17th March 2020 - Coronavirus Update
Tuesday 17th March 2020
Dear parents/ carers,
Coronavirus Update
As you are no doubt aware, the government’s guidance on the coronavirus has changed from the ‘contain’ phase to one of delaying the spread of the virus. I am writing to let you know what we are doing in light of this, and what we expect from all of you, to help make sure our school community keeps safe and calm.
I would like to reassure you that we are taking all of the necessary steps to protect our school community and are continuing to follow official guidance from the government and Stockport MBC.
What’s the current situation?
- The school remains open – this is the current official guidance we have been given.
- All essential school functions continue to run as normal (including the Hub, our Breakfast club and after-school clubs)
- We are managing provision for SEND pupils in these challenging times but support may be different as now we have significant staff absence
- In line with current advice, we are now avoiding large gatherings of people in the school as far as possible
- Therefore, the parents’ evenings scheduled for the end of March and the X Factor will be postponed
- Parents’ assembly audiences will be significantly reduced to parents only (audiences should follow current self-isolating advice if it is relevant to them)
- Swimming lessons are scheduled to continue for the moment as recommended by Stockport LA but this may change in the very near future
- All sporting competitions organised by Stockport Shapes Alliance have been postponed
What you should do if your child is ill
Pupils should attend school unless they feel unwell – if your child has any of the following symptoms they must remain at home for 14 days:- a new, continuous cough and/or
- a temperature of 37.8 degrees celsius or higher.
- If your child is unwell, report this by phoning the school office before 9.30AM
- Your child must also remain at home for 14 days if anybody in their household has a persistent cough or fever
- We’ll keep you up to date with any changes to the current situation
What we’re doing to protect and support pupils and staff
- If a pupil feels ill on the school premises, we will inform their parent/carers immediately and isolate the child until they are collected from school
- Additional monitoring of hand washing is scheduled at specific points of the day and regular reinforcement of hand washing lessons by staff
What we need you to do
- You will be required to collect your child straight away; if we ask you to (we will contact you if they become ill with either a temperature or a new, continuous cough)
- If you have recently changed your contact details, please inform the school office as soon as possible via email [email protected]
- Talk to your children about the coronavirus. It’s a scary time and we should make sure children feel supported. BBC Newsround has regular updates for children
What happens if the school has to close?
There are currently no plans to close. We’ll only close if we’re either officially advised to do so or we don’t have enough healthy staff to run the school safely. (This could be a possibility, as our staff will also have to follow self-isolating advice).
In either case, we will:
- Inform parents/carers via email, school spider and on our website
- Inform parents/carers in the same way with details regarding when the school will be reopened
- We will set work that can be accessed remotely via the school website or other educational website providers
If you have any questions
Please consult the:
- School office, if you have any questions about our response to this issue
- NHS, if you want to know more about the symptoms of coronavirus. If you think you or your child may have the symptoms, use NHS 111 online if at all possible before calling 111
- Department for Education’s coronavirus helpline: 0800 046 8687, if you have any questions about the government’s response to coronavirus in relation to schools
- Daily update on Covid 19 https://www.gov.uk/government/topical-events/coronavirus-covid-19-uk-government-reponse
Thank you for your continued support in this difficult and ever-changing situation.
Yours sincerely,
Simon Langley,
Headteacher