Coronavirus guidance

Advice if students (and staff) display symptoms of coronavirus (Covid-19)

If your child develops symptoms of Covid-19, they must not come to school and should remain at home for at least 10 days from the date when their symptoms appeared. Anyone with symptoms will be eligible for testing and this can be arranged via https://www.nhs.uk/ask-for-a-coronavirus-test or by calling 119.

All other household members who remain well, must stay at home and not leave the house for 14 days. This includes anyone in your ‘Support Bubble’.

Further information is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-stay-at-home-guidance/stay-at-homeguidance-for-households-with-possible-coronavirus-covid-19-infection

The 14-day period starts from the day when the first person in the house became ill.

Household members should not go to work, school or public areas and exercise should be taken within the home.

If you require help with buying groceries, other shopping or picking up medication, or walking a dog, you should ask friends or family. Alternatively, you can order your shopping online and medication by phone or online.

Household members staying at home for 14 days will greatly reduce the overall amount of infection the household could pass on to others in the community.

If you are able, move any vulnerable individuals (such as the elderly and those with underlying health conditions) out of your home, to stay with friends or family for the duration of the home isolation period.

Symptoms

The most common symptoms of coronavirus (Covid-19) are recent onset of:  a new continuous cough(this is defined as coughing a lot for more than an hour, or have three or more coughing episodes in 24 hours),  a high temperature (above 37.8C),  a loss of, or change in, your normal sense of taste or smell (anosmia)

For most people, coronavirus (Covid-19) will be a mild illness.

If your child does develop symptoms, you can seek advice from the nhs.uk website: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/check-if-you-have-coronavirus-symptoms/. If you are concerned about your child’s symptoms, or they are worsening you can seek advice from NHS 111 at https://111.nhs.uk/ or by phoning 111.

How to stop Covid-19 spreading

There are things you can do to help reduce the risk of you and anyone you live with getting ill with Covid-19: Do  wash your hands with soap and water often – do this for at least 20 seconds

use hand sanitiser gel if soap and water are not available wash your hands as soon as you get home cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve (not your hands) when you cough or sneeze put used tissues in the bin immediately and wash your hands afterwards.

Further information is available at https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/

Public Health have advised:

As schools and colleges across England return, students may feel unwell for example with a sore throat, aches and pains, a stomach upset, a runny nose, tiredness or a headache. If students have these symptoms (without the temperature, continuous cough or loss of smell symptom), then they don’t need to have a test.

The decision as to whether or not they come to school or stay at home should be taken as you would do in normal times (they are not required to stay off school).

Where a child has a sickness bug, as always, they must be kept off school for 48 hours.

School response to notification of positive Covid-19 cases

We required the following key information from parents/carers when notifying school of a positive Covid-19 test:  the date symptoms started  the date the test was taken  the date the result was received  the names of ‘close contacts’ of the student during social times at school and any students they have spent time with as close contacts after school  the number of the bus if the student caught a bus to/from school.

A close contact is:  a person who has had face to face contact within one metre of the individual testing

positive

 contact within one metre for one minute or longer without face to face contact  someone who has been within 2 metres for more than 15 minutes  a person who has travelled in a small vehicle with the individual testing positive, or near them on a large vehicle or plane.

School then checks lesson seating plans to work out how many close contacts there are from lessons, identifying any students who have sat within 2m of the individual testing positive in any lessons during their contagious time prior to developing symptoms. Individual classrooms are then checked manually to see where the desks are and how much room there is.

Once this information is obtained school contacts Public Health England schools helpline who take down the details. If the case is there is only one in a year group and if school are confident we have identified all close contacts we only need to ask those students to stay off school and to self-isolate for 14 days.

School informs the Local Education Authority and the school nursing team.

If there is more than one case in a year group, or there is uncertainty around close contacts, then school receives a call back from East Midlands Public Health. They go through all of the information, contact parents/carers where there are positive cases and review the school’s risk assessment. East Midlands Public Health then give school advice on what steps to take next.

Important points:

It is really important that parents/carers keep children in their home if they test positive or are asked to self-isolate.

It is key that parents/carers know where their children are and who they are with so close contacts can easily be traced. Unless there is a really urgent situation (such as urgent first aid) staff need to keep 2m away from students and other staff so they are not classed as close contacts. It is key to understand that if you are a close contact and take a test, even if the result is negative, you have to self-isolate for the full 14 days.

Public Health provide school with a template latter to send home to all parents/carers and a different letter for parents/carers of close contacts. We take on board all advice that Public Health give us.

Claire Rifkin Assistant Headteacher

Covid-19 absence: a quick guide for parents/carers

School transport Covid-1 9 notice

Keeping up with learning during absence/when self-isolating

It is always important for students to try to keep up with learning if absent from school. It is fair to say that the risk of absence will probably be greater this year than under normal circumstances due to Covid-19.

Students who are self-isolating will be provided with work which we aim to align as closely as possible to our planned curriculum. Lesson resources and a summary of lesson content and instructions will be placed on Show My Homework. So long as they are well, students are expected to access this work and encouraged to follow their usual timetable as closely as possible. However, they should allow for the fact that lesson content might not be on Show My Homework until later in the day, as teachers may amend resources and instructions so that they line up with the lesson taught in school. Work should be submitted as instructed on Show my Homework.

Please get in touch with your child’s Year Manager if your child is having difficulty accessing work due to lack of suitable technology and we will endeavour to help.

If we do have to ask a whole year group to stay at home for a period of time due to a confirmed Covid case within the year group we currently plan to switch to remote learning during timetabled lesson time.

Meanwhile we are stressing the importance of every minute that we have in the classroom. We love having our students back in school, and doing what we enjoy doing best – teaching them in our classrooms, workshops, sports halls and studios. They have really impressed us with their desire to get on with learning. Long may this continue – fingers crossed in school, but should this not be possible at any time their desire to learn will be extra important in making a success of keeping up from home.

Guide for students accessing information if self-isolating

For any students self-isolating please see the guide below on how to access your school email account, VLE (virtual learning environment) and SMHW (Show My Homework) from the school website.

All resources and communication between school and students will be via these platforms. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7oWZnLde9I&feature=youtu.be

Department for Education coronavirus (COVID-19) helpline

The Department for Education coronavirus (COVID-19) helpline is available to answer questions about COVID-19 relating to education and children’s social care. Staff, parents/carers and young people can contact this helpline by calling 0800 046 8687. Opening hours are Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm.

Mental Health support