BWIS Corona Virus Update 13-3-2020

Yesterday, the Prime Minister confirmed we are now in the delay stages of a pandemic. He also confirmed that schools in England will not close at this time. Individual schools CANNOT close without prior agreement or advice from Public Health England.

However, the directive stated 'If you have coronavirus symptoms however mild, either a new continuous cough or a high temperature, then you should stay at home for at least seven days to protect others and help slow the spread of the disease." 

This directive has many implications for not only the children and staff in our school, but also parents, carers and grandparents. Although children are showing a better immunity to the virus at present, we still need to be vigilant. Please find below how we aim to minimise disruption in the best way we can over the next few weeks, unless directed to close.

• If any child displays the above symptoms, please keep them home for 7 days. Absences will be authorised.
• If a child displays the above symptoms in school, they will be sent home and not allowed back into school for 7 days.
• If any staff member displays the symptoms above, they too will have to self-isolate for 7 days. Due to supply agency shortages, we will cover staff absence as best as we can in school-splitting classes between other classes and utilising the experience of our learning support team.
• We may need to consider cancelling assemblies and staggering lunch/playtimes to reduce contact between children.
• If you are a parent/grandparent helper, please consider whether you feel safe to be near our children, especially if you have underlying health problems.
• If our school is directed/forced to close, teachers will update our website with daily activities. We will also update our website with any news under the ‘latest news’ section. Children have a learning leaflet at the start of each project, which we suggest looking at for extra ideas. We will also put links to other learning activities on our website and provide all children with an exercise book and a pencil to use.

If 50% of our staff are absent, and we are unable to cover classes effectively and safely, we will need to consider closure. This will be our last resort. We will continue to promote good hygiene in school.

We hope everyone stays well and we will continue to be transparent and update everyone with any news during this ever changing situation.