COVID19 for Parents

Dear parents and carers,

You will have seen the news about the pace of the infection spreading. This is a very difficult situation to manage, and we are doing our best in the circumstances.

We shared in an email/post yesterday about different options in the event of staffing restrictions. This includes health vulnerabilities and those who have been in contact with others displaying symptoms, or have household members displaying symptoms.

Having collated all the information from staff, we do have staffing shortages and will be running at a reduced capacity. Therefore, we have to carry out option 2 for Tuesday 17th March.

Option 2: School will be open to the following children only, assuming they are not unwell:

• Year 6 pupils and their siblings
• Year 2 pupils and their siblings
• Children who are not able to stay at home because of parental work commitments

At some point tomorrow morning, we will be in touch about work that will be available for children who are not at school.

Thank you for your support in this situation. We apologies for the late message, but as you can imagine, it has been difficult to gather and process the information from our large school community.

Yours sincerely,

Charles Applegate

Head Teacher

General information and events changes

The government have decided to keep schools open, and that is what we are aiming to do!

We want to keep you informed of our actions and decisions.

We are working hard to keep school as normal as possible. Staff are making plans, including having work available for children at home on a daily basis should we partially or fully close.

We also need to be sensible and recognise the severity of the situation, and do our part to help.

Therefore, we will not be having large gatherings such as whole school worship or key stage worship. We will still retain a sense of worship, but on a smaller scale. This is an important part of our school day. Further:

• The Year 3/4 Easter performance will be changing. We have decided that Year 3 will not be taking part (they were supporting with singing), and the Year 4 performance will happen in a different way (which we are still working on). Watch this space.
• After school clubs and “SCL After School Care” are still taking place.
• Friday morning orchestra is cancelled until further notice.
• We will not be attending sports events/competitions at local schools (netball, hockey, football etc).
• Sadly, the orchestra and choir event at QMC on Saturday 21st March has been cancelled. We know the children will be disappointed.
• Parents’ Evenings for 1C this week will still go ahead. No shaking hands, and don’t be offended by sitting 2m away from Mrs Carter!

Please keep an eye on your emails (including spam/junk folders), as this will be our primary form of communication. This links into our website and Facebook pages too.

If your child is absent, please use the normal absence processes each day. Alternatively, please use our online form here.

Possible School Closure Options

If directed by Public Health England or the DfE, we will close the school. However, insufficient staffing levels due to illness may also necessitate a partial or full closure.  We have considered a phased plan with the options below.

Please be ready with a plan for your child care if needed. If options 2-5 have to be put in place, we will let you know by text, email and via the website.

Some of the options below may result in your child being taught in other classes, by different teachers, and with a mix of children. If they have Special Needs (or an EHCP), we will do our upmost to ensure their provision is in place, but can not guarantee ‘normal service’.

If your child has health issues that make them particularly vulnerable, please have a discussion with us.

The closure options are as follows:

Option 1 – ​School open as normal – the default option!

• All pupils attend if well
• All staff attend if well

Option 2 – ​Staffing is predicted to be low. School will be open to the following children only, assuming they are not unwell:

• Year 6 pupils and their siblings
• Year 2 pupils and their siblings
• Children who are not able to stay at home because of parental work commitments

Option 3 – ​Staffing is predicted to be critically low

• Only children who are not able to stay at home (because of parental work commitment) should come in.
• Bridge parents – we will communicate with you directly, although Bridge provision unlikely to be open.
• All children will have work to do – some may need to do it at home though. Instructions will be given.

Option 4 – Insufficient staff for safe opening of the site

• School will be closed to all children.
• All children will have work to do – some may need to do it at home though. Instructions will be given.

Option 5 – ​The school has been instructed to close by LA/Government

• The school will be closed to all children and staff
• Staff will be directed to work at home.
• All children will have work to do – some may need to do it at home though. Instructions will be given.

We are advised that, in the overwhelming majority of situations, there is absolutely no need to close schools or send pupils or staff home.  Obviously, there would be action to be taken in the event of a positive test, but even then our local Health Protection Team will help us stabilise the situation. The government is mindful of the strain on public services like the NHS that would be caused by key workers having to stay home and look after their children as a result of school closures. It is a balancing act!

Showing symptoms during a school day?

If your child, or a member of staff for that matter, is demonstrating symptoms during the school day, we will put them into a friendly isolation room. We will contact parents quickly, so please do respond to school calls/messages asap. Thank you.

Self-Isolating

Taken from the NHS website – Stay at home if you have coronavirus symptoms. Stay at home for 7 days 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.

Read the NHS advice about staying at home.

If you have these symptoms, then you must now take steps to stay at home and may not leave your house for seven days from when your symptoms started. This will help to protect others in the community while you are infectious. Anyone displaying symptoms should not go to a GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital. 

If you need to self-isolate, you do not need to contact NHS 111 to tell them you are staying at home and Public Health England will not be testing people who are self-isolating with mild symptoms. If you continue to be ill after 7 days, then you must then contact 111 to get advice.

You must report your absence in the normal way by phoning or emailing the school office, giving reasons for the absence.

You can view the guidance around self-isolation here.

If you have any concerns, you can call the DfE helpline Phone: 0800 046 8687 or email them between 8am to 6pm (Monday to Friday).

If you have health conditions that make you vulnerable, please do speak to a member of the senior leadership team.

Dear parents and carers,

A few updates!

1) SOAP – We appreciate the fact that the hand washing regime is challenging. The children are amazing – they have adapted to it very well. However, we also recognise the dry skin and itching it can cause. Therefore, if needed, we are allowing you to send your child in with your preferred soap. School soap is obviously still available. Again, please be mindful of ingredients – it must not have nut, almond or coconut oil as an ingredient (allergies!). Please also label it! Finally, just to confirm that soap in the toilets is checked daily, and refilled during the day where needed.

2) CLOSING – Whilst the government have decided not to close schools, we don’t know what the next days and weeks will bring. IE At some point, we may close (partially or fully). We are very mindful of the implications of this for parents, and the decision is never taken easily. I can see three main reasons why we would close : (a) the government decide it (b) a case within the school is confirmed, and may require a deep clean or (c) staffing levels become low meaning that we cannot safely run the school. Therefore, please have a think through options in terms of childcare.

3) HOME WORK – If we were to close, we will endeavour to give work out to be done at home. We will be mindful that not everyone will have access to the internet, or be able to print. We are not sending work home now in the eventuality of closing, but rather if and when we close, we will then email out details of work that can be done. We are thinking through online options as well as practical activities. The ‘home’ work may not be available immediately, as it will take us time to put it all together.

4) STAY AT HOME ? – Government announcements move fast, and establishing exactly what the implications are can be tricky. Current guidance is that only the person who is displaying symptoms needs to self-isolate, and not the whole family. See ‘Stay at home guidance‘ from the government.

5) SCHOOL EVENTS – We are thinking through different school events coming up before the Easter break. We have not yet made decisions around cancelling them, and will inform you of any updates in due course.

6) ABSENCE – If your child is unwell, our normal absence procedures apply – please inform the school office by phone or email. Please do give details for the absence.

7) SCHOOL DINNERS – HC3S (our catering company) have informed us that we may need to run a reduced menu for school dinners, if staff absences require it.

Thank you for your ongoing support in these uncertain times.

Charles Applegate

Dear parents and carers,

With the number of confirmed cases growing nationally, so will the number of people who have come into contact with a confirmed case, or who know someone who has (ie secondary or by association).

You may be aware of information from Dandelions regarding COVID-19. We wanted to share further information so as not to cause alarm and to ensure facts are correct.

1) There has *not* been a confirmed case at Dandelions (nor at St Mark’s for that matter).

2) Two different parents have been in touch today to say that they, or someone close to them, have been in contact with another person who has a  suspected or confirmed case of coronavirus. No symptoms are being displayed. Both have liaised fully with 111. They and their children are choosing to self-isolate as a precaution until they know anything further.

3) As a school, I have been in touch with the Department for Education advice line. They have confirmed that there is no need to close, carry out a deep clean of the school, or change our normal operation. I explained what we are currently doing – including our current additional cleaning arrangements – and this was very satisfactory.

4) We understand that this could be concerning to you as parents and carers, and hence we wanted to be open with you. The advice from the DfE is to remain open, and children should continue to attend school unless informed otherwise.

5) As previously shared, if your child is displaying the symptoms of the coronavirus (a cough, high temperature or shortness of breath), then please refer to NHS guidelines, and phone 111. According to the NHS website, “You only need to stay away from public places (self-isolate) if advised to by the 111 online coronavirus service or a medical professional.” As a school, we are unable to provide medical information.

6) As previously shared, should we need to pass on any updates, we will do so through website and email, and possibly text. We will update you if we feel there are significant updates. We are also reviewing strategies for home learning should the need arise.

Please do not hesitate to contact the school should you wish to discuss this further. Thank you for your cooperation in these unknown circumstances.

Kind regards, Charles Applegate, Head Teacher.

Helpful Information:

Dear parents and carers,

Thank you for your understanding and support with the current situation around hand washing. We are all adjusting to the extra tasks, and wanted to clarify a few points:

• The Department for Education (DfE) guidance is for children to wash hands at key times each day, plus after going to the toilet. We are following this guidance, and this is why your children may be talking about washing hands a lot. It is usually at least 4 times per day, often more. They are managing this well.
• We appreciate the impact this has on children’s skin. Therefore, if you would like to, please send your child in with a moisturiser under the following conditions:
  1. It does not have nut, almond or coconut oil as an ingredient (allergies!).
  2. You discuss with your child about using small amounts – children like to use lots, and the moisturiser then goes everywhere – including on their books and clothes when it hasn’t fully dried. Please also ask them not to share it with other children.
  3. It is labelled with your child’s name on it– we will take this as permission for your child to use it.
  4. Please avoid oily products such as Vaseline or Sudacrem, as this creates an oily film everywhere.
  5. Your child should give the moistuiser to their teacher, and it will be stored within the classroom.
• All children will continue to use the school soap provided. Unfortunately hand sanitiser is simply not available (it can only be supplied to the NHS). We do ask that individual soap/sanitiser is not sent in, unless it is prescribed. Any prescriptions must go via the office, and a form completed.

If you have any questions, please contact the school directly.

Kind regards, Charles Applegate