Message from the Headteacher

As you will be aware there is a public health concern around Covid19 (Corona virus). I wanted to take this opportunity to reassure you that, as a school, we are taking the situation seriously and have control factors in place. Each day I receive updates from the Department for Education (DfE), Department of Health (DoH) and Public Health England (PHE) containing the latest available information and precautions that we can take to protect the children, families and staff. Currently we are continuing to educate the children who are well enough to attend and not self isolating however, this is kept under constant review and is subject to dynamic risk assessments.

How you can help to slow the spread of Coronavirus.

• Make sure you and your children follow these general principles to prevent spreading any respiratory virus:
• Wash your hands often – with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, or an alcohol-based sanitiser if soap and water aren’t available.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
• Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
• If you feel unwell, stay at home and don’t attend work or school.
• Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in a bin.
• Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces in the home.
• If you’re worried about your symptoms, please call NHS 111 – don’t go directly to your GP or other healthcare environments.

What’s the current situation?

• The school remains open – this is the current official guidance we’ve been given
• All school functions continue to run as normal including Breakfast Club
• From today 17th March, children who are off school with a cough or temperature will need to remain absent for 14 days.  This has also been extended to include other family members whether they have symptoms or not.  So if your child is currently off school, please ensure they are off for 14 days and also keep off any siblings in the family.  
• If your child is unwell, report this as you would normally by calling the school absence line 01233 756274
• Parents should make their own decision and whatever decision you make the Headteacher will fully support.  Under these exceptional circumstances we would rather a child miss school for a short period of time rather than put relatives at risk. 

What we’re doing to protect and support pupils and staff

• All staff who are following the guidelines issues by the government. No member of staff is allowed to attend school if they fall into the category of people who should self-isolate. Any member of staff who feels unwell is required to speak to the Headteacher and a decision is made as to whether or not they are fit to be in work in line with current advice.
• Any child who has the symptoms that require isolation they, and any brothers or sisters, are required to stay away from school and the family advised to self-isolate for 14 days in line with national guidance.
• If a pupil is feeling ill on the school premises, we will take their temperature and call parents. Children will immediately be isolated and taken care of until their parent arrives to collect them
• The school has an enhanced daily cleaning regime which is regularly reviewed.
• We will continue to enforce hand-washing and providing hand sanitiser

What happens if the school has to close?

We’ll only close if we’re either officially advised to do so by the Department for Education or Public Health England or we don’t have enough staff to run the school.

In either case, we will:

• Alert parents to closure, via text, email and a post on our website
• Let parents know when the school will be reopened via test, email and post on our website.
• Details regarding set work for pupils during closure and what we’ll expect parents to do will be sent home via email and posted on the class pages on our website if the situation arises where the school is closed.