COVID-19 (coronavirus)

Information for Families, Carers and Staff

Daily Updates

Wherever possible

Wednesday 25 March 2020

Free School Meals

When it became clear that schools were to close we had hoped we could continue to offer access to a hot meal in school each day for students entitled to a free school meal. With the further restrictions on travel and the need to enforce much stricter social distancing this is now not possible. We have therefore organised supermarket vouchers. If  your child or children are entitled to  a free school meal you will shortly receive an email or text  on the school’s behalf from Wonde or Wonde.Com asking you for your preferred supermarket e.g. Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda etc.  You will then be sent an e- voucher for your chosen supermarket.They are currently worth £2.35 per child per day. The vouchers will be in five day blocks. If you have any queries please send them using the form at the bottom of this page.

Monday 23 March 2020

Families and carers are reminded that the clear advice from government is that the best place for your  child to be is at home and schools are the only providing care to students with EHCPs, who are vulnerable or whose parent or carers are key workers. If you can keep your child at home you should.

The school will be open to receive Students from 8am. Please do not send students to school to arrive before this time and continue to remind them of the importance of hand washing and social distancing. Students  should be in full school uniform. Unless entitled to a free school meal ensure you child has money on their lunch card or provided with  a packed lunch. The break time service is chargeable for all students.

Students not in school, but entitled to a Free School Meal can come to school for their lunch between 11.45am and 12.30pm.

Sunday 22 March 2020

Further details about the cancellation of GCSE and A Level examinations and how grade will be awarded can be found here 

Friday 20 March 2020

Details of how examination grades will be awarded for the 2020 GCSE  and A Level examinations has been published and can be read here

The government has now released  the list of those classified as key workers (link here)

Mr Bergin’s most recent letters to families and carers which was sent yesterday can be found using the following links:

Letter to families 19 March

Letter to Families 20 March

Letter to Families 20 March (second letter)

DfE information on school closures (link here)

Thursday 19 March 2020

For Thursday and Friday we are having to make changes to the timetable owing to staff absence. The arrangements are contained in Mr Bergin’s letter sent to families this evening and which is available here.

The arrangements are as follows

• Year 7 for both days
• Any student with an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP)
• If you are a key worker, for example, in the NHS, Armed Forces or Police or delivery driver you may send your child into school and they will have supervised study in the library area. (Can you please inform the office if this is the case either by phone or more effectively by emailing admin@the-elmgreen-school.org.uk.)
• Year 11 until break time on Thursday
• Year 13 on Friday until break time
• Students in year groups not coming to school on Thursday and Friday, but who receive a free school meal can come to the school  from 11.45am to 12,30pm for their lunch. Year 11s entitled to a free meal can return to school  after they are dismissed on Thursday between 11.45am and 12.30pm for their lunch.

Wednesday 18 March 2020

The government has announced that all schools will close after the end of school on Friday 20 March until further notice. We will write in the next two days to explain the arrangements for free school meals, supporting children of key workers and those students with EHCPs. Keep checking back to this page for updates.

The trip to Poland planned for July 2020 has been cancelled. We are sorry to have to do this, but based on government  advice we felt it was the best course of action. Refunds for this and the Athens visit will be made in the next few weeks.

Tuesday 17 March 2020

At the moment we are viable in terms of our staffing although tomorrow we will be collapsing some classes, particularly in the science department. This will be mostly involve Year 10 and 11 students.  We will review the situation for Thursday 19 March tomorrow. This may result in a partial closure. If this is the case then we will announce it by 5pm tomorrow, Wednesday 18 March.

What we are doing

We know families and carers will be concerned about the potential impact of COVID-19 on our students and the wider community and we are continuing to monitor the situation as it develops. As of 13 March we  entered the Delay phase of management at national level.

Government has decided that schools will remain open and we are doing all we can to keep students and staff safe and well.  This however is a situation that is evolving rapidly and our response may need to change at short notice. We will keep you informed through this web page, text, email, Instagram  and our twitter feed. We continue to follow the advice and guidance given by Public Health England and the Department for Education.

