Latest Coronavirus Guidance
Staying at home guidance
On Monday 23rd March, the Prime Minister addressed the nation on coronavirus (COVID-19) and asked people to stay at home, except for very limited purposes.
There is no change in guidance for education settings, which remain closed except for the children of critical workers and vulnerable children. We continue to ask that parents keep their children at home, wherever possible.
The full stay at home guidance is available at:
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· https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/full-guidance-on-staying-at-home-and-away-from-others |
Coronavirus update – school closure to most pupils
Unfortunately, I’m now writing to let you know that we have now been instructed to close the school to almost all children after Friday 20th March until further notice.
As advised by the government, we will do all we can to stay open for the children of key workers (e.g. NHS staff, police, supermarket delivery drivers and others in frontline services that the government are due to announce) and children with certain needs. The headlines from the announcement last night from The Secretary of State are:
Schools will close after Friday for all pupils except for
- Children of Keyworkers
- Children who have named social workers
- Children with EHCPlans.
- Where possible it is hoped that this group of children will also be able to attend school through the Easter holiday.
- Children entitled to Free School Meals will be issued with vouchers to have a meal every day the school is closed.
- All exams are cancelled.
Caring for Vulnerable children and young adults online information resources and support
We realise that during the Coronavirus pandemic, many of you will have worries and concerns for caring for vulnerable children and young adults, there are lots of online resources and organisations that provide support and information;
Carers UK - https://www.carersuk.org/help-and-advice/health/looking-after-your-health/coronavirus-covid-19
Mind - https://www.mind.org.uk/
The Samaritans - https://www.samaritans.org/
Wellchild - https://www.wellchild.org.uk/2020/03/11/covid-19-information-for-parents-and-carers/
National Autistic Society- https://www.autism.org.uk/services/nas-schools/vanguard/news/2020/march/coronavirus-(covid-19)-advice.aspx
Mencap - https://www.mencap.org.uk/advice-and-support/health/coronavirus
Place2Be – https://www.place2be.org.uk/about-us/news-and-blogs/2020/march/coronavirus-information-for-children/
Young Minds - https://youngminds.org.uk/blog/talking-to-your-child-about-coronavirus/
Covibook – https://www.mindheart.co/descargables
Amaze - https://amazesussex.org.uk/faqs-about-the-coronavirus-for-parent-carers-of-children-with-send-brighton-hove/
New guidance for households with symptoms
On Monday 16th March, the Government introduced new guidance on whole household isolation in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak:
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if you live alone and you have symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19), however mild, stay at home for 7 days from when your symptoms started if you live with others and you or another member of the household have symptoms of coronavirus, then all household members must stay at home and not leave the house for 14 days. The 14-day period starts from the day when the first person in the house became ill. It is likely that people living within a household will infect each other or be infected already. Staying at home for 14 days will greatly reduce the overall amount of infection the household could pass on to others in the community · for anyone in the household who starts displaying symptoms, they need to stay at home for 7 days from when the symptoms appeared, regardless of what day they are on in the original 14-day isolation period. |
The symptoms are:
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· A high temperature (37.8 degrees and above) · A new, continuous cough |
The full stay at home guidance for households with these symptoms can be found here:
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· https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-stay-at-home-guidance |
The Prime Minister’s statement from Monday 16 March can be found here:
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· https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/pm-statement-on-coronavirus-16-march-2020 |
Handwashing advice
The most important thing individuals can do to protect themselves is to wash their hands more often, for at least 20 seconds, with soap and water. Public Health England recommends that in addition to handwashing before eating, and after coughing and sneezing, everyone should also wash hands after using toilets and travelling on public transport.
Watch this short NHS film for guidance:
Where to find the latest information
Updates on COVID-19:
Guidance for educational settings:
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· https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-educational-settings-about-covid-19 |
Guidance for social or community care and residential settings:
Travel advice for those travelling and living overseas:
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· https://www.gov.uk/guidance/travel-advice-novel-coronavirus |
Educational resources:
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· https://campaignresources.phe.gov.uk/resources/campaigns/101-coronavirus-/resources |
Latest Department for Education information:
