In consultation with the Department of Public Health, The Stour Academy Trust have made the decision to close Thistle Hill Academy from Friday 13th November, with the school re-opening on Monday 30th November.
With an increasing number of positive cases of Covid-19 in Swale, the decision has been made as a proactive measure to help stop the spread of Covid-19 in the local community.
The aim of the temporary closure or ‘circuit-breaker’ is to bring down the number of cases affecting the school community, allowing it to re-open fully staffed and with all year group bubbles on site.
During the temporary closure, children at home will receive regular contact from school staff with EYFS and KS1 children being provided with home learning packs. All children in KS2 have each been provided with an Ipad or Chromebook and will be able to access live teaching from home as lessons will be conducted remotely for the duration of the school closure.
Children who receive free school meals will also be provided with a food hamper which will be delivered to the children’s homes.
Rachael Howell is the CEO of The Stour Academy Trust, she said “I would like to assure our parents that this decision has not been taken lightly and has been taken in the best interests of the children, parents and staff at Thistle Hill Academy. After consulting with the Department of Public Health we made the proactive decision to close the school to help stop the spread of Covid-19 in the local community. We fully appreciate the disruption this may cause and aim to support our parents and children in any way we can during these challenging times.”
Thistle Hill Academy is a primary school in Minster-on-Sea on the Isle of Sheppey with 320 pupils.
The school will re-open to all year groups on Monday 30th November.
The Stour Academy Trust and Thistle Hill Academy would like to thank all the members of the local community who have been incredibly supportive of the school and who have volunteered their time to deliver IT equipment, food hampers and resources to our families during the closure.
