Coronavirus Update as at March 17th 2020
Dear Parent/Carer,
Further to my recent letters, I am this afternoon writing with a further update on the Coronavirus outbreak. We continue to remain open as normal but again wanted to reiterate that anyone who has a high temperature (37.8 degrees and above) or a new, continuous cough, should stay at home. In line with government guidance, if staff or students become unwell on site with a new, continuous cough or a high temperature they will be sent home.
I also wanted to ensure that you are all aware that yesterday the government introduced new guidance on whole household isolation in response to the outbreak:
- If you live with others and you or another member of the household have symptoms of coronavirus, then all household members must stay at home and not leave the house for 14 days. The 14-day period starts from the day when the first person in the house became ill. It is likely that people living within a household will infect each other or be infected already. Staying at home for 14 days will greatly reduce the overall amount of infection the household could pass on to others in the community
- For anyone in the household who starts displaying symptoms, they need to stay at home for 7 days from when the symptoms appeared, regardless of what day they are on in the original 14-day isolation period.
For further detail on whole household isolation, please see the following website:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-stay-at-home-guidance
In the interests of continuing to be open and transparent, a total of one member of staff and six students have now informed us that as a precautionary measure, they are self-isolating having displayed some of the symptoms referred to above. No official cases of Coronavirus have been confirmed, we have taken advice from the Department of Education this week and once more, I stress that we remain open.
I would like to remind you all that we are tightening our approach to “social distancing” in view of the updated guidance and our planned Careers Fayre and whole-school assembly this week have therefore been cancelled. We are also adapting our lunchtime arrangements on days when all year groups are present to reduce the numbers of students in close contact with each other. All other planned activities for the remainder of this week are currently scheduled to run as normal, however our Friday enrichment options are likely to consist of a reduced choice.
Finally, a further reminder that I would also be grateful if you could all check that we have your most up to date contact details so that we can continue to communicate with you all quickly and effectively. Don’t forget that as always, alongside any paper copies of letters and mobile phone texts, we post all of our latest news on the following social media platforms:
www.twitter.com/edgenorthfield
www.facebook.com/edgeacademynorthfield
www.instagram.com/theedgeacademynorthfield
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCecMYPWTNC-DYEbioHbBFvA
Your support in these challenging times is hugely appreciated. If you have any further questions or anxieties regarding this letter, please feel free to contact me directly at [email protected].
Yours faithfully,
Andrew Wakefield
Principal