In light of current information available about the Coronavirus, our school will continue to monitor and take advice from the guidelines issued by Public Health England and the Department for Education. Information about preventative measures and government advice received to date is provided in our weekly Flyer but please be reassured that any changes to the current situation will be sent out as urgent communications via our app/e-mail if and when applicable.

Information is changing daily and for the most up-to-date information you can visit: www.gov.uk/coronavirus

You can also contact the Department for Education Coronavirus Helpline to answer questions about COVID-19 related to education. Staff, parents and young people can contact the helpline as follows:

• By phone: 0800 046 8687 (please call 111 if you think you or your child might have symptoms of the virus)
• By e-mail: coronavirushelpline@education.gov.uk

The helpline is open from 8am until 6pm Monday to Friday. 

Home testing kits for households

Households and families with school-aged children can now access COVID-19 home testing kits. The 'community collect' service launched this month to households with primary and secondary school and college age children, as well as those providing childcare and in support bubbles. Testing kits are to be used twice weekly, meaning people can self-isolate faster if they test positive.

Home-testing kits can currently be ordered online for home delivery via www.gov.uk/coronavirus (click here to be directed to the 'rapid lateral flow testing for households and bubbles'

webpage) or can be collected from Topping Lane PCR test site near Brunel University.

Kits will also be available for collection shortly from the borough's seven asymptomatic testing sites, for which you can find out more at www.hillingdon.gov.uk/community-testing.

What is the School doing?

As a school, we are receiving updates from both Public Health England as well as the Department of Education (DfE), providing both instructions and advice.  We will continue to follow the instructions and carefully monitor the advice from all the relevant authorities, acting on it as and when required and alerting parents when the updates become relevant to our school.

The following risk assessment outlines the processes/procedures being taken to whilst the school is open to all children and staff:

What extra precautions have been put in place?

Taking basic hygiene precautions is the best way to reduce the chances of contracting and/or spreading any virus. Although the high standard of hygiene is continuously maintained around the school, in addition to our usual cleaning routines which takes place every day, including cleaning all hard surfaces in the classrooms, toilets and dining hall, we now also:

•  clean touched objects and surfaces around the school (such as door handles, taps and sinks, keyboards etc) more frequently using antibacterials and disinfectant
• use disposable materials when cleaning
• empty the bins more frequently

We are stressing the importance of hand washing to all members of our school community without wanting to overly worry the children. School staff are continuously reiterating messages about personal hygiene to the children and are:

• increasing the number of times that the children wash their hands when they are in school 
• instructing them to wash their hands frequently and carefully with soap and water (using sanitiser when soap and water is not appropriate)
• catch any coughs and sneezes in a tissue (Catch It, Bin It, Kill It)
• being even more vigilant in watching out for symptoms in pupils and staff
• regularly checking the advice being given to schools from Public Health England and the Department of Education.

What should parents/carers do?

Parents and carers should follow the advice that has been issues by Public Health England and the NHS, avaible via the following links: 

www.gov.uk/coronavirus

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/public-health-england

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/

How can we help prevent the spread of infection?

To help prevent the spread of any virus, everyone should be following these general principles:

• Wash your hands more often - with soap and water for at least 20 seconds (or an alcohol based sanitiser if soap and water are not available) 
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands
• Avoid close contact with people who are unwell or sick
• Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue  and then throw the tissue in the bin
• Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces in the home
• If you are worried about your symptoms, call NHS 111 - do not go directly to your GP or healthcare provider

Should I send my child to School?

As we approach the winter months, with common colds and other winter illnesses prevalent, the following flowchart provides clarification on the symptoms and conditions  to look out for before deciding whether or not to send your child into school: