Coronavirus

 

Please inform our school on the first day of symptoms so we can mark your child absent correctly.

School Closure Letter

School Coronavirus Update Letter – 16 March 2020

We have received the attached document from Harrow Council which you may find useful in maintaining the children’s wellbeing during these unprecedented times.

The Educational Psychology Service (EPS) have prepared the document to support the children in the home to aid their well-being.

We trust you will find it useful.

Well being tips for children for families – from Harrow Council

Stay at home if you have coronavirus symptoms

This information is from https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/ we suggest you bookmark this page that is currently being regularly updated

Stay at home if you have either:

  • a high temperature – you feel hot to touch on your chest or back
  • a new, continuous cough – this means you’ve started coughing repeatedly

Do not go to a GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital.

You do not need to contact 111 to tell them you’re staying at home.

Testing for coronavirus is not needed if you’re staying at home.

How long to stay at home

  • if you have symptoms, stay at home for 7 days
  • if you live with other people, they should stay at home for 14 days from the day the first person got symptoms

If you live with someone who is 70 or over, has a long-term condition, is pregnant or has a weakened immune system, try to find somewhere else for them to stay for 14 days.

If you have to stay at home together, try to keep away from each other as much as possible.

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

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:

• https://www.gov.uk/guidance/travel-advice-novel-coronavirus
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:
• https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-information-for-the-public
Further information on what you should do if you are asked to self-isolate can be found here:
• https://publichealthmatters.blog.gov.uk/2020/02/20/what-is-self-isolation-and-why-is-it-important/

Government Coronavirus action plan

Yesterday, the Coronavirus action plan was launched. This document sets out what the UK as a whole has done to tackle the Coronavirus (COVID-19), and what it plans to do next.

The action plan can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-action-plan

The document includes:

  • what we know about the virus and the disease it causes
  • how we have planned for an infectious disease outbreak, such as the current coronavirus outbreak
  • the actions we have taken so far in response to the current coronavirus outbreak
  • what we are planning to do next, depending upon the course the current coronavirus outbreak takes
  • the role the public can play in supporting this response, now and in the future

Current advice remains in place: No school should close in response to a suspected (or confirmed) COVID-19 case unless advised to do so by Public Health England.

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.

Please help us in sharing simple and effective hand hygiene messages.

https://twitter.com/NHSuk/status/1235112744917049346

Public Health England has a dedicated webpage with a range of posters and digital materials at:

https://campaignresources.phe.gov.uk/resources/campaigns/101-coronavirus-/resources

Sign up is quick, free and means you will be alerted as more resources are made available.

Department for Education Coronavirus helpline

On Monday we 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: [email protected]
Opening hours: 8am to 6pm (Monday to Friday)

Where to find the latest information

Updates on COVID-19:

Guidance for educational settings:

Travel advice for those travelling and living overseas:

 

 

03/03/20 Dear Parents / Carers
The advice continues to be regular handwashing and we would also ask that you ensure the school has up to date contact details in case we need to contact you. Please do keep up to date with developments via the links below and Public Health England annoucements.

We have received the following information from the Department for Education.
Department for Education Coronavirus helpline
Yesterday, we 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: [email protected]
Opening hours: 8am to 6pm (Monday to Friday)
Where to find the latest information
Updates on COVID-19:
• https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus
Travel advice for those travelling and living overseas:
• https://www.gov.uk/guidance/travel-advice-novel-coronavirus

 

Dear Parents and Carers,

We are continuing to keep you updated on the government’s response to COVID-19 (Coronavirus).
Public Health England advises that the risk to individuals in the UK remains low.

Advice for those who have travelled recently

Yesterday (Tuesday), the Chief Medical Advisor for England, Chris Whitty updated advice for travellers returning to the UK from specific areas affected by COVID-19, which you can find at:
https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus
Please share this guidance and cascade as appropriate.

If you have returned from the following specific areas since 19th February, you should call NHS 111 and stay indoors and avoid contact with other people even if you do not have symptoms:
• Iran
• Specific lockdown areas in Northern Italy (see link to maps below)
• Special care zones in South Korea (see link to maps below)
• Hubei province (returned in the past 14 days – see link to maps below)

If you have returned from the following areas since 19 February and develop symptoms, however mild, you should stay indoors at home and avoid contact with other people immediately and call NHS 111:
• Northern Italy (defined by a line above, and not including, Pisa, Florence and Rimini – see link to maps below)
• Vietnam
• Cambodia
• Laos
• Myanmar

If you have a cough, or fever or shortness of breath and have visited any of the following areas in the last 14 days, stay indoors and call NHS 111 informing them of your recent travel:
• China, apart from Hubei province (see link to maps below)
• Thailand
• Japan
• Republic of Korea, apart from special care zones (see link to maps below)
• Hong Kong
• Taiwan
• Singapore
• Malaysia
• Macau

Maps showing affected regions of China, Republic of Korea and Italy
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-specified-countries-and-areas

Advice for those who have travelled recently in a group, such as a school trip
There is no need to manage returning groups any differently. Pupils, students and staff returning from trips to the countries specified above should follow the same advice.

Where to find the latest information
Public Health England blog:
https://publichealthmatters.blog.gov.uk/2020/01/23/wuhan-novel-coronavirus-what-you-need-to-know/

Guidance for educational settings
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-educational-settings-about-covid-19

Please find below information received from the borough which we have been asked to circulate.

Coronavirus (COVID-19): Advice for parents/guardians

You should not be unduly worried about the possibility of your children catching the Coronavirus.

There is no reason why your children should not continue to attend their early years, school or further education setting as normal.

If you are intending to travel abroad this half term

We recognise that some families or children may be planning to travel abroad this half term to countries where there is a higher risk of transmission.

The affected countries are: China, Hong Kong, Japan, Macau, Malaysia, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand.
If so, please refer to https://travelhealthpro.org.uk/…/novel-coronavirus-2019-nco… for the latest travel advice.

Returning from abroad or visitors from abroad

Anyone travelling to UK from Wuhan or Hubei Province in the past 14 days should stay indoors and call NHS 111, even if they have no symptoms.

Anyone who has travelled to the UK from the countries listed above in the last 14 days and is experiencing cough or fever or shortness of breath, should stay indoors and call NHS 111, even if symptoms are mild.

Public Health England has also issued general advice for members of the public https://www.gov.uk/…/wuhan-novel-coronavirus-information-fo…

What actions can everyone take

A UK wide campaign has been launched to provide clear advice on how to slow the spread of Coronavirus.

Please help to support the campaign which promotes basic hygiene practices to stem the spread of viruses: these include regularly washing hands with soap and water and always sneezing or coughing into a tissue and then disposing of it.

Further information is available from https://publichealthmatters.blog.gov.uk/…/wuhan-novel-coro…/ which is updated regularly.

Carole Furlong
Director of Public Health