Family & Education
Wolfson Hillel stays open for children of key workers
'We are happy to play our part,' says head of trust that runs the Enfield primary
March 24, 2020 09:56
'We are happy to play our part,' says head of trust that runs the Enfield primary
March 24, 2020 09:56Wolfson Hillel Primary in Southgate is being kept open to provide schooling for the children of key workers across North-West London and Hertfordshire.
The school is one of five primaries that comprise the United Synagogue-run Jewish Community Academy Trust, which was set up last year.
Kirsten Jowett, chief executive of JCAT, said, “We are providing one keyworker hub for all five JCAT sites at Wolfson Hillel. The site has been chosen due to its large size which means we can spread everyone out within the building and it is equidistant to most of the mulit-academy trust schools.”
She said the arrangement “allows us to minimise the number of staff needed across the sites. All five schools are staffing the provision in a rota. Staff work one week on and three weeks off.
“This ensures that if they become unwell they have sufficient time for symptoms to develop and for a 14-day isolation before needing to work again. We hope this will allow us to continue this for as long as needed.”
The trust’s other four schools are Rimon in Golders Green, Sacks Morasha in North Finchley, Hertsmere Jewish Primary in Radlett and Moriah in Pinner.
While pupils were sent home from schools on Friday, the government specified that provision should be made for the children of health workers and others in key services.
Ms Jowett said many staff had volunteered "to support the critical care workers in this important role. We are happy to play our part in keeping the system running in the best interests of everyone. We have also pooled our resources to ensure our children have lots of learning opportunities to draw from and we will continue to add to these going forwards.”
JCAT has also devised an education plan for those learning at home which include daily English and maths, online Jewish studies provided through Jewish Interactive and a selection of other activities in other subject for parents to choose.
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