YEAT statement

I hope that you and your families are staying safe. As we go into the second week of schooling post Christmas, I hope you feel that your needs as a parent/carer have been considered and you are confident in the commitments we have made to both the quality of your child’s education and to their health, safety and wellbeing.

YEAT schools received DfE guidance late last week and have worked tirelessly to ensure that provision offered is equal to or better than the requirements set out in the documents.

In balancing a) the need to provide places for our most vulnerable learners and children from households where only one parent or carer needs to be considered a key worker to qualify for a school place, and b) our commitment to ensuring that our schools operate safely for all staff,  we believe we now have a solution. 

To maintain nuancing appropriate to each school and, each class within a school, our proposal is that the number of students taught on site is to be determined by the size of room. In taking this approach rather than simply capping at a set number, classes should not feel crowded and staff and students will have space to operate at a distance. Headteachers will of course provide a fuller picture and how this relates to your child. 

These are challenging times and there are no simple answers to the complex issues we need to address collectively as team YEAT. I suspect that for some time yet our schools will need to operate mindful of health concerns relating to COVID. As you have been doing, please maintain an open and honest dialogue with staff who are always keen to reach mutually agreeable solutions within the rules set out by DfE .

Can I thank you all once again for your willingness to work in partnership with the schools and only taking up places that are absolutely required. By helping us to keep student numbers at manageable levels we are better placed to keep everyone healthy and safe, which I am sure you will agree, must be our first priority. 

Mathew Brown 

Chair of Trust Board

Yorkshire Endeavour Academy Trust