Updated – 10/03/20

Tytherington School has a duty of care to all its students and staff.  The School is following all advice given out by the UK government, WHO, Cheshire East Council, Public Health England and other relevant bodies.  The school is monitoring all advice and guidance and will keep this page updated on a daily basis. 

What is Coronavirus? 

A coronavirus is a type of virus. As a group, coronaviruses are common across the world. Typical symptoms of coronavirus include fever and a cough that may progress to a severe pneumonia causing shortness of breath and breathing difficulties. 

The incubation period of COVID-19 is between 2 and 14 days. This means that if a person remains well 14 days after contact with someone with confirmed coronavirus, it is unlikely that they have been infected. 

The following symptoms may develop in the 14 days after exposure to someone who has COVID-19 infection: 

• Cough 
• Difficulty in breathing 
• Fever 

Generally, these infections can cause more severe symptoms in people with weakened immune systems, older people, and those with long-term conditions like diabetes, cancer and chronic lung disease. There is no evidence that children are more affected than other age groups – very few cases have been reported in children. 

Further information is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-educational-settings-about-covid-19/guidance-to-educational-settings-about-covid-19  

Is school open? 

The current advice from Public Health England is that there is no need to close educational settings or send other learners or staff home. 

School events 

At present, there is no guidance that states that school events and sporting fixtures should be postponed or cancelled.   

During events such as Parents and Open evenings we are ensuring adequate handwashing facilities are available to allow staff, parents and visitors to practise good hygiene. 

What can I do? 

Personal hygiene is the most important way we can tackle COVID-19, especially washing hands more; and the catch it, bin it, kill it strategy for those with coughs and sneezes. 

What about those who have travelled abroad? 

The advice on what to do for people who may have travelled abroad is quite specific and is identified below. 

 For the latest advice on what Category 1 and Category 2 locations are please follow the link below: 

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-specified-countries-and-areas/covid-19-specified-countries-and-areas-with-implications-for-returning-travellers-or-visitors-arriving-in-the-uk 

Exam preparation and Ofqual advice

We recognise that students, parents, schools and colleges will be concerned about the possible impact of coronavirus on the 2020 summer exam series. Ofqual’s advice at this time is to continue to prepare for exams and other assessments as normal.

Ofqual continues to work closely with exam boards, other regulators and the Department for Education to plan for a range of scenarios, as the public would expect. Our overriding priorities are fairness to students this summer and keeping disruption to a minimum.

It is still many weeks until exams start and we will issue updated advice if necessary, giving schools and colleges as much notice as possible.

The latest updates from Ofqual can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/updated-statement-on-coronavirus

 Government Coronavirus Action plan 

The UK Government has launched a Coronavirus Action plan to contain the spread of Coronavirus and what action could be taken if the virus does spread. 

The document contains: 

• What is known about the virus and the diseases it causes 
• How the UK prepares for infectious disease outbreaks 
• The UK government response to the current Coronavirus outbreak 
  • The phased response – what has been done so far 
  • The role the public can play in supporting this response 
  • The phased response – what we will do next 

Please follow the link below for further details: 

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-action-plan/coronavirus-action-plan-a-guide-to-what-you-can-expect-across-the-uk

Who can I contact if I have a concern? 

Department for Education Coronavirus helpline 

The Department for Education have launched a new Coranavirus helpline to answer questions about COVID-19 related to education. Staff, parents and young people can contact the helpline as follows: 

Phone: 0800 046 8687
Email: DfE.coronavirushelpline@education.gov.uk
Opening hours: 8am to 6pm (Monday to Friday) 

No school should close in response to a suspected (or confirmed) COVID-19 case unless advised to do so by Public Health England.

For school-related queries, please contact info@tytheringtonschool.co.uk

Where to find the latest information 

Updates on COVID-19: 

https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus

 Guidance for educational settings: 

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

Travel advice for those travelling and living overseas: 

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/travel-advice-novel-coronavirus

References: 

https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/q-a-coronaviruses

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