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:
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:
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:
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:
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:
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: