Covid Update April 2022
From 1st April 2022 schools and nurseries are now having to follow the living with COVID-19 advice and guidance from government. We will still be ensuring that our children, staff and visitors follow good hygiene practices and that our rooms are kept well ventilated.
As we learn to live safely with COVID-19, there are actions we can all take to help reduce the risk of catching COVID-19 and passing it on to others. These actions will also help to reduce the spread of other respiratory infections.
Symptoms of COVID-19, flu and common respiratory infections include:
– continuous cough
– high temperature, fever or chills
– loss of, or change in, your normal sense of taste or smell
– shortness of breath
– unexplained tiredness, lack of energy
– muscle aches or pains that are not due to exercise
– not wanting to eat or not feeling hungry
– headache that is unusual or longer lasting than usual
– sore throat, stuffy or runny nose
– diarrhoea, feeling sick or being sick
Children with mild symptoms such as a runny nose, sore throat, or slight cough, who are otherwise well, can continue to attend their education setting.
Children who are unwell and have a high temperature should stay at home and avoid contact with other people, where they can. They can go back to school or childcare, and resume normal activities when they no longer have a high temperature and they are well enough to attend.
All children with respiratory symptoms should be encouraged to cover their mouth and nose with a disposable tissue when coughing and/or sneezing and to wash their hands after using or disposing of tissues.
If a child has a positive COVID-19 test result they should try to stay at home and avoid contact with other people for 3 days after the day they took the test, if they can. After 3 days, if they feel well and do not have a high temperature, the risk of passing the infection on to others is much lower. This is because children tend to be infectious to other people for less time than adults.
More advice can be found on this website: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/symptoms/coronavirus-in-children/
Covid Update November 2021
From 30th November 2021 all visitors to nursery, including parents, are required to wear a face covering when they are inside the building, so please bring a mask with you if you need to come inside to speak to a staff member or to help your child.
Staff will also be wearing face coverings in the communal parts of the building, but not when working directly with the children as this could hinder the children’s speech development.
Covid Update September 2021
To continue to protect our staff and children we will still be asking parents to drop off and collect their children from external doors once they are settled in nursery. These will be the same doors as last year.
The one way systems for both entrances will still be in place to reduce congestion at both gates.
Please also see the update below from July as this is all still relevant.
Covid Update July 2021
We have updated our extensive risk assessment and are making changes for September 2021 in light of government guidelines altering over the summer holidays. We will not be required to keep the children in consistent groups (bubbles) in September, however the 2 year olds will still be in their own room which is separate from our 3-4 year olds.
Schools will no longer trace contacts, this will be done by Track and Trace. Children will no longer have to self-isolate except where they are specifically told to by Track and Trace, instead all members of the household will need to have a PCR test (one sent to a lab) if someone in the household tests positive for covid-19. PCR tests can be obtained by phoning 119 or from www.gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test
We will still have some procedures in place to ensure that nursery is as safe as we can make it for children, parents and staff. We ask for your help in following the rules and systems listed below to enable everything to run smoothly when you return or start nursery after the summer holidays.
The school will do its best to:
- Provide an environment which has been risk assessed in response to the COVID-19 infection;
- Regularly clean all surfaces, toilets, touch points (e.g. door handles) and toys;
- Keep the school well ventilated whilst the children and staff are on the premises;
- Teach your child good hand washing techniques and ensure that they are supervised whilst regularly washing their hands
- Teach children to cough into a tissue or their elbow – the ‘catch it, bin it, kill it’ technique
- Provide a curriculum that meets the needs of your child’s well-being, mental health and academic needs;
- Contact parents/carers if your child displays symptoms of COVID-19;
- Continue our clear and consistent approach as set out in the Behaviour Policy and its Covid-19 Addendum
- Communicate regularly between home and school through notices, text, Tapestry, email and the school website.
- Follow all specific government guidelines for local restrictions if they affect the area around the school.
We ask that to help your child at school, you do the following:
- If your child, or anyone in your household, shows symptoms of COVID-19 (high temperature, new continuous cough or loss or change of taste or smell), you will not send them to school. You will all get a PCR test and let the school know the results as soon as possible via telephone. You will self-isolate as a family whilst you wait for the results.
- If your child shows symptoms of COVID-19 at school, you will collect them from school immediately.
- When dropping off and picking up, you will strictly adhere to the school timings for your child.
- Only one adult will attend Nursery with your child and you will only bring siblings if necessary.
- You will leave the premises promptly at the beginning and end of each day.
- Your child can only bring into Nursery a bag of spare clothes and they must not bring any toys or other items from home.
- You will help teach your child good hand and toilet hygiene and also how to cough into their elbow or a tissue.
- You will read all letters/messages/emails that are sent home.
- You need to inform the school immediately of any changes to parents/carer and emergency contacts details.
- You will support the staff in their efforts to create ‘as safe as possible’ environment during this crisis.
- You will access home learning on Tapestry for your child when appropriate, for example if your family are self-isolating but well.
- Government guidance may alter for specific areas of the country as new variants of covid-19 appear and you will therefore follow all current guidance for Erdington whilst on the school premises.
Please see government guidance for further details
Our current full covid risk assessment:
Covid_19_School_Risk_Assessment_V1_Full_opening_July_2021 (FNS)
Our outbreak management plan: