COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Updated 20.03.20
11 Mar 2020
Dear Parents and Carers,
The DFE released information today regarding school closures. It is vital that we pull together as a school community to reduce the spread of the Covid-19 virus.
The government has given guidance on self-isolation, household isolation and social distancing. On Wednesday they announced that children will be kept at home, wherever possible, and asked schools to remain open only for those children who absolutely need to attend. The fewer children making the journey to school, and the fewer children in educational settings, the lower the risk that the virus can spread and infect vulnerable individuals in wider society.
The information below is from the DFE guidance:
Please, therefore, follow these key principles:
- If it is at all possible for children to be at home, then they should be.
- If a child needs specialist support, is vulnerable or has a parent who is a critical worker, then educational provision will be available for them.
- Parents should not rely for childcare upon those who are advised to be in the stringent social distancing category such as grandparents, friends, or family members with underlying conditions.
- Parents should also do everything they can to ensure children are not mixing socially in a way which can continue to spread the virus. They should observe the same social distancing principles as adults.
- Residential special schools, boarding schools and special settings continue to care for children wherever possible.
If you feel your child needs a place, please complete a ‘Request School Place’ form by 11am today. This was emailed yesterday morning and can be found under the news tab on the website.
We are currently working on being able to offer a daily meal for our children who are entitled to free school meals. More information about this will follow.
As always, if you wish to discuss this further, please contact the school.
Kind Regards
Mrs Nairne
Wednesday 18th March 2020
Dear Parents and Carers
Following tonight’s announcement by the Education Secretary, Gavin Williamson, we advise you that school will close on Friday, 20 March, at the usual time. The UK government has stated that schools will remain closed until further notice. Children who normally attend Breakfast Club and/or After School Club are able to do so until Friday.
At present, we understand school may remain open from Monday for frontline keyworkers and other identified groups of children. We understand that a definitive list will be published shortly, therefore more details will follow. Tomorrow we will send a GoogleForm questionnaire and request that keyworkers respond to this as a matter of urgency.
We will contact parents individually if their children fall within an identified category.
Your children will be able to access learning through our website from Friday evening. You will find your child’s activities under the homework tab on your child’s class page. Children will be able to upload work and add comments. Further details will follow.
I would like to thank you for your understanding at this difficult time. I would also like to thank those parents who have offered support, our staff really appreciate it.
Please notify the school in the normal way until Friday if your child will be absent. I would also kindly request that you wait for communication from the school over the next two days to allow all staff to continue with teaching as well as forward planning. Please note, our phone lines are still down so email is the best form of communication.
I would like to send you all my best wishes at this very difficult time.
Kindest regards,
Mrs Nairne
Updated 16.03
* Schools will not be closed for the moment
* If one person in any household has a persistent cough or fever, everyone living there must stay at home for 14 days
We will continue to keep you up to date with the most recent guidance. I will be on the gate each morning and after school, so please come and see me if you would like to discuss anything further. You are also welcome to email school and we will get back to you as soon as possible. This is an unsettling time for us all, and we continue to follow advice from Public Health and the DFE. We will pull together as a school community and support each other in any way we can. Thank you for your continued support.
Mrs Nairne
UPDATED: 16.03.20
Thursday 16th March 2020
Updated guidance for education settings on coronavirus (COVID-19)
- staff, young people and children should stay at home if they are unwell with a new, continuous cough or a high temperature to avoid spreading infection to others. Otherwise they should attend education or work as normal
- if staff, young people or children become unwell on site with a new, continuous cough or a high temperature they should be sent home
- clean and disinfect regularly touched objects and surfaces more often than usual using your standard cleaning products
- supervise young children to ensure they wash their hands for 20 seconds more often than usual with soap and water or hand sanitiser and catch coughs and sneezes in tissues
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The updated guidance can be found here:
Current advice remains in place: no education or children’s social care setting should close in response to a suspected or confirmed COVID-19 case unless advised to do so by Public Health England.
The Chief Medical Officer has advised that the impact of closing schools on both children’s education and on the workforce would be substantial, but the benefit to public health may not be. Decisions on future advice to education or children’s social care settings will be taken based on the latest and best scientific evidence, which at this stage suggests children are a lower risk group.
Handwashing advice
The most important thing individuals can do to protect themselves is to wash their hands more often, for at least 20 seconds, with soap and water. Public Health England recommends that in addition to handwashing before eating, and after coughing and sneezing, everyone should also wash hands after using toilets and travelling on public transport.
Watch this short NHS film for guidance:
Department for Education coronavirus helpline
The Department for Education coronavirus helpline is available to answer questions about COVID-19 relating to education and children’s social care. Staff, parents and young people can contact this helpline as follows:
Phone: 0800 046 8687
Opening hours: 8am to 6pm (Monday to Friday), 10am to 4pm (Saturday to Sunday)
Please note, we are currently experiencing high volumes of calls. We appreciate your patience at this time and apologise for any wait that you may experience. To ensure that we answer your calls as quickly as possible we have now extended our opening hours to cover weekends.
If you work in a school, please have your unique reference number (URN or UK PRN) available when calling the hotline.
Where to find the latest information
Updates on COVID-19:
Guidance for educational settings:
Guidance for social or community care and residential settings:
Travel advice for those travelling and living overseas:
Educational resources:
Latest Department for Education information:
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UPDATED: 13.03.20
The government advice is if any pupils or staff members develop symptoms, as listed below, they must stay at home for seven days:
The link to the government advice:- https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-stay-at-home-guidance/stay-at-home-guidance-for-people-with-confirmed-or-possible-coronavirus-covid-19-infection
The most common symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) are recent onset of:
· new continuous cough, and/or high temperature
· a high temperature above 37.8 degrees centigrade
For most people, coronavirus (COVID-19) will be a mild infection.
Anyone who becomes ill during the school day with these symptoms, will be sent home and asked to remain at home for 7 days.
We will continue to prioritise handwashing and hygiene routines for all members of our school community.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office travel advice
As of 10 March, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has updated advice about travel to Italy. The FCO is currently advising:
- against all but essential travel to Italy
- against all travel to Hubei Province, in China
- against all but essential travel to the rest of mainland China
- against all travel to the cities of Daegu, Cheongdo and Gyeongsan in South Korea
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The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is not currently advising against travel to any other country/territory as a result of COVID-19.
The latest travel advice can be found here:
Updated advice for travellers returning from Italy
On 10 March, Public Health England updated its travel advice for travellers returning from Italy. The advice can be found here:
Further information on what you should do if you are asked to self-isolate can be found here:
The importance of hygiene
Personal hygiene is the most important way we can tackle COVID-19, especially washing hands more; and the catch it, bin it, kill it strategy for those with coughs and sneezes.
How to wash your hands properly
Wash your hands more often for 20 seconds with soap and hot water.
Watch this short NHS film for guidance:
Teach young children how to wash their hands with the NHS handwashing song:
Public Health England recommends that in addition to handwashing before eating, and after coughing and sneezing, everyone should also wash hands after using toilets and travelling on public transport.
Educational resources
The e-Bug project is led by Public Health England and has a dedicated webpage for learning resources on hand washing and respiratory hygiene.
Resources are currently available for KS1, KS2 and KS3 and can be used in various settings including schools:
Department for Education coronavirus helpline
The Department for Education coronavirus helpline is available to answer questions about COVID-19 relating to education and children’s social care. Staff, parents and young people can contact this helpline as follows:
Phone: 0800 046 8687
Email: DfE.coronavirushelpline@education.gov.uk
Opening hours: 8am to 6pm (Monday to Friday)
If you work in a school, please have your unique reference number (URN or UKPRN) available when calling the helpline.
Where to find the latest information
Updates on COVID-19:
Guidance for educational settings:
Travel advice for those travelling and living overseas:
Educational resources:
Latest Department for Education information:
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Monday 9
th March 2020
Dear Parents and Carers,
You will already be aware that unfortunately the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in England continues to rise. As a school community, it is vital we do all we can to ensure we are protected. We continue to make sure that all children and staff wash their hands regularly and thoroughly. Our cleaning team have been cleaning more frequently and paying particular attention to areas which children and staff use every day.
All scheduled school trips are currently going ahead, however this remains under review and we will continue to follow the advice from the Department for Education and Public Health. We also currently have no plans to close the school, but we will continue to follow Government advice and work closely with the Local Authority and other schools in Waltham Forest.
Please continue to work closely and communicate with us, especially with the end of term break approaching. We ask you to consider your travel plans and continue to keep us informed.
The advice for all school settings is to follow these guidelines:
- If you have been in contact with someone with Covid-19 or have returned from an affected area identified by the Chief Medical Officer as high risk and you are feeling unwell with a cough, difficulty breathing or fever, stay at home and use the NHS 111 online Coronavirus service or call NHS 111.
| Category 1 countries/areas |
Category 2 countries/areas |
- Wuhan city and Hubei Province (China)
- Iran
- Daegu or Cheongdo (Republic of Korea)
- Any area within Italy under containment measures
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- Cambodia
- China
- Hong Kong
- Italy
- Japan
- Laos
- Macau
- Malaysia
- Myanmar
- Republic of Korea
- Singapore
- Taiwan
- Thailand
- Vietnam
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Category 1: Travellers should
self-isolate, even if asymptomatic, and use the
111 online coronavirus service to find out what to do next. Go home or to your destination and then self-isolate.
Category 2: Travellers do not need to undertake any special measures, but if they develop symptoms they should self-isolate and call NHS 111.
The guidance for Italy, Iran, Daegu or Cheongdo (Republic of Korea), Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia and Vietnam applies to individuals who returned from these specific areas on or after 19 February 2020.
Given the infectious nature of the virus, requests to self-isolate must extend to family members, including spouses and partners. More information can be found on the links below.
www.111.nhs.uk/service/covid-19
https://www.gov.uk/government/topical-events/coronavirus-covid-19-uk-government-response
Information: DfE COVID-19 (Coronavirus) helpline
The Department for Education has launched a new helpline to answer questions about COVID-19 related to education. Staff, parents and young people can contact the helpline as follows:
Phone: 0800 046 8687
Email: DfE.coronavirushelpline@education.gov.uk
Opening hours: 8am to 6pm (Monday to Friday)