In today's COVID-19 update from Cardiff Council: today's reopening of schools across the city; the areas of the city that will receive a garden waste collection this coming Saturday; and delivering food parcels for care leavers.
Schools reopened in Cardiff today
Cardiff saw 6,600 children and young people returning to the classroom today, as the city's schools reopened to provide the ‘check in, catch up, prepare' approach announced by Welsh Government on the 3rdJune.
In order to maintain social distancing, up to one third of pupils and students are in school at any one time. This means that there are staggered starts for the children and young people, with timetabled check in and catch up sessions taking place between now and the end of term, on 20thJuly.
There was a lot of media interest as the school gates reopened in the capital, with journalists reporting, both nationally and regionally, from six of our schools during the day.
In the run up to today's opening, schools have been issuing information, and the Council has been providing guidance.
Frequently Asked Questions have been published on the Council's website, providing answers on a range of topics, including health and safety, the curriculum and childcare.
Click here to view the FAQs:
The Council has also produced a child friendly version of the FAQS, which can be found here:
Cabinet Member for Education, Employment and Skills, Cllr Sarah Merry, said: "I want to thank everyone involved in the planning and careful management that has been required to reopen our schools, so that the children and young people can check in, catch up and prepare for September.
"I know that a lot of children will have been excited at the thought of seeing their teachers and friends today, but equally, there will have been parents, and staff, who were feeling anxious about children returning to school, which is why so much work has gone in to the health and safety of our schools during the past weeks."
Since the lockdown began on 23rdMarch, education in Cardiff has continued through online distance learning, enabled by teachers with support from the Council and the Central South Consortium.
The Council has provided over 6,000 Chromebooks to pupils across the city who were not equipped with devices at home, and 4G internet connectivity to 1,700 of these via mobile devices.
Cllr Merry added: "The strict social distancing measures we have put in place has seen schools operating at reduced capacity, with significantly fewer pupils in school at any one time.
"This means that during the week, most pupils will continue to learn from home, and I also want to thank the staff involved in ensuring that those families in need, now have the necessary devices and connectivity in order to access their schools' online teaching."
During the lockdown, 25 schools have been operating as Keyworker Childcare Hubs, providing childcare to an average of 450 children per day. These hubs have also provided essential support for vulnerable learners, referred for support by our new Vulnerable Learners Panel. Now that schools have re-opened, childcare has transferred to the pupils' home school for the remainder of the summer term.
Garden waste collection areas this coming Saturday
The areas of Cardiff that have their waste collected on a Friday will have a garden waste collection this coming Saturday, 4thJuly.
The one-off garden waste collections continue into June and the first week of July, so that residents are able to dispose of their grass cuttings, small twigs and branches, leaves, and plant and flower cuttings.
These are the only waste types which should be put in your green wheelie bin or reusable bags.
Residents are being reminded that they should only put out garden waste for collection in their green wheelie bin or their reusable garden sacks.
Any additional garden waste, which is put in any other container, including plastic bags, will not be collected.
If incorrect items are placed in the green bin or the re-usable sacks, a pink sticker will be placed on the container to notify the resident that incorrect items have been put out for collection and the waste will not be collected.
Delivering food parcels for care leavers
The Personal Adviser Service based at Hafan Gobaith have been #WorkingTogether with Porsche Centre Cardiff on Penarth Road to support young care leavers, offering work placements to allow these young people to try all aspects of the business including reception, valeting, workshop, marketing and social media.
The working relationship has provided many young people with opportunities to gain work experience and transferable skills for their CV's to help with future employment.
During lockdown, Porsche Centre Cardiff employees have continued to offer support by donating food which the Personal Adviser Team were able to use for food parcels that were delivered to care leavers most in need during this time.