COVID-19 Updates

Due to the nature of the spread of COVID-19 and the advice that is offered from Government being updated regularly, this page will be updated to inform parents.

Update 7 April 2020

DFE – list of online resources for Home Education

(Some of these are dependant on the school having access)

Update 3 April 2020

Letter to Year 11 – GCSE Grades summer 2020

Ofqual letter to students

Ofqual – Guidance to teachers, students, parents and carers

DCC – Letter from Director of Public Health for Derbyshire

Update 30 March 2020

DCC – COVID-19 Information for teenagers

GOV.UK – looking after your feelings and your body

GOV.UK – advice to support mental health wellbeing during coronavirus outbreak

Update 25 March 2020

Government sets up WhatsApp to give information: https://bit.ly/2vRDWBK

Update 23 March 2020

DfE – closure of educational settings: information for parents and carers

DfE – cancellation of GCSEs in 2020

Update 20 March 2020

During the period of closure work is being provided for all students via the Z Drive. This, and school email accounts, can be accessed via the following link: https://www.haslandhallschool.co.uk/teaching-learning/useful-links/

As you are aware schools are to be closed from Monday 23 March 2020.

The Government has indicated the following key principles:

If it is at all possible for children to be at home, then they should be.
If a child needs specialist support, is vulnerable or has a parent who is a critical worker, then educational provision will be available for them.
Parents should not rely for childcare upon those who are advised to be in the stringent social distancing category such as grandparents, friends, or family members with underlying conditions.
Parents should also do everything they can to ensure children are not mixing socially in a way which can continue to spread the virus. They should observe the same social distancing principles as adults.
Residential special schools, boarding schools and special settings continue to care for children wherever possible.

The Government has announced that special consideration will be made for the care of children:

with an Education & Health Care Plan (EHCP);
supported by social services with a named social worker
who are young carers
where, in a single parent household, the parent is a ‘critical worker’
where both parents/carers are ‘critical workers’.

A ‘critical worker’ has been defined as;

Health and social care

This includes but is not limited to doctors, nurses, midwives, paramedics, social workers, care workers, and other frontline health and social care staff including volunteers; the support and specialist staff required to maintain the UK’s health and social care sector; those working as part of the health and social care supply chain, including producers and distributers of medicines and medical and personal protective equipment.

Education and childcare

This includes nursery and teaching staff, social workers and those specialist education professionals who must remain active during the COVID-19 response to deliver this approach.

Key public services

This includes those essential to the running of the justice system, religious staff, charities and workers delivering key frontline services, those responsible for the management of the deceased, and journalists and broadcasters who are providing public service broadcasting.

Local and national government

This only includes those administrative occupations essential to the effective delivery of the COVID-19 response or delivering essential public services such as the payment of benefits, including in government agencies and arms length bodies.

Food and other necessary goods

This includes those involved in food production, processing, distribution, sale and delivery as well as those essential to the provision of other key goods (for example hygienic and veterinary medicines).

Public safety and national security

This includes police and support staff, Ministry of Defence civilians, contractor and armed forces personnel (those critical to the delivery of key defence and national security outputs and essential to the response to the COVID-19 pandemic), fire and rescue service employees (including support staff), National Crime Agency staff, those maintaining border security, prison and probation staff and other national security roles, including those overseas.

Transport

This includes those who will keep the air, water, road and rail passenger and freight transport modes operating during the COVID-19 response, including those working on transport systems through which supply chains pass.

Utilities, communication and financial services

This includes staff needed for essential financial services provision (including but not limited to workers in banks, building societies and financial market infrastructure), the oil, gas, electricity and water sectors (including sewerage), information technology and data infrastructure sector and primary industry supplies to continue during the COVID-19 response, as well as key staff working in the civil nuclear, chemicals, telecommunications (including but not limited to network operations, field engineering, call centre staff, IT and data infrastructure, 999 and 111 critical services), postal services and delivery, payments providers and waste disposal sectors.

If workers think they fall within the critical categories above they should confirm with their employer that, based on their business continuity arrangements, their specific role is necessary for the continuation of this essential public service.

