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• COVID-19 Update for Parents/Carers - 15/09/2020

  Tue 15 Sep 2020 Guy Chappell

  15 September 2020

   

  Dear Parents/Carers

    

  Covid-19 Update:

  What will happen if a pupil and / or staff member display Covid-19 symptoms in school

    

  I am sorry to write so soon.  However, the current situation regarding Covid-19 locally and nationally is ‘dynamic’ and, following my recent letter, I need to update you on Trust processes and procedures. 

    

  It is being widely reported that there are issues with accessing Covid-19 testing and delays in receiving test results.  Public Health have committed to testing and results being received within 48 hours but, due to the issues with testing capacity, this is proving not to be the case locally. 

    

  The Trust will continue to review its approach in line with Government guidance and will do everything we can to reduce Covid-19 risk in schools, but, as I have previously stated, we cannot guarantee a Covid-19 free environment.  

    

  I want to update you on the process should a pupil and / or staff member display symptoms in school.  If a staff member or pupil show one or more potential symptoms (listed below) in school they will be isolated, sent home, and asked to book a Covid-19 test.  Covid-19 symptoms: 

    

  • A high temperature – this means you feel hot to touch on your chest or back (you do not need to measure your temperature) 
  • A new, continuous cough – this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours (if you usually have a cough, it may be worse than usual) 
  • A loss or change to your sense of smell or taste – this means you have noticed you cannot smell or taste anything, or things smell or taste different to normal 

   

  If test results are delayed (beyond 2 school days), Trust schools will contact parents and staff within the bubble, by telephone to advise that possible Covid-19 symptoms are being investigated. School based staff will be able to discuss options with you about what interim measures will be put in place to support pupils until test results are received.  This may include you deciding to keep your child at home until we receive the test result if you wish. 

   

  To be clear, we will only follow this process if:  

  1. Symptoms develop while in school/on transport to or from school and 
  2. Test results have not been received after 2 school days 

   

  Should a pupil, a member of the family, or a member of staff display symptoms whilst at home, please inform the school and follow national guidance. 

    

  It is a complex, dynamic situation and I can only apologise for the complexity.  I thank you your co-operation.  Please continue to communicate with your school if you have any questions or queries. 

   

   

  Yours sincerely 

   

   

  Guy Chappell

  Executive Director

  Special Partnership Trust

• SEPTEMBER 2020 Update Letter from Caroline Jewell (Headteacher)

  Fri 04 Sep 2020 Caroline Jewell

  Dear Parents and Carers

  I hope you are well and had a good summer.

  The Autumn Term at school starts on Tuesday 8 September and we are very much looking forward to welcoming our whole school community back.  Following my previous letter in July where I highlighted the main health and safety measures the school has implemented, I would like to remind you of some of the key points and to reassure you that we have been working hard on our plans for the full school re-opening ensuring that we:

  • fulfil the expectations required of us
  • ensure that the safety of everyone is paramount in all our decisions and actions
  • continue to provide a high quality, well balanced curriculum to best support our pupils in their education
  • have carried out a full risk assessment of the school sites.

   Key information:

  • Your child will be in a class ‘bubble’ and there will be minimal movement of students around the school. Each ‘bubble’ will access the school facilities at different times and these areas and equipment will be cleaned after each use.
  • Students will access a full curriculum including additional timetabled opportunities to support the re-connection of relationships, PSHE, wellbeing and physical activities.  A re-connection curriculum will be in place for the first half term.
  • Pupils will be baselined in the first few weeks to identify any attainment gaps and to provide additional support where needed.  Literacy and numeracy will continue be a whole school priority including reading and phonics.
  • The majority of children will be expected to attend school unless they are unwell.  Please contact the school office to notify school of your child’s absence.  Children who have been advised by their GP/specialist care team to continue to shield will not be expected to be in school.
  • Hot lunches will be available as normal.  To reduce the number of pupils and staff in communal areas, lunches will be eaten in classrooms.

   

  How will the school limit the risk of infection for my child?

