Most students to start distance learning from Monday, as schools, colleges and pre-schools close
SCHOOLS, colleges and early years providers, such as nurseries and child-minders, are shut for most pupils
Vulnerable students and children of essential workers will be able to attend.
Children and young people with special educational needs will also be able to attend their schools, if parents wish to send them. This includes Le Rondin, Le Murier, Les Voies and the CIAS bases. Guernsey College of Further Education will be working with parents of students with special educational needs.
Education, Sport & Culture president Andrea Dudley-Owen said education staff did a fantastic job last year, keeping sites open for vulnerable students and children of essential workers and with the provision of distance learning.
'I know they will pull together to support our young people and their parents again,' she said.
'Schools will contact parents with further information as soon as they are able to and we will keep the lines of communication open and active. I want to put on record my heartfelt thanks to the many dedicated education staff whose efforts cannot be underestimated as we seek to keep education sites open during this period for vulnerable students and children of essential workers.’
For children to continue to attend during this period both parents - unless single parent household - must be essential workers. The only exception is where one is a nurse, doctor, other key health or care worker, teaching staff, or staff essential to supporting the States' response to Covid-19. These children will be able to attend school, college or early years, even if the other parent does not fall into the essential worker category.
It is hoped these restrictions will keep the number of children in school low.
Distance learning will be re-introduced from today.
Staff will be deployed on-site or to support distance learning remotely as necessary by their head teachers or principals and according to the needs of the schools, unless they have received medical guidance telling them not to attend.
School and college leaders will also invite students to attend if they have specific circumstances of need that the school/college is aware of.
Essential Workers
Private sector employers falling within the below categories should determine which roles are essential to the ability to maintain critical services. This list has been revised from the previous guidance and horticultural workers have been removed.
Workers essential to the functioning of any activity necessary to:
- Ensuring the continuing supply and accessibility of food and other essential goods including:
Supermarkets and grocery stores
Air and sea freight transport
Stevedores and other necessary port management activities
Freight operators
- Ensure the continuing supply and accessibility of veterinary and animal health and husbandry services
- Ensuring continuing health and community care services including:
GP surgeries/medical practices/dental practices
Opticians/audiologists
Pharmacies
Residential and nursing homes
Private and third sector agencies providing care services in a home or other
setting (including the care of animals)
Volunteers that provide services to those in need, such as Meals on Wheels and Samaritans.
Those responsible for management of the deceased or services celebrating, commemorating or otherwise recognising the life and/or death of a person.
- Those essential to the administration of justice including:
Advocates and staff
-Those providing private school services and daytime childcare
Private primary and secondary schools
Nurseries and day-care services
- Those maintaining critical national infrastructure including:
Utilities such as water, electricity, gas, oil and post.
Telecoms providers (essential staff required to deliver mobile and fixed line telecommunication services)
- Those maintaining public transport including:
Bus operators and school transport providers
Taxis
- Public service broadcasters and other mainstream news media
- Banking services including:
Staff that are critical to providing branch-based services to enable cash and other financial transactions
Staff involved in maintaining critical economic infrastructure that requires on-site systems access
-Services that ensure the cleanliness and hygiene of working environments that can be undertaken while adhering to social distancing guidelines
Public service workers essential to the functioning of:
- Courts and judicial services
- Health and Social Care
- Education
- Emergency services (law enforcement, ambulance, fire and coastguard)
- Prison
- Law Officers
- States Works
- Guernsey Waste
- Ports
- Regulatory roles directly related to financial stability and banking supervision
- Treasury
- Social Security
- Animal welfare
- Ancillary staff from the private or public sectors who are essential to supporting the States of Guernsey’s response to Covid-19, or civil servants or office holders specified by the Policy and Finance Committee of the States of Alderney, or the Policy and Finance Committee of the Chief Pleas of Sark, as the case may be.
