COVID-19 Update
Dear Parents/Carers,
As the national response to the COVID-19 virus continues to develop, we aim to keep you as informed as we are able to. It is possible that the situation could evolve quickly over the coming days, weeks and months, so please bear with us.
At Derrymount we will continue to follow the government response and latest guidance from Public Health England (PHE) and the Department for Education. This includes the expectation of a calm and measured response to the situation. Please make sure you also continue to follow the latest government advice.
This advice now states that pupils should self-isolate for a period of 14 days if they or anyone in the house has a new continuous cough or high temperature. It is important that you continue to notify the school of any pupil absence as usual or if anyone in direct contact with your child is displaying these symptoms.
If symptoms present during the school day, we will contact parents/carers to inform you that your child requires collecting and should self-isolate for 14 days, as per the national guidance. We know that this is likely to cause inconvenience but it is vital in order to maximize the safety of all pupils and staff, therefore your understanding is much appreciated.
If your child becomes ill and you are concerned it may be a case of Covid-19 or a worsening medical condition during the period of self-isolation, please make sure you follow the latest NHS advice available
We recognise the current national guidance to all schools is ‘business as usual’ and we will adhere to this as much as is appropriate. However, as a staff team we are very aware of the increased vulnerability of many of your children and we take our responsibility to keep all children safe very seriously. Your children are very important to us all and we fully respect the decisions you will take in the current circumstances to keep your children safe and well. If you feel it is in your child’s best interest to restrict their social contact, we fully respect your decision and will authorise this absence.
If you are the parent of a pupil with complex health needs, especially an underlying respiratory or heart condition, we understand that you might want to take further advice from your child’s paediatrician or consultant, and we will of course respect this. You may even feel it necessary to restrict their social contact. Again, we will authorise this absence. If you would like to discuss this further, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
As a school we continue to ensure all staff and pupils are hand washing with soap and hot water frequently, visitors are informed of these guidelines and if any students develop symptoms or a temperature during the day you are contacted immediately. We are ensuring the school building is kept as clean as possible and disinfected regularly. As a school we are restricting the number of visitors and non-essential meetings to further reduce possible contact with the virus.
I will write again in the coming days to update you on our next steps and information regarding school work for pupils whilst they are offsite.
Yours faithfully
Cathy Clay
Head Teacher
Derrymount School