  All students will have lunch in classrooms and there will be no whole school gatherings such as assemblies for the first part of the Autumn Term.  These will be replaced by a virtual assembly, which will be watched by children in multiple classrooms.  Swimming at the leisure centre will not take place in the Autumn Term.

  • School will be cleaned regularly throughout the school day including surfaces, door handles and equipment
  • Any students who are unwell will stay at home.  Any students arriving in school with symptoms of Covid-19 will be sent home
  • We will ensure good respiratory hygiene promoting the ‘catch it, bin it, kill it’ approach
  • Everyone will wash their hands regularly and use hand sanitiser
  • Break times will be staggered and timetables will be in place for shared facilities to be used at different times of the school day
  • Staff will collect children from transport vehicles at the start and end of the school day to limit the number of visitors in the school
  • Students will use different entrances and exits to limit the traffic in the main corridors.  A member of SLT will be outside on Tuesday 8 September to support parents dropping their children to school
  • The number of visitors in the school will be limited throughout the Autumn Term.  Any visitors who do attend school will be asked to wear face masks when in close proximity with pupils and in communal areas
  • Classrooms will be rearranged to ensure desks are facing the front of the class and classroom surfaces will be clear to facilitate easy cleaning throughout the school day.

   

  Before Your Child Leaves Home in the Morning

  Please check for any of the following symptoms:

   

  • a high temperature (38⁰ or above)

  • a new, continuous cough
  • a loss of, or change to the sense of smell or taste

   

  If any of these symptoms are evident do not send them to school (even if you believe symptoms are not Covid related we will still have to follow the procedure of asking for pupils to be collected immediately and tested in line with the guidance), please contact school to notify of your child’s absence.

   

  How will the school manage children or staff who develop symptoms during the school day?

  If a child shows symptoms whilst in school, they will be isolated in the designated room. The staff member/s will be required to wear full PPE when supporting the child.  Parents/carers will be contacted immediately and asked to collect their child from school.  Parents/carers will not be required to enter the building themselves, to limit the potential spread of any infection.

  • The person with symptoms must be tested as soon as possible and, if positive, will have to isolate for 10 days.  If the test is negative the individual can return to school.  The school carries on as normal unless a positive result is received
  • If the test is positive, the people they live with must isolate for 14 days
  • If anyone in the class tests positive, the class ‘bubble’ and those who have had close contact must isolate for 14 days - see below.
  • If your child or a family member experiences any of the coronavirus symptoms, they cannot come to school.  We will ask the family to request a test.  We ask that parents and staff inform the school immediately of the outcome of any test

  We ask that parents/carers whose child has been identified as having a suspected case of Covid-19 should seek immediate medical advice.  The guidance says ‘Anyone who displays symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) can and should get a test.’  If no test is undertaken, then we expect children to self-isolate according to the Public Health England guidance here:

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

   

  What if there is a confirmed case at the school?

  In line with DfE guidance, the school will:

  • engage with the NHS Test and Trace process. 

  We ask that parents and staff inform the school immediately of the outcome of any test;

  • manage confirmed cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) amongst the school community.  The school will contact parents with a notification of a confirmed infection including which ‘bubble’ this may affect.  We will not share the names or details of people suspected of having or confirmed to have coronavirus;
  • contain any outbreak by following local health protection team advice.  For the avoidance of doubt, the advice says that we ‘must send home those people who have been in close contact with the person who has tested positive, advising them to self-isolate for 14 days since they were last in close contact with that person when they were infectious’.

   

  ‘Close contact’ now means:

  • face to face contact with an infected individual for any length of time, within 1 metre, including being coughed on, a face-to-face conversation, or unprotected physical contact (skin-to-skin);
  • proximity contacts - extended close contact (within 1 to 2 metres for more than 15 minutes) with an infected individual;
  • travelling in a small vehicle, like a car, with an infected person.

   

  The school will contact parents and request they collect their child from the school immediately.

   

  Households with a confirmed case of Coronavirus should follow the advice regarding isolation laid out by Public Health England here:

  https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-stay-at-home-guidance

  As part of the national test and trace programme, if other cases are detected within the school, Public Health England’s local Health Protection teams will advise schools and other settings on the steps to be taken. 

