Dare to Discover
QUESTIONS ABOUT SELF-ISOLATION
Should I be isolating my child at home?
The advice continues to be that children should attend school unless they have relevant symptoms (a temperature above 37.8°C, or a new, continuous cough) or are otherwise unwell. Government has today advised that everyone in the household should stay away from work or school if any member of the household has these symptoms. In addition, some of you have medically vulnerable children and have been advised to keep them off for the time being or are medically vulnerable yourselves and therefore you wish to reduce the chance of being infected by isolating the whole family. All such absence will be coded with a special code for self-isolation and children who are ill will be coded as such.
What should I do if I am isolating my child at home but they are well enough to do some learning?
Whilst we do not currently have the capacity to arrange individual home-learning for children who are currently absent from school, we have set up links to educational websites on the Parents/Carers- Home Learning- General tab of the website. Many companies are currently providing free access to their resources at this time and we will signpost you to these. Should the school close, we will make different arrangements for home learning (see below). In the meantime, if your child is at home and well enough, please read with them, play games, do some practical maths (e.g. teaching them about time and money) and keep screen time to a sensible level.
How should I inform the school that I am keeping my child at home?
Please send an email to office@fulbourn.cambs.sch.uk, informing us whether your child is unwell, whether this is with relevant Coronavirus symptoms (high temperature and new, persistent cough) or something else, or whether you are keeping them off because someone else in the household has symptoms and you now need to isolate the whole family.
Do I need to contact the school every day of my child’s absence?
From today, Government advice is for self-isolation to be for a period of 14 days, so once you have informed us that your child is staying at home for the purpose of isolation, you do not need to contact us again for 14 days. We are awaiting further advice on whether a child can return to school earlier, and certainly if your child’s absence is going to be longer than 14 days, we would like you to email us with an update.
QUESTIONS ABOUT SCHOOL CLOSURE
What is partial school closure and how will you decide which children will be able to attend school?
Partial school closure is when we have enough staff for some of the children to attend, but not enough for all children to attend. In the first instance we would prioritise children and families in the following ways:
We have asked you for information about your working to help us to draw up a list of children whose attendance would be prioritised. If you have not yet given us a response and you fall into one of these categories, please let us know immediately.
What will lead to a decision to fully close the school?
The school will close if:
How will I know the school is closing?
Decisions about school closure will be communicated via email and the school website. Updates will be communicated in the same way, including information about re-opening the school. Information about which schools are partially or fully closed can also be found at https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/residents/children-and-families/schools-learning/school-term-dates-closures/school-closures
What will home-learning arrangements be?
In the case of either partial or full closure, teachers will set work daily via the website. In the Parents and Carers drop-down menu, there is a new tab called Home Learning which contains folders for each phase of the school. Daily learning tasks will be set there and we are creating new team email addresses for you to send completed homework to, or to request help and advice.
What can I do if we do not have access to the internet or devices my children can use for completing homework?
Please let us know immediately, so we can make arrangements to support you and your child in the event of school closure.
GENERAL QUESTIONS THE CORONAVIRUS SITUATION
My child’s hands are becoming sore through frequent washing? Is this really necessary?
We are strictly following PHE and DfE guidance on hand washing and it is absolutely necessary to reduce spread of Coronavirus. If you would like to send hand cream in for your child to use, please do do in a named tube or container and make sure the product has no nut oils. A simple E45-type cream is best. Children must not share their hand cream with others in case of skin reactions.
What should I do if I’m feeling anxious, stressed or isolated by the Coronavirus pandemic?
DO:
DON’T:
What should I do if my child is feeling worried about the Coronavirus?
DO:
DON’T:
There are lots of guidelines about this subject on the internet. This one is endorsed by the British Psychological Society: https://childmind.org/article/talking-to-kids-about-the-coronavirus/
What if our family income is affected by the crisis and we’re struggling financially, including with buying food and provisions?