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Posted on: March 17th 2020

COVID 19 Update - 17.03.2020

Coronavirus super tease

17 March 2020

Dear Parents/Carers,

COVID 19 Update

I am writing to update you on our plans to tackle the issues presented by the current Coronavirus outbreak. You will be aware that this is a fast moving situation and advice is changing almost on a daily basis. At this stage, the most important thing students and families can do to protect themselves is to wash their hands more often, for at least 20 seconds, with soap and water.

See https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/ for the most up-to-date guidance from the NHS.  This has been updated since the Prime Minister’s announcement yesterday evening.

All reports suggest that the Coronavirus will be with us for several months. The government’s plan is now to delay the spread of the virus. By doing this the hope and intention is to spread any cases over a longer period so that the peak number of cases does not breach the ability of the National Health Service to cope with the most severe cases. To support the delay of the spread of the virus, the Department for Health and Social Care has instructed anyone who shows certain symptoms, or who shares a household with someone who has symptoms, to stay at home and self-isolate for 14 days.

The symptoms are either:

  • A high temperature (37.8 degrees and above) or
  • A new, continuous dry cough

The current advice is you do not need to call NHS 111 to stay at home. If your symptoms worsen during your stay at home period or are no better after 7 days contact NHS 111 online at 111.nhs.uk. If you have no internet access, you should call NHS 111. For a medical emergency, dial 999. We are unable to offer individual advice to parents on whether their child should self-isolate. Please follow the link above to the NHS and read their guidance so that you can make the best decision for all.

Whilst the government is encouraging home working for those who can around the country, this does not work for a school setting. As a school, we have nearly 80 staff teaching every day. The reality is that in the coming weeks and months staff as well as pupils will get the Coronavirus or get symptoms that mean they will need to self-isolate and be off school. With the new 14-day isolation period now in place, we could very quickly get to a position where we have insufficient staff to run the school safely and effectively.

We are prepared for three different eventualities:

  • The school remains open but an increasing number of students and staff are off school due to self-isolation.
     
  • The school may need to partially close.  This means we do not have sufficient staff to operate safely or effectively with the staff who are in school.  We will make this announcement on ParentMail and via our website.  In this scenario, we have work prepared on our learning platforms.
  • The school will be instructed to close or will have close due to insufficient staff.  Work would be set through our online learning platforms.

We have taken the decision to postpone any meetings, fixtures, concerts or other similar events. We are currently reviewing trips, including those going during after Easter and we will make a decision in the coming weeks as the situation develops.

We understand that many parents will be concerned, as we are, about the summer examinations. The government is looking at contingency plans for these but as yet nothing has been published.  We will of course keep you updated as soon as we can.

School closures at CHS are a very rare thing but we are facing an unprecedented challenge with the Coronavirus. During these ever-changing times, I will do my best to keep you updated.

My sincere thanks for your ongoing support.

Yours faithfully

Jo McKeown
Headteacher

 

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