  Finally, although there are some restrictions in place, we fully intend to continue with our normal ambitious and broad curriculum in all subjects from the start of the Autumn Term.  All staff are fully committed to providing a welcoming, inspiring and ambitious learning experience for all children. This will be a year where we will rely on your continued support and, as our learning community may see many changes over the next few months, we will no doubt have to be flexible and supportive of one another.  We appreciate your continued efforts and cooperation to support the wider school re-opening.

  Kind regards

  Yours sincerely

   

  Caroline Jewell

  Headteacher

   

• September 2020 Update Letter from Guy Chappell (Director of SPT)

  Fri 04 Sep 2020 Guy Chappell

  Dear Parent/Carer

   

  THE SPECIAL PARTNERSHIP TRUST COVID-19 AUTUMN TERM UPDATE

   

  I wanted to take this opportunity to update you on the Trust’s current position preparing for the Autumn Term 2020.  We are very much looking forward to welcoming back all pupils and staff this term.  By working together we can create a safe learning environment.  School staff will continue to keep in contact with you during the next few weeks.  Headteachers will have also written to you outlining the plans for the start of term.  Schools have planned based on the assumption that pupils and staff will be returning to school in the Autumn Term.  

   

  During the summer holiday period, each School and Area Resource Base (ARB) across the Trust received a thorough deep clean.  There is Personal Protection Equipment available at each school and Area Resource Base.

   

  The Trust is following Government advice with regards to implementing Covid-19 protective measures and the use of face coverings/masks in schools and ARBs.  Where there is ‘local lockdown’ or high transmission rates the use of face coverings in school will become mandatory.  Currently, the use of face coverings in Trust Schools and ARBs for staff and pupils is optional.  Schools have been asked to put in a system of controls which are shown to be effective in reducing the risk of transmission:

   

  • keeping unwell children (and staff) away from school
  • social distancing (1m +) and consistent contact bubbles (quite often a year group now for secondary schools)
  • good, effective and regular hand hygiene (washing for 20 seconds)
  • respiratory hygiene – what to do if coughing or sneezing, and the disposal of tissues
  • cleaning all frequently touched surfaces regularly

   

  Our focus is on the measures outlined above.  Should parents want their children to wear face coverings in communal areas this is permissible under the current guidance but we need to point out that it does not negate application of the other control measures and that there are additional hand hygiene measures that we would want pupils to undertake when taking off and storing their face coverings.  However, I would like to highlight that:

   

  • data suggests low transmission rates at the moment, in Cornwall & the Isles of Scilly.
  • there is limited evidence on the effectiveness of the use of face coverings with children
  • all children would need to have access to a face covering and be competent in its application and use should the conditions change.  However, for many of our pupils this may not be possible and guidance regarding exemption may be followed.  Some individuals are exempt from wearing face coverings - this applies to those who ‘cannot put on, wear or remove a face covering because of a physical or mental illness or impairment or disability’.
  • additional risks such as increased transmission due to contamination when putting on and taking  off the face covering.

   

  The Trust will continue to monitor the position closely and update protective measures, policy and practice should it be required.  I would encourage you to contact your school if you have questions, queries or concerns about pupil health , safety, well-being or if you would like further advice and guidance. 

   

  I have provided some useful information about Covid-19 symptoms and what to do. Traditionally, we experience an increase in cold, flu type symptoms during the Autumn Term and the Trust will always act with caution given the current Covid-19 context and follow national guidance on symptoms.  If, for example, a pupil has a temperature of 38 or above, regardless of the possible cause, we would have to follow guidance, send them home immediately and request a test.  Therefore, we ask that you are particularly vigilant to any symptoms which your child has and air on the side of caution before sending your child into school.  If in doubt, please contact the school to discuss in the first instance.  School staff will contact you with clear instructions should a pupil or member of staff test positive.

   

  Open and honest communication is critical as we work together over the next few weeks.  By working together, we can develop a carefully considered and planned approach that will ensure we keep the risk of transmission to a minimum.

   

  Yours sincerely

   

   

   

  Guy Chappell

  Director

  Special Partnership Trust