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20 November 2020
Advice to all Parents - Single Confirmed Case
Dear Parents,
We have been advised that there has been a confirmed case of COVID-19 within the Curnow Lower School.
We are continuing to monitor the situation and have taken advice from Public Health England and the Local Authority. This letter is to inform you of the current situation and provide advice on how to support your child. Please be reassured that for most people, coronavirus (COVID-19) will be a mild illness.
We have taken the decision to close a single class bubble (Eden Class) following discussions with Public Health and the Trust. For your information guidance from Public Health suggests, due to the time between contact and onset of symptoms for the member of staff, we were not required to close the class bubble. However, as an additional precautionary measure and in light of the current situation at Illogan School, we have chosen to take this action.
The school remains open for all other classes and, providing your child remains well, they can continue to attend school as normal. We will keep this under review.
What to do if your child develops symptoms of COVID 19:
If your child develops symptoms of COVID-19, you should organise for your child to be tested via the NHS online portal or by calling 119. Your household should isolate until you receive negative test results.
Symptoms of COVID 19:
The most common symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) are recent onset of:
How to stop COVID-19 spreading:
There are things you can do to help reduce the risk of you and anyone you live with getting ill with COVID-19
Further Information
Further information is available at https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/.
I do understand that this week will have caused many of you increased anxiety related to Covid in the Community. Please be assured that we will continue to have in place the restrictions and measures we have outlined to you as we aim to reduce the risks of infection. Should you feel that you would like to keep your child off school as an additional precaution please contact us in the first instance to discuss this. Equally I am very happy to talk with any of you and answer any questions you may have.
Yours sincerely
Caroline Jewell
Headteacher
Dear Lower School Parents / Carers
Re: Illogan School Closure Update
I wanted to bring to your attention that the following communication was sent home to parents from Illogan School today:
Dear Parents,
We have been made aware that additional members of staff and children in our school community have tested positive for COVID 19. These staff members and pupils are from Year 1, Year 5 and Year 6.
We know that you may find this concerning but we are continuing to monitor the situation and are working closely with Public Health England. This letter is to inform you of the current situation and provide advice on how to support your children. Please be reassured that for most people, coronavirus (COVID-19) will be a mild illness.
The bubbles of children who have been in close contact with the individual who has tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19) have received a letter informing them that their child must stay at home for 14 days.
The school will be open from Monday 23 November and your child should continue to attend as normal if they remain well. Health and Safety remains my unremitting priority at this time.
Jo Knuckey, Head Teacher
The advice from Public Health remains clear in that they are advising affected bubbles at Illogan School to be closed rather than the whole school. Illogan School still plan to re-open to pupils not affected by bubble closures on Monday 23 November. I have also spoken with an advisor from Public Health today who reassured me that we do not need to do anything differently at Curnow Lower School at this stage and that we should continue to implement infection control elements as we have been doing in school as well as reminding families to do the same at home.
The Public Health Advisor also added: ‘We are seeing increased transmission across Cornwall at the moment, not just in Illogan, and it is important to reflect that what we see in the school is often a reflection of what is happening in the community, it is just more visible which then increases anxiety’.
I do understand from conversations with parents that the situation at Illogan School does cause increased concern for many of our parents and that this will be very personal to each family. Please be assured that we will continue to have in place the restrictions and measures we have outlined to you as we aim to reduce the risks of infection. Should you feel that you would like to keep your child off school as an additional precaution please contact us in the first instance to discuss this. Equally I am very happy to talk with any of you and answer any questions you may have.
Kind regards
Caroline Jewell
Headteacher
Dear Lower School Parents / Carers
Re: Illogan School Closure
I wanted to bring to your attention that the following communication was sent home to parents from Illogan School today:
Dear Parents/Carers,
Coronavirus cases
As you know we have recently had to close Y1 and EYFS bubbles due to positive tests. Having given this thought, we have taken the difficult decision to close Illogan School from tomorrow morning, Wednesday 18 November for 3 days. This will allow for a deep clean of the entire school. We plan to reopen to Y2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 on Monday 23 November.
If you wish to keep your children at home today, we will fully understand and would simply ask that you leave a message on our answer machine so that we know that they are safe with you. We remain open today for any children in Y2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 whose parents wish to send them and children will be taught by their usual staff member with no movement between bubbles.
As ever, I assure you that Health and Safety is our highest priority and I will remain in touch with you throughout this period of closure. All children have been sent their Home Learning packs and should use these at home this week. We will be in contact with any family entitled to Free School Meals to arrange the collection of a food parcel in place of school lunches.
This is a difficult decision to make but I hope that you understand my priority in these challenging times.
Kind regards,
Mrs Jo Knuckey
Headteacher
This is an additional precaution that Illogan School have decided to take, in light of their current situation. As you will know from previous communications, the pupils at our school have remained in their class bubbles with their Curnow peers and staff, as have the pupils attending Illogan School. Therefore, Curnow Lower School will continue to remain open as usual. We do understand how worried some of you will be each time you hear of local confirmed cases, please do not hesitate to contact me and I will be happy to discuss your concerns related to this matter.
Kind regards
Caroline Jewell
Headteacher
05 November 2020
Dear Parents and Carers
Covid-19 update following the publication of the latest Government guidance
I only wrote to you about 24 hours ago to say that we were yet to receive any further guidance following the Government announcement of a second lockdown on 31 October.
Last night, the Trust received further guidance regarding updating processes and procedures as England enters a second period of lockdown and I have summarised the key points below:
Most children originally identified as clinically extremely vulnerable are no longer identified as such. We would ask that you speak to your GP or specialist clinician as soon as possible if you have not already done so, or received a letter from the NHS, to understand whether your child is still classed as clinically extremely vulnerable.
Those children whose doctors have confirmed they are still clinically extremely vulnerable should not attend school during the lockdown period and will be provided with home learning. Where a meeting with a GP or specialist clinician has not taken place, the Government advice is that the child is still clinically extremely vulnerable and should not attend school during the lockdown period.
As always, if you have any questions, queries, or concerns please contact your school and speak with the Headteacher.
Take care and thank you for your cooperation.
Yours faithfully
Guy Chappell
Director
The Special Partnership Trust
04 November 2020
Dear Parents/Carers
The following message comes from the Special Partnership Trust regarding our current position:
Covid-19 Second National Lockdown
I thought I would take an opportunity to write to inform you that, at this time, the Trust and Schools have not received any further updated guidance which includes detail about the second national lockdown. Trust Schools and Area Resources Bases remain open and continue to prioritise the health, safety and well-being of pupils and staff. Once we receive further Government guidance we will, of course, be in touch with you.
In the meantime, if you have any questions, queries or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact your school.
Thank you for your patience.
Your sincerely
Guy Chappell
Director
Special Partnership Trust
email: gchappell@specialpartnership.org
At Curnow, we will continue to follow the protocols as outlined at the start of term. In addition, we have decided that, in light of the pending lockdown and to further protect our school community, all staff will wear face coverings when moving around communal areas on both school sites. The school risk assessment has been updated to reflect this additional measure.
We will also be cancelling any less essential events/visits (such as school photographer) during the lockdown period. If we need to use agency staff to cover any staff absence (outside of our own Curnow employed staff) we will be requesting them to wear visors when in school and classes.
As always if you have any questions or just want to chat please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Yours sincerely
Caroline Jewell
Headteacher