Dear Parents / Carers,

As you are aware, we are open as normal today.  Last night, there was little change to the advice and guidance that has been given by local authority.  As soon as this changes, I will be sure to inform you as soon as possible.

Despite there being no current change in advice; due to the ongoing, and escalating COVID-19 issues, we are working with our Bishopston Cluster of schools to ensure that we are able to maintain the health and safety of all our pupils in school.

As a cluster, we have put together the following Maintaining Learning Plan (below) in order to plan for the potential lack of staff, and it is important that you are aware of the measures that we may need to take, should it prove necessary.

I can only apologise for not being able to give you more information on timing, as we are dealing with the scenario changing daily.  Can I again reassure you though, that all measures that we are putting in place have the wellbeing needs of our children and families firmly at the core.

Along with the plan, we have been asked to reiterate the vital direction given on Monday regarding self-isolation, which states:

If anyone in a household is showing symptoms of COVID-19 namely a new persistent cough and/or fever, everyone in that house should self-isolate for 14 days.

Please check the latest advice regarding self-isolation as it is getting stricter by the day.

As I mentioned earlier, we will continue to monitor the advice regarding possible school closures, and when any more details become clear, as ever, we will keep you fully informed as the situation develops.  We will try, as much as possible, to give you as much advance notice as we can.

I would again like to thank you all for your support and cooperation at these difficult times.  As always, if you have any concerns, question or queries regarding the current situation please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Best wishes,

Mr. Cox

Dear Parents / Carers,

Since writing to you yesterday, there has been little change in what is happening in schools in Swansea, or indeed Wales.  Despite the Prime Minister advising that we should be avoiding social interaction as much as possible, this appears to not currently apply to schools and we have been told to remain open as normal.  All Swansea schools have been sent the following guidance in the last half hour:

We want to reassure residents that, in collaboration with our partners, all necessary steps will be taken to ensure the wellbeing of our communities.

At the moment council services remain open. Following the government announcement today we will be assessing the position and making further detailed announcements tomorrow.

Government guidance is that schools should remain open for the time being. The message to parents is that, as in other areas of Wales, schools will open tomorrow as normal and the position will be kept under continuous review.

Residents and parents are urged to follow the Government’s revised social distancing guidelines and anyone who is experiencing symptoms should continue to follow Public Health Wales advice which can be found here: https://phw.nhs.wales/topics/latest-information-on-novel-coronavirus-covid-19/

Today, some parents took the decision to keep their children off school – this is a decision that we respect and understand.  For the children that are coming to school, could I please bring your attention to the following additional measures that we are putting in place:

Morning Drop-Off:

As we practised this morning, we will not be asking the children to line up on the yard before coming into class.  All staff will be in their classrooms and doors will be open form 8.40am.  As soon as pupils arrive, and up until 8.55am, they should come straight into class and not wait to line up on the yard.  Breakfast club pupils will be escorted to class as normal.  The side gate will be locked at 8.55am, so children that arrive after this time must be signed in at the main reception as normal.  We are doing this in an aim to avoid having large groups of people on the yard having to wait for school to start.

As soon as pupils arrive at school we will be asking them to wash their hands.  Could you please also remind them as you drop them off?

End of School Collection:

From tomorrow, the side gate will be open from 3.00pm.  The children will be ready and you will be able to collect them any time from then.  If you make your way to your child’s class door, the staff will hand your children to you.  Please do not feel that it is now compulsory that you collect your children at 3.00pm, it is merely an option to try and spread the flow of people and limit the amount that are in the yard at the same time.

Could we please ask that families do not congregate in the yard once you have collected your children.

Water bottles:

As of today, the school water fountains are out of commission.  Could we please remind you to ensure that your child brings a drinks bottle to school with them.  It is also important that we remind them not to share with their friends.

Finally, I must say that the children have been absolutely brilliant in listening to guidance.  As a result, we have managed to have a relatively normal day in school, which has been a relief given the current situation. 

