Corona Virus - Key sources of information
Please see below key sources of information regarding the Corona Virus
Update 30th April 2020
Phonics letter from the DfE here
Update 27th April 2020
Please see advice and tips from the National Autistic Society for your information here
Update 21st April 2020
UPDATED - Guidance about taking children to A&E here
The AfCinfo website is being constantly updated with information and resources to support children, young people and families during the Coronavirus pandemic: www.afcinfo.org.uk/kr-covid19
Kingston and Richmond Councils have dedicated sections on their websites about services to support local people. They are also issuing regular email newsletters which you can subscribe to.
Kingston Council Stronger Together
Richmond Council information
Kooth is an online counselling and emotional well-being platform for children and young people. Kooth will continue to provide online mental health and wellbeing support to young people via any internet accessible device. Kooth provides an opportunity to interact in a supportive way with other young people as well as receive support from a qualified counsellor. Please use the following link Kooth.com
Information for parents/carers from BT
We’ve partnered with ITV and some familiar faces to run a series of daily tech lessons over the next couple of weeks that’ll help you and your family stay connected. Now’s the time to share more than ever so if this doesn’t apply to you, forward on to someone who might need a helping hand with tech.
We’ll be covering various topics, including:
Monday 20 April: Getting your business online with Jake Humphry
Tuesday 21 April: Digital wellbeing with Fearne Cotton
Wednesday 22 April: Working from home with Clare Balding
Thursday 23 April: Family time online with David Walliams
Friday 24 April: Learning at home with David Walliams
Monday 27 April: Online banking with Angelica Bell
Tuesday 28 April: Safety online with Rochelle & Marvin Humes
And more.
When can I watch the lessons on ITV? We’re showing one lesson, twice each day for the next couple of weeks, during the ad break for This Morning at around 10.10 and again, in the evening, during the ITV News ad break at around 18.40.
Don’t worry if you miss it, you can catch up and discover more tips at Top Tips on Tech.
We’ve got even more digital tech tips, guides and free courses online. We’re not just passionate about keeping you connected, we want people to feel confident and comfortable using digital technology. That’s why we’re committed to empowering 10 million people across the UK with tech skills by 2025. We call this initiative Skills for Tomorrow.
Here you’ll find lots of guides, online courses, and resources for parents, work, business, teachers, and general everyday life.
We’re proud to be able to help bring the country together at this difficult time, connecting you to what matters most – each other.
Update 16th April 2020
Stay safe online - Peter Cowley, the Richmond Borough Lead Adviser for Online Services and Safety has put together two incredibly useful short videos for parents on keeping their children safe online. Please click on the link to view - bit.ly/afcsaferathome
Please click on the link below to watch a story about Coronavirus for children
Update 17th March 2020
Updated guidance from the Department for Education and Public Health England for education settings on COVID-19 below:
- Staff and children as well as all members of the household should stay at home for 14 days if they are unwell with a new, continuous cough or a high temperature to avoid spreading infection to others. Otherwise they should attend education or work as normal
- If staff or children become unwell on site with a new, continuous cough or a high temperature they will be sent home
The updated guidance can be found here:
At present, the current advice remains that no education or children’s social care setting should close in response to a suspected or confirmed COVID-19 case unless advised to do so by Public Health England. The Chief Medical Officer has advised that the impact of closing schools on both children’s education and on the workforce would be substantial, but the benefit to public health may not be. Decisions on future advice to education or children’s social care settings will be taken based on the latest and best scientific evidence, which at this stage suggests children are a lower risk group.
As a school, we would like to remind parents that if your child presents with any of the symptoms listed above then your child should be off school as per the updated guidance. Please ensure that you contact the school if your child is absent for any reason.
It is important that we have a calm and measured approach - a proportionate response. We do not want to raise alarm amongst the children and we need to make sure the messages that we give to them are age appropriate. They are being brilliant in school at washing their hands and they are happily continuing their classroom learning as usual. Thank you for keeping us informed about your child’s health and for your continuing support. Please note, there is no reason to self-isolate your child unless they have the symptoms described by Public Health England. We will continue to update you regularly.
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We are taking advice from the Department for Education on protecting our pupils and staff from coronavirus (COVID-19). To minimise risk we ask our community to follow good hygiene and also to inform us if your child has recently travelled to a high risk area or has been in close contact with other travellers. We assess risks daily and will inform you of any further developments or actions to take. Please see links below for more information;
Updated 16th March - see below link for published stay at home guidance;
Newsround links to use with children;
https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/51467978
https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/51698180
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-action-plan
- Guidance for Educational Settings
- Information for the public
- Contact Public Health England South London HPT on 0344 326 2052
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Department for Education Coronavirus helpline
The DfE has launched a new helpline to answer questions about COVID-19 related to education. Staff, parents and young people can contact the helpline as follows:
Phone: 0800 046 8687
Email: DfE.coronavirushelpline@education.gov.uk
Opening hours: 8am to 6pm (Monday to Friday)- No school should close in response to a suspected (or confirmed) COVID-19 case unless directed to do so by Public Health England.
The importance of hygiene
Personal hygiene is the most important way to tackle COVID-19. Please help us in sharing simple and effective hand hygiene messages.
Please see the link below which may be useful to discuss with you child(ren) in an age appropriate way.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-51734855
Public Health England has a dedicated webpage with a range of posters and digital materials at:
https://campaignresources.phe.gov.uk/resources/campaigns/101-coronavirus-/resources
Sign up is quick, free and means you will be alerted as more resources are made available.