We have put the following in place:

• Alerted staff and students to the need for hand washing through posters around the school and information in tutor time
• Greater access to hand washing facilities
• Hand washing for all students at the start of the school day
• Enhanced cleaning of toilets and touch surfaces
• Reiterated to students our ‘no hands’ policy (social distancing)
• Placing unwell students waiting to go home in the Partnership Room where an appropriate distance can be maintained
• Cancellation of assemblies
• Cancellation of parents’ evenings and meetings
• Cancellation of sports fixtures
• Cancellation of the trips to Athens and Krakow

Self Isolation

The guidance published was updated on 16 March (link here)  and  states that anyone with a new continuous cough and/or a temperature (of above 37.8C) and who lives alone should self-isolate for seven days. If you are living with someone who has symptoms then all those living in the same household should also self isolate for fourteen days. You do not need to call 111 to go into self-isolation. If symptoms worsen during home isolation or are no better after seven days, you are advised to contact NHS111 online (www.111.nhs.uk  ) If your child requires self-isolation you must let us know immediately; we will do everything we can to support.

If a student or member of staff at The Elmgreen School is confirmed as being infected with COVID-19

The school continues to not have any confirmed cases of COVID -19. At the moment we have a significant proportion of the staff who are self-isolating because they or family members have symptoms or who have an underlying medical condition. We also have a similar proportion of the student population whose families are doing exactly the same.

As a precaution we have had deep cleans done of the classrooms where staff have had suspected symptoms. We have done this to make the school as safe as we possibly can. Without any national system of testing this is the very best that we can do.

If we receive confirmation that one of our students or staff has been infected with COVID-19, we will contact 111 / Public Health England. We will act on the advice given and undertake a risk assessment. In most cases, closure of the school will not be necessary, but this will be a decision made in line with advice on a case by case basis.

School Closure

The government has confirmed that schools will close at the end of the school day on Friday 20 March until further notice.

We have put the following in place

1. Parents and carers  informed of arrangements via email, the website, Twitter, Instagram and text.
2. Students  informed of the decision to close and of the arrangements for remote teaching and learning.
3. Setting electronically and in hard copy where needed. Students will be expected to complete work at home and engage fully with their education.
4. Providing care for vulnerable students and children of key workers ( we will update this when the government issues its definition of key workers)
5. Provide  a meal to all our students entitled to a free school meal between 11.45 and 12.30 each school day.
6. Regularly update this page with any additional information and any arrangements for reopening the school.

We will have limited cover in the school office, but our phone lines will be open during office hours. Reception will not be open and   we would discourage visits in person to the school. If  our lines are busy o please use the web form at the bottom of this page to contact us. Please allow 24 hours for a response.

External Examinations

GCSE and A Level examinations will  not take place for 2020 and there will be no school league tables. Many students and families will understandably be concerned about how they will get the qualifications needed to move onto the next phase of education or employment. The Department for Education and OFQUAL have brought  forward proposals on how grades will be awarded. The statement is available by using the link below

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/further-details-on-exams-and-grades-announced

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-cancellation-of-gcses-as-and-a-levels-in-2020/coronavirus-covid-19-cancellation-of-gcses-as-and-a-levels-in-2020

Trips, visits and events

We have already followed Department for Education Guidance and cancelled the trip to Athens due to depart on 26 March. We will keep the visits to Naples and Poland under review and rely on any advice from the Department and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office about overseas travel. There current advice is available here.

At this stage the Department are not advising against trips and visits within the UK. We will keep this under review and assess any risk that might be present if trip goes ahead.

Parents’ evenings and meetings have been cancelled.

Meetings of the Board of Trustees, its committees and the Governing Body have been cancelled.

Further information and support

Government guidance on COVID-19

https://www.gov.uk/government/topical-events/coronavirus-covid-19-uk-government-response

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-on-social-distancing-and-for-vulnerable-people/guidance-on-social-distancing-for-everyone-in-the-uk-and-protecting-older-people-and-vulnerable-adults

Guidance for education settings

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-educational-settings-about-covid-19

Education resources

https://campaignresources.phe.gov.uk/resources/campaigns/101-coronavirus-/resources

https://campaignresources.phe.gov.uk/schools

Department for Education social media

https://twitter.com/educationgovuk

https://www.facebook.com/educationgovuk/

DfE Advice line (8am-6pm Monday to Friday) 0800 046 8687

Lambeth Council

https://www.lambeth.gov.uk/elections-and-council/about-lambeth/coronavirus-covid-19-information

For enquiries related to COVID-19 please use the enquiry form below putting COVID-19 in the subject line. Please allow 24 hours for a reply.