As you know, guidance is changing constantly and we are monitoring it very closely.  Please again be reassured that we are doing whatever is necessary to protect the interests of our children, and of school community.  As soon as we have more information, we will be sure to share this with you.

Many thanks,

Mr. Cox

Dear Parents / Carers,

I am sorry to email you on a Sunday evening, but I would like to update you following the latest advice we have received relating to the Coronavirus illness.

All Swansea schools have today received the following statement from the local authority:

As we continue to follow UK, Welsh Government and Public Health Wales advice, the Council has advised us that all schools in Swansea are open as normal on Monday. The situation is being kept under continuous review and we will advise immediately if something changes. It is also worth noting that the number of days any school is open and the date of school holidays are decided by the Welsh Government and not the Council’.

No additional measures need to be taken above the advice already provided by Public Health Wales.

If you need any further information please go to: https://phw.nhs.wales/coronavirus and there is also general information here for the public: https://www.swansea.gov.uk/coronavirusadvice.

We know that parents and carers are naturally going to be worried about the implications for their children and families. We would again like to reassure you that our primary concern is to take all necessary measures to protect children, staff and visitors in our school. We are in constant communication with other schools in the cluster, with Public Health Wales and with the Local Authority regarding the health and safety of our school community. 

I am pleased to report that, to date, there are no confirmed cases of COVID-19 connected to the school either directly or indirectly. However, as a duty of care, we will inform you of any developments if this situation changes.

Whilst the links above give detail of the steps we could be taking, as a cluster of schools, we have created a checklist of advice that can be used alongside the proactive steps that we have already put in place, to help prevent the virus.  Please take the time to discuss the points below with your children:

Advice for children

DO

• Wash your hands with soap and water often – do this for at least 20 seconds
• Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue  (not your hands) when you cough or sneeze
• Put used tissues in the bin straight away and wash your hands afterwards
• If possible, bring to school your own disposable tissues and follow the advice “Catch it! Kill it! Bin it!”
• Bring to school your own water bottle, as not to require using the water fountain.

DO NOT

• Do not touch your eyes, nose or mouth if your hands are not clean
• Share any food or drinks with anyone else (including using the water fountain)

Advice for parents and carers

DO

• Speak with your child about good hygiene as above
• Visit the following sites for the latest information, should you need it:

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

https://gov.wales/coronavirus

https://gov.wales/coronavirus-covid-19-educational-settings-guidance

• Update the school about any illness in your family or any concerns you have about contact with the Coronavirus
• Update the school regarding any travel plans
• Follow the guidelines on self-isolation with your children

DO NOT

• Be drawn into speculation or believe false information on social media

As we continue to follow UK, Welsh Government and Public Health Wales advice, the Local Authority has advised us that all schools should open as normal on Monday (as shown in the statement overleaf). The situation is being kept under continuous review and we will advise you immediately if something changes.

If you have any concerns, please do contact the school. The health and wellbeing of our children and families is our greatest priority. Please be reassured that we will do whatever is necessary to protect the interests of our school community and we will keep you updated at each stage.

Kind regards,

Mr. L. Cox

Dear Parents / Carers,

We fully understand that this is a difficult time for everyone; full of uncertainty and constantly changing messages.  Guidance that we are receiving, as schools, is being updated on a regular basis to reflect current national advice. 

As a school, we wanted to pass on the most recent information that we have been given.  We hope that the information will help go some way to helping reassure parents and children that we are all working together to keep everyone healthy.

We have been told to monitor the latest advice from Welsh Government by using the following link:  https://gov.wales/coronavirus .  We have also attached the letter that schools have received from the Director of Education for Swansea, Nick Williams.

As days pass, we are sure that the messages given to educational settings across the country will change.  As soon as we have more up to date knowledge, we will immediately share this with our school community.

Should you have any concerns, questions or queries please do come in and see us.

Kind regards,

Mr. L. Cox

Please click on the picture link to find the QR code that will direct you to the Parent Questionnaire 2020.

Your support is very much appreciated!