Latest News | Bishops Waltham Infant School

Coronavirus Update 16-3-2020

Mon 16 Mar 2020

Dear Parents and Carers

Due to lots of children talking about the Coronavirus, and some children being very worried, especially as we are now washing hands when we enter the building, including after play and lunch time, this morning we held an assembly about ‘What is a Virus?’.

We watched Dr Ranj’s explanation of a virus and the children had lots of questions. We explained to the children that children are particularly good at fighting viruses. One child asked could we die from it as it said that on the news. We explained that sometimes, when we get older or are already poorly, our bodies aren’t as good at making a virus go away. We talked about sneezing and coughing into hands/tissues and washing hands afterwards. We also talked about what teachers would do regarding learning on our website if we can’t come to school.

Currently we have 10 children self-isolating with cold like symptoms. Thank you to all the parents who are doing this.

All visitors are now required to wash their hands on entry to the building. We will continue with project outcomes, trips and our Rock Steady concert unless directed otherwise. If you do have any of the symptoms from our previous correspondence, we would like you to stay away from school. If you do enter the building, even to talk to reception, we will be requesting that you wash hands, so please consider if it is something you need to come into school about. We will continue to keep everybody updated as soon as any new guidance is released to us.

Please find the link to Dr Ranj’s virus explanation below

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=O4bu5akL6-o

BWIS Corona Virus Update 13-3-2020

Fri 13 Mar 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.

Handwashing

Tue 10 Mar 2020

Children are being reminded of the importance of washing their hands often and properly. These posters are displayed in school as a reminder.

Our Brilliant Book Day!

Thu 05 Mar 2020

What a funny day we have had today! Harry Potter, Mad Hatter and many many more fantastic characters came to school for ‘World Book Day 2020’. Thank you to everyone for participating in our special day ( and to all parents who made and provide costunes).

The Birds are Back!

Wed 04 Mar 2020

Our birdbox is back in action and there is some nesting going on already! Click the link below to have a peek

http://www.seenature.org.uk/school-zone/school-streams/

Hampshire County Council - Advice to Parents re: Coronavirus

Thu 27 Feb 2020

Hampshire County Council - Advice to Parents/Carers re: Coronavirus

Dear Parent/Carer,

National advice for travellers from areas affected by Coronavirus (COVID-19) has changed this week, and we understand that parents and carers may have questions about this. The school is following national guidance that has been issued for educational settings.

The latest accurate information on Coronavirus (COVID-19), including the current situation in the UK and details about the virus and its symptoms, can be found at www.nhs.uk/coronavirus. This is updated regularly and includes the most recent advice in relation to travel from certain parts of Italy - so we encourage you to visit the website for the latest information.

The UK’s Chief Medical Officer continues to advise that the risk to individuals in the UK remains low.

As a school, the most important action that we can take to protect against Coronavirus and other germs is to promote good hand and respiratory hygiene. We continue to encourage the children and staff to do the following and ask that you support this at home too. The advice is to:

wash hands often - with soap and water or using alcohol sanitiser if handwashing facilities are not available.
cover coughs or sneezes with a tissue, then throwing the tissue in a bin.

We are following national advice and the school is operating as normal. Should the situation change or if we are given different advice, we will communicate this to you.

If you believe you are at risk, then please contact NHS 111 for advice.

Public Health England - Advice on the Coronavirus for places of Education

Wed 26 Feb 2020

Please click on link below for latest information for schools on the Coronavirus

Eat Them to Defeat Them

Tue 25 Feb 2020

Look out for your 'Eat Them to Defeat Them' pack coming home this evening. Your child can tell you all about the vegetables they could try in the next few weeks. Our cook Mrs Moss is supporting this project and has a very scary carrot visitor in the kitchen to defeat today!

Year 1 Rugby Tournament

Fri 14 Feb 2020 Year 1

After learning and practising tag rugby skills, Year 1 held their rugby tournament this week.

The children played excellently, demonstrating sportsmanship and interdependence. The teachers were very impressed with everybody!

To read more, find out the results and see some photos, please click the link.