The Government advice regarding this can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-maintaining-educational-provision

It is important to highlight that this is a very different type of provision than schools usually provide; for these pupils, it will be about care, not education. This is about keeping children safe and allowing key workers to go to work. Only students indicated above will be permitted into school. Additionally, attendance, even for these groups of children, should cease if they show any symptoms associated with COVID-19.

We need to establish how many students will be attending school from the groups listed above. To that end, I ask that you contact the school via email: contact@haslandhall.derbyshire.sch.uk by 5pm Sunday 22 March if your child will be in school. Please indicate the following information:

name of student
tutor group
category of special consideration – if a ‘critical worker’ please indicate what that is.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their continued support and understanding.

Mr Edmonds

Update 18 March 2020

Following today’s announcement, Hasland Hall Community School will be closed from Monday 23 March until further notice. School remains open for all students on Thursday and Friday of this week.

The Year 11 visit to Cromford Mill over Easter is cancelled and refunds will be arranged. The Year 8 visit to the Winding Wheel on 31 March 2020 has been cancelled.

The Government has indicated that they would like schools to remain open for some students; those whose parents are frontline workers – NHS staff, health workers, social care workers, police, delivery drivers; those students with an EHCP; those students with social workers. As of yet there are no further detail has been provided. This information will be updated as the situation becomes clearer.

GCSE examinations will not take place for our Year 11 students this summer. At present no further information has been made available. I understand that this news is confusing, frustrating and distressing for students who have been working hard preparing for these examinations. The Government has indicated that they will work with Ofqual to ensure that ‘every pupil gets what they deserve and is not unduly penalised’. This situation will be clarified as soon as it is possible to do so.

Advice regarding self isolation remains unchanged.

During these unprecedented times we will continue to offer guidance, advice and support wherever possible. Thank you to parents, students and staff for their ongoing support.

Mr Edmonds

Update 16 March 2020

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
if you can, move any vulnerable individuals (such as the elderly and those with underlying health conditions) out of your home, to stay with friends or family for the duration of the home isolation period
if you cannot move vulnerable people out of your home, stay away from them as much as possible
if you have coronavirus symptoms:
- do not go to a GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital
- you do not need to contact 111 to tell them you’re staying at home
- testing for coronavirus is not needed if you’re staying at home
avoid non-essential social contact

Wherever possible students should continue to attend school.

If Year 11 students are off school then they can use GCSE Pod or other online resources to facilitate their revision. We will be adding additional information to the school website: https://www.haslandhallschool.co.uk/teaching-learning/useful-links/

All schools in England continue to receive guidance from Public Health England and the Department for Education. Hasland Hall Community School will follow any advice that is issued. Unless we are informed that we are to shut, school will remain open as normal.

Current Government guidance can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/topical-events/coronavirus-covid-19-uk-government-response

Specific advice regarding self isolation can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-stay-at-home-guidance/stay-at-home-guidance-for-households-with-possible-coronavirus-covid-19-infection

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

DCC COVID-19 Advice and Guidance: https://www.derbyshire.gov.uk/social-health/health-and-wellbeing/health-protection/disease-control/coronavirus/coronavirus-covid-19.aspx

NHS Advice: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/

NHS 111: https://111.nhs.uk/service/COVID-19/

Public Health England for the East Midlands:
PHE East Midlands response centre
Tel: 0344 225 4524 followed by Option 0 to get through to East Midlands Health Protection Team, then press option 1, then ask for the Coronavirus Response Centre. Open from 8am to 8pm.

There are 2 routes by which people could become infected with COVID-19:

secretions can be directly transferred into the mouths or noses of people who are nearby (within 2 metres) or could be inhaled into the lungs
it is also possible that someone may become infected by touching a surface or object that has been contaminated with respiratory secretions and then touching their own mouth, nose, or eyes (such as touching a door knob or shaking hands then touching own face).

There is currently no good evidence that people who do not have symptoms are infectious to others.

Good hygiene is the best way to prevent the spread of infection, including:

Use of tissues to catch a cough or sneeze, then binning the tissue and washing hands.
Washing hands frequently, particularly after using public transport, before leaving home, on arrival at school, after using the toilet, after breaks and sporting activities, before food preparation, before eating any food, before leaving school.
Use of an alcohol-based hand sanitiser if soap and water are not available.
Avoiding touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
Avoiding close contact with people who are unwell.

The most common symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) are recent onset of: