In the event of a confirmed case of Covid in our Schools and establishments, the Public Health England (PHE) advice service to schools is contacted immediately. Definitive advice is taken from PHE and all recommended measures and action is implemented immediately and in line with government guidelines.

In the event that pupils are unable to attend school due to Covid 19, either individually, as a class or whole school, our schools will provide remote education through our established online 'Google Classrooms' learning platform.

The provision will be aligned as closely as possible to the in-school provision that the pupils would be accessing. It will include Maths, English and Science work over the course of a week, along with other learning opportunities associated with relevant curriculum areas and topics.

Wherever possible it will be the class teacher who will set and upload the work; however, we acknowledge that there may be times, due to teacher illness or classroom teaching commitments for example, that online services may be temporarily interrupted or may be set by another colleague, but we will endeavour to keep this to a minimum.

Our expectation is that work is designed to meet pupil's needs and is personalised as much as possible to reflect this. Regular feedback will be given by the class teacher or other professional and this will help support planning for future lessons; however we recognise that we cannot replicate the full classroom experience where 'learning conversations' happen throughout the day.

All recommended safeguards have been put in place to ensure the security of online 'Google Classrooms' learning platform.

To support parents who are opting to keep their children at home due to personal concerns and anxieties, we are able to provide the following links for home learning. These resources are not necessarily aligned to our curriculum, nor do we endorse the content. 

We recognise the anxieties and worry which the global Covid-19 crisis has brought; and for some families, the sadness of losing family or friends.  The Trust has approached this crisis with openness and transparency for our school communities and has sought to offer support and assistance where needed, as well as fulfilling our duty to ensure that our pupils receive the best possible education during this unprecedented time.

It is important to recognise that every child and family will react differently. It is important to remember that for most pupils, isolation and lockdown will have also brought experiences which may have had a positive impact on their mental well-being.

For example, some children and young people may have enjoyed having more time and sharing new experiences with family. Some may have established new routines that work better for them and some may have felt less pressure from tests, exams and academic success. Others may have developed new skills such as building resilience, problem-solving abilities and new coping strategies. However, the pandemic will have also affected mental well-being in various negative ways. 

Mental Health Foundation Tips for Families

Start talking 

Your child might have worries about returning to school. You can explore these and help them think of ways to manage them using our Time for Us pack or the resources on the Family Links website.   

Sleep routine 

Help your child return to their normal sleep routine. Our “How to…” guide on improving sleep could be a good place to start. 

Talk about school 

Start to talk through the daily routine that they were once so familiar with. It doesn’t have to start as a conversation about worries, but these might arise as you talk. 

Coping strategies

Model coping strategies you use when feeling stressed such as reconnecting with friends before returning, doing regular exercise or using breathing techniques. If it applies, you could share your own worries and feelings about returning to work and ways you are managing these feelings.  

Make yourself available as much as possible

Children may want to come and “debrief” but maybe not when you expect. Create space for talking in different ways, such as going on a walk together or baking together – there may be less pressure in these circumstances than when sitting face-to-face.  

Look at the positives 

As schools reopen, other things will too. It might be helpful to talk about things the child is looking forward to, like their favourite shop reopening, seeing friends in the park or getting ice cream from their favourite café.  

Our schools will co-ordinate the delivery of Food Parcels with our catering providers for families whose children are eligible for free school meals. If a class or school goes into lockdown, families can expect to be contacted about their food parcel within 24 hours.

 The main principles are that schools will continue to: 

Children should attend school if they are not part of an isolation or lock down situation as per DfE guidance.

The Government has published guidance on the process for employer referral for essential workers.  Employers can refer essential workers for testing if they are self-isolating because either they or member(s) of their household have coronavirus symptoms. You can do this by uploading the names and contact details of self-isolating essential workers to the secure employer referral portal.

Referred essential workers will then receive a text message with a unique invitation code to book a test for themselves (if symptomatic) or their symptomatic household member(s) at a regional testing site.

To get a login to the employer referral portal, employers of essential workers should email portalservicedesk@dhsc.gov.uk with the following information:

• organisation name

• nature of the organisation’s business region

• names (where possible) and email addresses of the 2 users who will load essential worker contact details

• Once employer details have been verified, 2 login credentials will be provided for the employer referral portal.