Coronavirus Updates

Monday 16th March

We have taken the decision this morning to stop all external visitors coming into school unless absolutely necessary. As a result, we are cancelling all afterschool clubs run by external providers until further notice. This includes Musical Theatre, Singing, We Are Adventurers, SportsPoint, French, Creative Writing and Marvellous Maths.

As they are run by school staff members, Kieran’s sports clubs (Reception Multisports, KS1 Football, KS2 Invasion Games, KS2 Football) and Netball and Girls’ Football will still go ahead as normal.

To avoid heavy levels of traffic in the foyer area, we are going to be dismissing children from these afterschool clubs in the playground. This will start today (Monday 16th March) and continue until further notice.

Owl Club will be releasing their children via the side door by the hall, so please access this via the gate on Nicolas Road. No parents will be permitted to come through the main entrance to collect their child from a club. Those dropping off at Early Birds will be asked to drop their child off at the usual door, rather than bringing them into the building.

As mentioned in the email we sent out to all parents on Friday, we are preparing work for children to do in case of school closure due to Coronavirus. This work will be web-based, therefore we are asking parents to let us know if they do not have access to the internet at home and we will try our best to provide non-web-based work for your child to do in the event of a school closure. Please contact Ellie Linton in the school office if you do not have access to the internet at home.

Finally, it is very important that we have up to date contact details for all parents/carers so that we can continue to keep you informed on any new developments. If you have a new telephone number or email address and have not informed the school office, please do so as soon as possible.

Friday 13th March

In light of the recent developments with coronavirus and in line with population distancing measures we have taken the decision as a school to cancel all parent events in school for the foreseeable future. This includes class assemblies, PTA coffee morning, Stay & Plays, Stay & Read and the Parent Forum.

We cannot confirm at this stage whether Hoot Camp will be taking place over the Easter holidays, so for now you can register your interest on the usual page on the website. We will keep you posted regarding Parents Evening, as this was due to take place in the week after the Easter holidays.

If your child has developed a cough and/or a fever (above 37.8) in the last week, please follow government advice and self-isolate for 7 days. This is regardless of whether or not you or your child has travelled abroad. This absence will be authorised given the unprecedented circumstances.

If at any time your child is tested for Covid-19, please inform the school, regardless of the outcome.

This article has some useful advice on how to speak to your child about coronavirus if they are worried about it- please note that this is an American article so please don’t call any of the helpline numbers!

We will continue to promote good hand washing and hygiene routines with the children as put forward by Public Health England. We will continue to update you as and when we receive further information. You can see the latest guidance through the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/topical-events/coronavirus-covid-19-uk-government-response

We do not have any diagnosed cases of Covid-19 at Oswald Road currently and we’d like to thank you for your support and vigilance during this difficult time.

At the moment the government is not closing schools in England, however as a school we are planning work for children to do at home in case this situation changes. We will send the full details of this out to parents via email if the school does close.

——————————————————————————————————————-

We are continuing to keep you updated on the government’s response to COVID-19 (Coronavirus).

Department for Education Coronavirus helpline

The DfE have 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: DfE.coronavirushelpline@education.gov.uk
Opening hours: 8am to 6pm (Monday to Friday)

You can also get in touch with Public Health England North West via the contacts below:

Helpline (office hours): 0344 225 0562 (Option 1)

Helpline (out of hours): 0151 434 4819

Email: ICC.Northwest@phe.gov.uk

The importance of hygiene

Personal hygiene is the most important way we can tackle COVID-19. Please help us in sharing simple and effective hand hygiene messages.

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.

Where to find the latest information

Updates on COVID-19:
https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus

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

Travel advice for those travelling and living overseas:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/travel-advice-novel-coronavirus