Dealing with COVID-19
School risk assessment and guidance for Parents and Carers for full return to school in September 2021
Advice on talking to children about Coronavirus
Coronavirus -(COVID-19)- Guidance
The school are continuing to follow guidelines set out by Public Health England and the daily updates we receive from the local authority. Further support and advice can be sought by visiting the following website:
Coronavirus (COVID-19): UK government response
For individuals who are symptomatic and/or test positive for coronavirus please follow the latest NHS
guidance, which can be found at:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
For guidance on responding to coronavirus in children , please follow the link:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/symptoms/coronavirus-in-children/
Home TEsting
Instructions for Parents/Carers should you need to conduct a home COVID-19 test:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xaw8DsF2Igc
How to register home testing kits to make sure you receive a result:
https://organisations.test-for-coronavirus.service.gov.uk/register-test-kit
Lateral flow testing
All adults in households with school and college age children without symptoms can now access regular rapid coronavirus (COVID-19) testing.
Test kits can either be collected or ordered online, as set out below.
Undertaking regular, rapid coronavirus (COVID-19) testing helps reduce transmission of the virus.
Tests are fast, easy and completely free. There are different ways for a household, childcare or support bubble to collect their test to take at home, twice-weekly:
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If you have any queries about the tests, and you live in England, please call 119 (free from mobiles and landlines). Lines are open every day from 7am to 11pm.
Children of primary school age (and below) without symptoms are not being asked to take a test.
Testing is voluntary, but strongly recommended to all who are eligible. Alongside the vaccine, washing hands, wearing face coverings, and maintaining social distancing, rapid testing plays a vital role in reducing transmission rates. Getting into the habit of regular testing as part of our everyday lives will help us all to play our part and do what we can to protect each other.
guidance on the use of face coverings in primary and early years settings
From Monday 8 March, new advice applies to the use of face coverings in schools in England. Further information can be found in the guidance for schools.
In primary schools and early years settings it is recommended that staff and visitors wear face coverings where social distancing cannot be maintained between adults. As with all measures, we will keep this under review and update guidance as needed.
Children in primary schools do not need to wear a face covering and they should not be asked to wear one. Dr Susan Hopkins, the Chief Medical Adviser for NHS Test and Trace, has said that “the consensus among educationalists, public health and clinical specialists is that it is not advisable for primary school children to wear face coverings. That is why Public Health England has not recommended to the Department for Education that they should be worn by primary pupils in the classroom. Children need to see facial expressions to develop their communication and language skills and practically, they can have difficulties keeping them on all day.”
slowing the spread of coronavirus
Make sure you and your children follow these general principles to prevent spreading any respiratory virus:
- Wash your hands often – with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, or an alcohol-based sanitiser if soap and water aren’t available
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands
- Avoid close contact with people who are sick
- If you feel unwell, stay at home and don’t attend work or school
- Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in a bin
- Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces in the home
If you’re worried about your symptoms, please call NHS 111 – don’t go directly to your GP or other healthcare environments. Department for Education Coronavirus helpline - this helpline has been set up to answer questions about the virus related to education. Staff, parents and young people can contact the helpline.
- Phone: 0800 046 8687
- Email: DfE.coronavirushelpline@education.gov.uk
- Opening hours: 8am to 6pm (Monday to Friday)
https://www.gov.uk/government/topical-events/coronavirus-covid-19-uk-government-response
Bereavement
Sadly, there are many of us experiencing loss due to COVID-19 and this includes our children.
We have connected with two organisations, the Childhood Bereavement Network (CBN) and Cruse, to find ways to support families during this difficult time.
There are many ways we can support children and families dealing with bereavement. We can signpost to specific charities (see below), we can share resources and we can offer support and guidance by phone, email and, once school returns, in person.
There is a parent page from CBN which holds lots of information as well as the resources and charities listed below and can be found here.
Resources
Winston's Wish have produced a great set of resources to support families at home.
- See resource for speaking to children about serious illness through COVID-19 here.
- See resource for telling children someone has died through COVID-19 here.
- See resource for speaking to children who are bereaved through COVID-19 here.
Cruse have a wealth of resources on their website relating to grief and loss which can be found here. For those with slightly older children, Cruse's youth website Hope Again has some really good and age appropriate resources here.
Grief Encounter also have a range of resources which are really helpful, including how to say goodbye when you can't attend a funeral. These resources can be found here.
Charities
There are two local charities who can provide support for children at Holywell.
MEDWAY
SWALE
Alongside the local organisations, there are several national charities offering online support and guidance.
Child Bereavement UK
Tel: 0800 02 888 40
Website: www.childbereavementuk.org
Childline
Telephone: 0800 1111
Website: www.childline.org.uk
Cruse Bereavement Care
Telephone:
- Freephone National Helpline: 0808 808 1766
- Administration: 020 8939 9530
Website: www.cruse.org.uk www.hopeagain.org.uk
Grief Encounter
Telephone: 0808 802 0111
Website: www.griefencounter.org.uk
Winston's Wish
Telephone: Family Line 08088 020 021
Website: www.winstonswish.org.uk
a safe space
Life can be tricky during complicated times like these. You will hear us talk about wanting our children to be happy and safe and that extends to their families too.
At Holywell, we would like to offer a non-contact 'SAFE SPACE' at school. There are lots of families in the UK experiencing difficulties right now which include poverty (which could be covid related or something ongoing for some time), family and/or relationship difficulties and even domestic abuse.
For this reason, it is important to be able to access the right support and we recognise this might not always be able to be done at home. This might be useful if:
- you do not have access to a computer and need to complete some online forms for funding, support or citizens advice
- you do not have a landline to make a call to a helpline
- you are not safe and need to get some support away from home.
If you would like to use this service, please email school on contact@holywell.kent.sch.uk . We will then arrange for you to visit at a mutually convenient time. If there are circumstances which mean you are not safe, please email and ask for an appointment to meet with 'ANGELA' and we will email you a meeting time to come into school (meeting the conditions of our COVID Risk Assessment) to use the room in private (with support from a Safeguarding member of staff if you want it).
There are many organisations helping during the COVID crisis, so please click below for further information.
