Newtown Primary School

Anne Close, West Bromwich, B70 0ES

Telephone: 0121 557 8507

Fax:            0121 520 9834

Date: Friday 13^th March 2020

Dear Parents/Carers,

Important Information – Coronavirus

I am sure that you have continued to hear the regular news updates about coronavirus (COVID-19). I want to reassure you that the school continues to follow the daily advice from Public Health England, and the Department for Education, to ensure the health of our children, staff and the wider community.

The latest update and guidance is that schools should remain open.

There are no known cases of coronavirus at Newtown Primary School.

Therefore, we are open and running as normal.

Action:

In school, we have been:

• teaching children how to wash their hands effectively
• washing hands regularly
• coughing or sneezing into tissues
• washing hands after coughing or sneezing
• ensuring all surfaces are cleaned and disinfected daily
• regularly disinfecting surfaces that are regularly touched e.g. door knobs, handles, switches, keyboards, remotes etc.

Please encourage regular handwashing and the ‘catch it, bin it, kill it’ approach at home too.

The government have moved from the Contain Phase to the Delay Phase in order to slow the spread. This means that you must stay at home if you have symptoms of COVID-19.

Symptoms

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

• new continuous cough and/or high temperature

If your child has these symptoms advice is:

• call the school office to make them aware
• stay at home and do not leave your house for 7 days from when the symptoms started
• wash your hands regularly for 20 seconds, each time using soap and water
• sleep alone, if that is possible
• do not visit your GP
• you do not need to call NHS111 to go into self-isolation. If your symptoms worsen during home isolation or are no better after 7 days contact NHS 111 online. If you have no internet access, you should call NHS 111. For a medical emergency dial 999.

If any staff or children in school have these symptoms then they will be sent home to self-isolate. Therefore, please ensure we have the most up to date mobile number to contact you on.

Future Updates:

I am aware that as we receive daily updates the situation may change in the future. The quickest and easiest way for us to communicate any changes is through the school website www.newtown.sandwell.sch.uk. For children self-isolating, we will also be providing them with learning resources and guidance via our website.

Further information can be found on the links below.

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

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-information-for-the-public

Yours Sincerely

Mrs S. Chesney-Ly

Deputy Head Teacher