25 January 2021 weekly update

Dear Colleague

A belated Happy New Year to you all. I hope that many of you managed to have a restful, relaxing, albeit different Christmas and New Year, even with the prospect of mass testing to wrestle with over your Turkey/nut roast.

It has been a chaotic start to the new term and I know how hard you and your staff continue to work daily in the face of many challenges and I want to thank you for everything you are doing to support the children and young people within your school community both in person and virtually.

With a resumption of these weekly e-bulletins, you will be able to access the regular ‘business as usual information’, and for anything which requires your immediate attention we will continue the current process of a direct mailout from the AEOs.

Due to a nasty bout of Covid over New Year I had a delayed return to work, and I want to thank my Management Team, in particular David Adams and the AEOs, Celia, Marisa, Nick, Ian and Lee, for holding the fort in my absence, ensuring you, as school leaders, had the most up to date information and advice in the daily changing circumstances we are all facing.

Finally, all of us are working in new and entirely unpredictable and challenging circumstances. It is hard to anticipate what will come next, and at present we have no clear idea when, and in what circumstances, all children will return to school, with what testing regime, or when staff will be offered a vaccine. I am grateful and proud of the way you have worked together with each other and with KCC in the face of such challenges and uncertainties - thank you.

Matt Dunkley CBE
Corporate Director
Children, Young People and Education