Council issues statement on schools

EDUCATION Minister Kirsty Williams has today, Wednesday, (June 3) announced that schools in Wales will start the next phase on June 29 so that all children will have the opportunity to ‘Check in, Catch Up, Prepare for summer and September’.

Statement from Cllr Glynog Davies, Executive Board Member for Education and Children’s Services:

“From the beginning of this pandemic, we have made it clear that our main priority has always been the safety of children, their families and school staff.

“Some of our schools and early years providers have remained open to the children of critical workers and vulnerable children throughout the lockdown and we want to say thank you again to all the staff who have worked tirelessly to make this happen.

“We understand the pressure families are under, and the importance of ensuring that children are able to return to school when it is safe to do so. We also appreciate parents’ genuine concerns about sending their children back to school.

“Here in Carmarthenshire, we have been working hard to put plans in place for increasing the operation of our schools to enable more children to attend when the time is right to do so. We have been working closely with headteachers, governors and school staff, and discussions are continuing with Welsh Government and the teaching unions.

“We have just launched our parents survey, which will help us inform and shape education locally in the coming weeks. I am encouraging parents to please complete the survey; I cannot stress enough how important your feedback is for our planning and how much we value your input.

“Risk assessments are being carried out at all of our schools across the county. Each school is being individually assessed on its own situation, and it may very well be the case that ‘a one size fits all’ approach will not work. This means that some schools may not be able to offer the same level of provision, dependant on building space and staffing capacity. The main consideration is to keep everyone – children and school staff – as safe as possible.

“We will be communicating directly and regularly with parents over the coming weeks to keep you up-to-date with the specific arrangements for the increased operation of our schools and the measures that are being put in place to allow us to do this.

“I would like to reassure you that we are doing all we can, and we will keep you informed every step of the way, but please bear with us as it may take some time to put all these arrangements in place.

“In the meantime, our schools are continuing to work hard to support children with their learning at home; and if you need any additional support at all, please do not hesitate to get in touch with your teacher.

“Thank you for your continued support and co-operation, we will be providing you with an update as soon as we can.”