P-05-988 Give key worker children equal access to their schools and teachers, Correspondence – Petitioner to Committee, 09.07.20

Thanks for forwarding this letter to me. Unfortunately it doesn't really address the disparity between the ability of key worker children to access both childcare and lessons in different parts of Wales. I really think the discretionary element needs to be removed: while some non-key worker children might only have received two, two hour check in sessions, others will have received four full days. In another scenario, key worker children might not have any check in opportunity while non-key worker children have all the available time (as has been the case in Powys). This enormous variation needs to be addressed and shouldn't be dependent on the perceptions of individual schools.

I'm very pleased about the news that all children in Wales will be able to go back to school in September; I am a teacher and am very keen to welcome my own classes back. My only concern is that, should there be a second spike leading to further lockdowns, all children will need equal access to their classroom and social opportunities in the event of another phased reopening. I'm very keen to ensure that the children of key workers would be able to attend school with their peers if this were the case. 

I would also like to check that contact groups or bubbles in September will not in any way exclude the children of key workers, or any parents who need to access wraparound childcare. 

Best wishes

Catherine