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Coronavirus Covid-19 update for parents and carers - March 17th 2020

Coronavirus Covid-19 update for parents and carers – March 17th 2020

Dear Parents and Carers

Yesterday (March 16th 2020) the government reviewed its response to the Covid-19 virus and introduced a series of significant measures to achieve greater social distancing, reduce all but essential travel and protect the most vulnerable groups in society.

While they confirmed new measures have now been put in place, the government once again stated that:

  • UK schools should remain open and continue to operate as normally as possible at this time

Our Brooke Weston Trust schools will continue to follow the government’s advice and will remain open until we are advised otherwise.

At present there are no confirmed cases of Covid-19 at any of our Brooke Weston Trust schools.

Please ensure you keep familiar with the detail of the most up to date Public Health England advice which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-information-for-the-public

We will continue to update you on the situation as new announcements are made by the government and want to reassure you that each school’s leadership team and the Brooke Weston Trust are preparing for all possible scenarios as best we can.

Home learning

We have various online platforms, non-digital resources and guidance to support learning that can be used to provide work to children at home. As you would expect, we are drawing up plans should home learning become necessary. We will explain what is on offer and how to access it at that time.

Domestic trips, school events and sports fixtures

School events are being assessed on a case-by-case basis. You will be kept informed of any changes to published events in the school calendar with as much notice as is possible. Please note that all sports fixtures have now been cancelled.

Advice for all visitors to our school

We have reinforced some basic hygiene principles and introduced additional measures, so please do not take offence if you are asked to wash your hands or use hand sanitizing gel on visiting us. We would also remind visitors of the hygiene message, “catch it, bin it, kill it” in the event of coughing and sneezing. These restrictions are in place to protect our school community.

We are aware parents are having to make difficult decisions regarding isolating their children and all siblings. Please be assured we will authorise all such absences.

To read our previously published information regarding Covid-19 please click here.

This is an extraordinary period of time for everyone, including schools. We will inevitably experience significant disruption to our normal routines, but we are doing everything we can to continue. I want to thank you again for your patience and understanding in helping to keep our school communities as safe as possible.

useful links and information 

As a Trust, we know parents are having to make difficult decisions regarding isolating children and families as a result of Covid-19.  Please be assured we will authorise all such absences. Unfortunately Trust colleagues are unable to provide advice on on whether to isolate your child from school and it can only be a decision that parents can make for their own family. To assist parents, please see below links for further guidance: 

Public Health England (PHE)- https://www.gov.uk/government/topical-events/coronavirus-covid-19-uk-government-response

PHE Guidance on Social Distancinghttps://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-on-social-distancing-and-for-vulnerable-people/guidance-on-social-distancing-for-everyone-in-the-uk-and-protecting-older-people-and-vulnerable-adults 

NHS Guidance for Coronavirushttps://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/

Department for Education - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-educational-settings-about-covid-19/guidance-to-educational-settings-about-covid-19

The Department for Education has also launched a helpline to answer questions about COVID-19 related to education. Staff, parents and students can contact the helpline as follows:

covid-19 update - 17th March 2020

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