Coronavirus Update
March 12th update
The corona virus situation is likely to impact the UK with increasing severity over coming weeks. The school aims to operate 'business as usual' as far as we can. At the present moment there is no change to the operation of the school and we have contingency plans in place should the present situation change.
This website page is our means of communication to you. Any other source of information is unofficial, may be inaccurate and should not be taken notice of. The only exception to this would be a short text message from the school - for example 'football club cancelled'. Any significant change to this advice will be notified by a text containing a link.
Prevention is always better than cure and so if there is a likelihood that you have been exposed to the virus, have had close contact with someone advised to isolate themselves or have recently travlled to highly imapcted countries then please let us know.
If you are not sure about any symptoms that you may have then contact the NHS on 111 to seek advice about whether or not you should attend school and whether your children should be with us.
The school will follow the guidance set out by Public Health England and will update you if and when this changes. At the current moment schools will not close unless advised to do so by Public Health England.
Their advice to prevent the spread of infection is as below...
There is currently no vaccine to prevent COVID-19. The best way to prevent infection is to avoid being exposed to the virus.
There are general principles anyone can follow to help prevent the spread of respiratory viruses, including:
- washing your hands often - with soap and water, or use alcohol sanitiser if handwashing facilities are not available. This is particularly important after taking public transport
- covering your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throwing the tissue in a bin. See Catch it, Bin it, Kill it
- pupils, students, staff and visitors should wash their hands:
- before leaving home
- on arrival at school
- after using the toilet
- after breaks and sporting activities
- before food preparation
- before eating any food, including snacks
- before leaving school
- use an alcohol-based hand sanitiser that contains at least 60% alcohol if soap and water are not available
- avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands
- avoid close contact with people who are unwell
- clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces
- if you are worried about your symptoms or those of your child, please call NHS 111. Do not go directly to your GP or other healthcare environment.
If a member of your family has just returned from an affected area and become unwell then call NHS 111, or 999 in an emergency (if they are seriously ill or injured or their life is at risk), and if appropriate, explain which country they have returned from in the last 14 days. You can do this on their behalf if this is easier. People who become unwell should be advised not to go to their GP, pharmacy, urgent care centre or a hospital.
Whilst you wait for advice from NHS 111 or an ambulance to arrive, try to find somewhere safe for the unwell person to sit which is at least 2 metres away from other people. If possible, find a room or area where they can be isolated behind a shut door, such as a staff office or meeting room. If it is possible to open a window, do so for ventilation. They should avoid touching people, surfaces and objects and be advised to cover their mouth and nose with a disposable tissue when they cough or sneeze and put the tissue in the bin. If no bin is available, put the tissue in a bag or pocket for disposing in a bin later. If you don’t have any tissues available, they should cough and sneeze into the crook of their elbow. The room will need to be cleaned once they leave.
If they need to go to the bathroom whilst waiting for medical assistance, they should use a separate bathroom if available.
Make sure that children and young people know to tell a member of staff if they feel unwell.
The school will let you know if any suspected cases arise and update you with any changes to the above. Hopefully there will be no disruption to the school and the education of our children. Should there be a serious outbreak in our area then it may be necessary to make significant changes to the operation of the school to enable a safe and effective service. This may include reducing timetables and grouping classes to cope with potential staff absences with closing the school as a last resort. We will follow the advice of Public Health England in all instances.
Please spend time with your children to explain the need for good hand washing routines as well as covering mouths and noses when coughing and sneezing.
Feel free to equip your children with pocket tissues.
