During the period of school closure we will be keeping in touch with our school community and helping you to keep up to date with the latest news. Although St.Vincent’s Catholic Primary School building is not open, we will be supporting you by working from home and developing our home learning resources. As critical workers, we will also be working with local schools to deliver provision for the children of key workers and some of our most vulnerable pupils. However, the key message is that if it is at all possible for children to be at home, then they should be. Please can all families support this.
As a country, we all need to do what we can to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 virus. That is why the government has given clear guidance on self-isolation, household isolation and social distancing. The most recent scientific advice on how to further limit the spread of COVID-19 is clear. If children can stay safely at home, they should, to limit the chance of the virus spreading.
That is why the government has asked parents to keep their children at home, wherever possible, and asked schools to remain open only for those children who absolutely need to attend. The fewer children making the journey to school, and the fewer children in educational settings, the lower the risk that the virus can spread and infect vulnerable individuals in wider society.
Schools, and all childcare providers, are therefore being asked to continue to provide care for a limited number of children – children who are vulnerable, and children whose parents are critical to the Covid-19 response and cannot be safely cared for at home.
Coronavirus (covid-19) Information for the public
What to do if you have symptoms
Stay at home for 7 days if you have either:
- a high temperature
- a new continuous cough
If you live with other people, they should stay at home for 14 days from the day the first person got symptoms.
This will help to protect others in your community while you are infectious.
Do not go to a GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital.
You do not need to contact NHS 111 to tell them you’re staying at home.
Testing for coronavirus is not needed if you’re staying at home.
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.
The latest guidance and video on hand washing can be found here.
Department for Education coronavirus helpline
The Department for Education coronavirus helpline is available to answer questions about COVID-19 relating to education and children’s social care. Staff, parents and young people can contact this helpline as follows:
Phone: 0800 046 8687
Opening hours: 8am to 6pm (Monday to Friday), 10am to 4pm (Saturday to Sunday)
The government has produced a Coronavirus Action Plan and we are now in the Delay phase to try and reduce the spread of infection, hence schools being closed. Gavin Williamson has stated that parents should only send children to school if their work is critical to the COVID-19 response and that if parents are able to keep their children at home, they should. To ensure that we reduce the spread of transmission there needs to be the minimum number of pupils, requiring the minimum number of staff to be deployed and thus exposing the minimum number of people to risk. Thank you for your support.
