WLD Update Sunday 15th March 2020

We are living in an uncertain and challenging period of time.  All of us will be worried and concerned about our families, ourselves, our friends and our communities in the light of the recent spread of the coronavirus, Covid-19.  As you’re probably aware, the government’s guidance on the coronavirus has changed from the ‘contain’ phase to one of delaying the spread of the virus. We are taking all of the necessary steps to protect our community and are continuing to follow official guidance from the government and the local authority.

The current situation is as follows...

• The school remains open – this is the current official guidance we’ve been given
• All school functions continue to run as normal 
• Students should attend unless they feel unwell – if your child has any of the following symptoms they should remain at home for 7 days:
  • a new, continuous cough and/or
  • a temperature
• If your child is unwell, report this to us as you would normally
• A decision about the Italy trip in the summer will be made much nearer the time - we are in the hands of the relevant governments and our tour organiser (NST);
• The enrichment day scheduled for this week has been cancelled;
• GCSE examinations are still scheduled to run as planned.
• We’ll keep you up to date with any changes to the current situation

Please help us ....

• If you’ve recently changed your contact details, please inform the school office as soon as possible
• Talk to your children about the coronavirus. It’s a uncertain time and we should make sure young people feel supported. BBC Newsround has regular updates for younger children and YoungMinds has practical steps older children can take to help with anxiety
• Come and collect your child straight away if we ask you to (we’ll contact you if they become ill with either a temperature or a new, continuous cough)
• Please check that your child has access to Office 365 - they all have usernames and passwords and use it in lessons.  This is so we can make sure we’re well prepared for remote learning if the school does need to close at some point.  Students regularly use Mathswatch, Doddle and other online learning packages as part of their homework and these will be used in the event of school closure.  Office 365 is however likely to be the main method of communication with students so it is very important that they can access it.  The link is on the school website homepage. We have also sent out a text seeking to establish who does not have internet access at home.

If the school has to close...

• We’ll only close if we’re either officially advised to do so or we don’t have enough staff to run the school.
• In either case, we’ll notify you by text and email and via the website - as we do if the school has to close due to other emergency situations e.g. snow....  We will be working over the coming days to ensure that our systems are in place for providing work for students who are learning from home. 
• Please keep in mind that we’re only sending out this information to help the school community prepare. There are currently no plans to close.

If you have any questions...

Please consult the:

• School office, if you have any questions about our response to this issue
• NHS, if you want to know more about the symptoms of coronavirus. If you think you or your child may have the symptoms, use NHS 111 online if at all possible before calling 111
• Department for Education’s coronavirus helpline: 0800 046 8687, if you have any questions about the government’s response to coronavirus in relation to schools
• Government’s travel advice, if you want to know whether any upcoming trip or holiday you’re taking abroad should go ahead

It is a difficult time and we know you’re worried about the impact this might have on our community. It’s important we keep each other safe and talk about these events to help with any anxiety.

Thank you for your continued support.

James Harris

Headteacher