Advice to parents - Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Latest Advice - 23 March 2020

The school has now closed.  But is open for vulnerable students and those children of key workers

You must now stay at home

• Only go outside for food, health reasons or work (where this absolutely cannot be done from home)
• Stay 2 metres (6ft) away from other people
• Wash your hands as soon as you get home

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Latest Advice - 19 March 2020

Dear parents/carers,

Re: Coronavirus update – school closure to most pupils

Following on from my last update, I’m now writing to let you know that we have now been instructed to close the school to almost all children after this Friday until further notice.

As advised by the government, we will do all we can to stay open for the children of key workers (e.g. NHS staff, police, others in frontline services) and children with certain needs.

We are waiting for the government to publish more information on what this means, but it would help us in the meantime if you could let us know if you think your child may fall into one of these categories. Please email reception@msj.bolton.sch.uk confirming your child’s name and year group and which category your child is in.  We’ll be in touch again as soon as we are sure who this does apply to.

All other children will need to stay at home, so we ask that you do not send your child into school from Monday onwards.

Please note that this is a national closure – as you may have heard in the news – so while it is a challenging situation, we are not alone. We’ll re-open fully as soon as we can and will let you know when this is by emailing all parents when we have more information.

What we’ll continue doing while your child is at home

Your child’s learning is of course important to us, so we’ll continue to help your child to learn.

1. Work will be set by class teachers on the Show My Homework app.  All students have been reissued with passwords and shown how to access this on their devices.  Please encourage your child to complete this work.
2. Additional resources have been posted on the school website – www.msj.bolton.sch.uk On the home screen you will see a yellow box which directs you to student resources. 
3. For further information about home study please contact the relevant class teacher or homestudy@msj.bolton.sch.uk
4. For any students struggling with internet access, work packs have been created and can be collected from school on Friday 20^th March from Main Reception from 9am until 3pm.
5. Please monitor the school website, your email and Twitter for regular updates.

If your child usually receives free school meals we will also be in touch with more information about how we will continue to provide this, with support from a scheme that the government has just announced.

What we won’t be able to go ahead with

All school trips and events have been postponed until further notice. 

Yesterday the Government confirmed that secondary school exams wouldn’t go ahead.  As soon as I have more information about this I will share it with you.  However please reassure your children that they will get the qualifications they need.  I have addressed Year 11 pupils today to reassure them and try to alleviate their anxieties at this difficult time.

This is as much as we know right now and we appreciate your continued patience with as we deal with this ever-changing situation. We understand that this latest news will have an impact on you and your family and it’s far from ideal, but we’ll continue to keep in touch with any updates as the situation develops.

If you want to get in touch to share any concerns, please don’t hesitate to do so via headteacher@msj.bolton.sch.uk

And remember: if you or your child feels ill and you want to know what to do next, please use NHS 111 online.

Thank you again for your continued support, and we will be in touch with more information when we can.

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Latest Advice - 16 March 2020

The school remains OPEN.

Should you child have a new continuous cough and/ or temperature they should remain at home and self-isolate for 14 days.  Any other members of your family will also need to self-isolate.

If your child becomes unwell at school and complains of a new continuous cough and / or temperature they will be isolated until someone can collect them.  They will not be able to return to school until 14 days isolation is complete.

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Coronavirus letter to parents -  13 March 2020

13 March 2020

Dear Parents / Carers

Re: Coronavirus (COVID-19)

I am writing to keep you up to date with the latest advice regarding COVID-19.  As a country and as a school we have been faced with the challenge of preventing the spread of this virus and have been working hard to educate students and staff about the government strategy to delay the spread of COVID-19.

As a school we are monitoring the situation on a daily basis and are carefully reviewing information given by the Department for Education and Public Health England.  Students are being given advice in both lessons and school assemblies to highlight the importance of maintaining high standards of hygiene.   Washing hands with soap and water, 5 or more times a day for 20 seconds (the same amount of time it takes to sing ‘happy birthday’ twice) remains one of the most important ways of reducing the chance of infection.  Using tissues when coughing and sneezing in line with the ‘Catch it, Kill it, Bin it’ campaign, is also being encouraged.

On Thursday 12^th March the Government announced a move from the ‘delay’ phase to the ‘contain’ phase of their strategy, and are urging people to stay at home for 7 days if they have the following symptoms:

• A high temperature
• A new, continuous cough

It is also advised not to go to your GP, pharmacy or hospital if you have these symptoms.  Should your child have any of the symptoms above, please notify the school Attendance Officer, who will mark student absence accordingly.

Within recent media coverage, there has been much speculation about school closures.  However, this is not something the Government is encouraging.  Should the Government’s policy change, I will notify parents as soon as possible.

Thank you for your support in relation to this matter, should you have any concerns, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Yours sincerely

 

Mrs A Devany

Headteacher