Government closed schools on Friday and said schools would be open for key workers, such as NHS staff and supermarket workers, but education secretary Gavin Williamson had issued a call to parents over the weekend saying if they could keep children at home they should.

The North Northamptonshire response appears to be inline with the rest of the country with teacher’s unions saying the initial feedback seems that most parents had kept children at home.

Speaking this morning Lodge Park Academy head teacher Carly Waterman she had been expecting 30 to 40 children to attend today, but the number was much lower at less than ten

She said: “Parents have listened to the government advice and we are grateful for that. All of our senior leadership team came in today but I have been able to send them home again as we dont want to have staff here that dont need to be. We have done a rota so that each memebr of staff may have to come in once every two to three weeks if they are able.

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“The students that have come in have been doing their work as normal in the morning and PE and sports games in the afternoon.

“We have been using our normal Show My Homework app for pupils at home and they have been logging in and doing work, which has been fantastic.”

And Brooke Weston Academy Trust Andrew Campbell tweeted a thanks to parents who had kept their children at home. The trust runs Corby Technical School, Corby Business Academy, Brooke Weston Academy, Beanfield Primary, Kettering Science Academy, Compass Primary, Oakley Vale Primary and Gretton Primary School.

He said: “THANK YOU to all our parents and carers who listened to the government advice today and kept their children away from school. You are helping make the UK a safer place for everyone (including my own mother who is highly vulnerable). We really appreciate your support.”

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Leader of the ASCL head teachers' union Geoff Barton said today: "Initial feedback indicates that parents have heeded calls to use the emergency provision in schools only in the event that they are key workers who have no option available to keep their children at home."

Parents have started their first day of homeschooling today, with most using online programmes set up by their child’s school to continue their learning.

The government is now urging people to obey social distancing guidelines to stop the virus spreading. So far 281 people in the UK have died after contracting the Covid UK, including an 18 year old who had an underlying condition. There are 5683 confirmed cases across the UK according to the latest public data.