Working parents in Ruddington have now got another potential headache – as all schoolchildren will be sent home for an indefinite period on Friday (20th March) due to the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced this afternoon that all Schools in England and Wales will close at the end of this week – except for those looking after the children of key workers and vulnerable children – such as those who might go hungry without their daily school meals. Education secretary Gavin Williamson has also said school exams will not go ahead in this academic year.
It’s thought the decision was prompted by the UK death toll from the virus reaching 104 today (Wednesday 18th March). The NHS reveals 32 more people have died in England in just 24 hours, with confirmed cases rising to 2,626, although it’s thought tens of thousands more may now be infected but have just not been tested. The fact that older people are more vulnerable to complications if they catch the virus means that many are now understandably wary of doing their usual babysitting duties.
Head teacher at Ruddington’s St Peter’s C of E Junior School, Michael Bradley, says they are already prepared – having anticipated enforced school closures – with packs of work being made available:
“These are unprecedented times and I would like to pay a huge thanks to my team. They always have the children’s best interests at heart and are doing everything they can to ensure a continuity and consistency in education. My staff came into education to make a positive contribution to the world and they are certainly doing just that.”
He adds: “We have always been concerned about the well-being of our most vulnerable pupils if St Peter’s was to close and so we are reassured that they will continue to come to school. We are also delighted to show solidarity with NHS staff and other key workers who keep the UK running by continuing to provide an education for their children.”
Meantime many parents and guardians of children aged 3 to 7 at James Peacock Infant & Nursery School in our village will also face childcare problems from this Friday. However, teacher Assistant Head Teacher Sally Squires says she believes that the health and safety of their pupils is paramount:
“It’s going to be very hard for all of our school’s stakeholders who enjoy the teaching, social aspects, and routine of school life” agrees Sally. “However, we will work together and provide support and a weekly home-based learning package for all our pupils. This will include ideas for activities, video links, worksheets and reading materials. We hope this will keep them happy, busy, and enable them to continue their learning in a safe environment. Obviously vulnerable pupils and those of key workers will remain in school.”
It was only on Saturday that, in the fight against the virus, a Ruddington COVID-19 UK Mutual Aid Facebook group was set up by local councillors and others to encourage our community to help our most vulnerable residents. On Monday the Prime Minister announced it was time for everyone to stop non-essential contact with others and to stop all unnecessary travel – advocating working from home where we possibly can. We were also advised to ‘avoid’ pubs, clubs, theatres and other such social venues – and for whole households to stay at home for 14 days if one member in that home thought he/she has the symptoms. Since then virtually all forthcoming events in our village calendar have been cancelled – with the latest casualty being Ruddington Village Market due to be held on April 4th.
Local traders are meeting tomorrow (Thursday 19th March) to decide how best to cope with the current crisis and survive its worst impacts. Ruddington pubs and eateries have remained open so far but have seen a considerable drop in custom following Monday’s advice – with many Mothering Sunday bookings this weekend now cancelled. Food shops are faring rather better – although are not encouraging the recent trend of unnecessary panic buying by some anxious customers, as first seen last week at our Co-op (below).
We’ll bring you more on the virus’s impact on Ruddington’s businesses soon at RUDDINGTON.info. Meantime, you can find the latest NHS information on COVID-19 symptoms – plus advice on how to avoid contracting or spreading the disease – >>HERE<<.
There’s also more news about how Coronavirus is impacting Ruddington >>HERE<<.
