COVID-19

Last updated: 02/04/2020 10.01am

The Wavell School is actively updating this page of the website regularly to share information about the School’s preparations and responses to the current situation regarding COVID-19. Should you have any further questions after reading this information, please email admin@wavell.hants.sch.uk.

We are following the Department of Health and Public Health England guidelines on responding to the virus.

FAQs

What is the current situation?

The school is now CLOSED until further notice

Children must be told to STAY AT HOME and not meeting up outside of school.

As advised by the government, we will do all we can to stay open for the children of key workers (e.g. NHS staff ) and children with certain needs (e.g those with an EHCP) ONLY if home provision cannot be made by their families. Only those who have been identified as needing emergency provision will be allowed in school.

Thank you again for your continued support. We have really appreciated the positive comments on Facebook. They have helped us keep going in these challenging times. We will continue to be in touch with more information when we can.

How are we trying to keep the school safe?

We are following Government and Public Health England instructions especially our emphasis that everybody has a responsibility to wash their hands regularly.

Students and staff who currently remain in school are following the 2 metre social distancing guidelines at all times.

In order to avoid unnecessary large gatherings, assemblies will not take place from Wednesday 18th March until further notice.

The biometric finger pads are being cleaned regularly by the canteen staff.

Parents are asked NOT to come onto site to speak or meet with staff but to call in an emergency or email, if not an emergency, to enable us to set up a telephone conversation.

We have taken up the option with our cleaning company to provide additional cleaning of high-profile contact points with the introduction of an additional preventative cleaning product. However, as you are aware, manufacturers are not keeping up with the demand for hand sanitisers, antibacterial soap, antibacterial wipes, virucidal cleaning chemicals, sanitiser dispensers etc., so there are already very significant lead times on obtaining such products. We and the cleaning company are doing what we can but we are of course at the mercy of manufacturers and suppliers.

Are school events still going ahead?

Currently the following events have been cancelled/postponed until further notice:

All Sports Fixtures are cancelled until further notice.
All extra-curricular activities, including clubs and off-site activities are postponed until further notice
All residential visits and day trips are now cancelled or postponed.
We will have contacted you directly, if your child was due to take part in a visit or off-site activity, in the next few weeks.

What actions can I take to keep my family safe from COVID-19?

Do

Wash your hands with soap and water often - do this for at least 20 seconds
Always wash your hands when you get home or into work
Use hand sanitiser gel if soap and water are not available
Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve (not your hands) when you cough or sneeze
Put used tissues in the bin straight away and wash your hands afterwards

Don't

Do not touch your eyes, nose or mouth if your hands are not clean

For further advice visit the NHS website

What should I do if my child or member of the household shows symptoms of COVID-19?

The symptoms of coronavirus are:

a cough
a high temperature
shortness of breath

In line with Public Health Guidance,

If your child has any of the symptoms they must NOT come to school and must stay at home for 7 days
If they live with other people who have any of the symptoms, they must NOT come to school and should stay at home for 14 days from the day the first person got symptoms

if you live alone and you have symptoms of coronavirus illness (COVID-19), however mild, stay at home for 7 days from when your symptoms started.

if you live with others and you or one of them 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.

Public Health England 17.03.20

Please report the absence VIA EMAIL giving details of when the symptoms started and keep in touch with us during the time that your child is off.

Stay at Home Guidance

Do not go to a GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital. You do not need to contact 111 unless the symptoms continue longer than 7 days or worsen.

Please use the NHS website for further advice.

As the School is closed how will we communicate with you?

We will use WavellMails and all necessary information will also be available on this webpage. Please do not call the school unless you require contact with a member of staff in an emergency. Please email us will all enquiries and we will get back to you as soon as we can. We will keep in contact with you throughout the closure.

Parents and carers can also join our online Year Group communities on Facebook for further support, information and advice during this difficult time.

How will learning continue during the school closure?

Teachers will set work via the Show My Homework Platform
Teachers will set relevant work that follows the curriculum as much as possible during the closure
Students are advised to follow their normal timetable where possible and find the work for each lesson on Show My Homework
The work may involve accessing other websites as directed by the teacher
We advise parents who have not yet registered for Show My Homework to register. Please contact the school via homework@wavell.hants.sch.uk for a new PIN.
If you have any queries about the work please email homework@wavell.hants.sch.uk
There are many links to useful educational websites on our Learning Links Page

My child is due to take their GCSEs this year. What is going to happen about the exams?

The Department for Education has cancelled all GCSEs, AS and A Levels for this year.

The latest statement and full advice can be found here

Year 11 Information

How can I support my child emotionally during this time?

Setting routines, including working on-line through Show My Homework lessons, will help so that there is a sense of normality. Healthy eating, exercise and fresh air all support our well-being and mental health.

Importance of Routines

Supporting Stress, worry and anxious behaviour

Limiting use of Social Media may help keep your child from worrying about “false information”.

The charity MIND have produced some excellent guidance to the coronavirus and wellbeing which might be of interest here

COVID-19 Advice for Parents and Carers

Government guidance for parents and carers on supporting children and young peoples mental health and wellbeing during the coronavirus covid 19 outbreak

Where can I find additional information?

We will post all our linked WavellMails here on this COVID-19 Update webpage for ease of access.

Further details can also be found on the Government website.

For COVID-19 information in different languages please click here

EAL Parents can continue to phone the EMTAS phone numbers to speak to a member of staff.