A letter from Denbighshire was sent to parents by email on 18/12/20. The letter stated:
As you may have already seen in the media a common approach has been agreed by the Welsh Government and the Welsh Local Government Association for the return to school in January.
With transmission levels continuing to increase across Wales, and uncertainty over what impact that might have on school staffing levels following the Christmas break, schools and local authorities will have some flexibility built in at the beginning of term.
Following guidance from the Welsh Government and discussions with schools, Denbighshire County Council is informing parents and guardians that remote learning will be in place during the first week of the new term, the week beginning January 4th, 2021. A decision whether face to face learning can start on January 11th will be taken during the first week once the full extent of the predicted increase in confirmed cases is known.
At Ysgol Y Faenol, the new school term will start remotely on 5th January, as the 4th of January is a Staff Training Day. Little Lambs Fun Club will be open as usual on Monday 4th January.
On Tuesday 5th, Wednesday 6th, Thursday 7th and Friday 8th January school will, therefore be closed to all children, except those of essential workers and vulnerable children.
Although school is closed to most pupils on these dates the teachers will be setting work for pupils to do remotely. Learning activities will be set via: -
Completed activities can be shared with the teacher either on the hwb class pages or via seesaw.
Teachers will be starting each day with a short online drop in session at 9.15 a.m. to talk to the pupils about the activities set for the day. Pupils will be able to join this session through Microsoft Teams, which is available through their hwb accounts. A guide for how to log on was emailed to parents on 18/12/20.
The emergency childcare hub will be open to registered pupils of Ysgol Y Faenol, who are vulnerable or whose parents meet the criteria for essential workers. Please consider carefully if any alternative is available before using the school-based provision. Keeping children safely in their home to protect themselves and those more vulnerable to the illness is the preferred and safest option. In the main where there is only one critical worker in the family, there is an expectation that the other parent takes responsibility for childcare.