School Update 3 March 2020 (COVID-19)
As you will expect we are monitoring the situation with respect to coronavirus (COVID-19) very closely and have already written directly to parents involved in the return leg of the Japanese exchange programme in March and the Year 8 British Council MEP trip to China in June.
We continue to use every available source of information at our disposal: the advice of the Local Authority (Kent County Council), Public Health England, the World Health Organisation, professional contacts and colleagues in China and the British Council in London and Beijing. Although the daily rate of increase in new COVID-19 cases has been falling in China the current situation elsewhere remains uncertain and difficult to assess with confidence.
The school’s position is to provide preventative and control information that focusses on good health and hygiene.
The 2 most definitive points that can be made at this point are:
- Parents and the school follow NHS recommendations (as outlined below on the attached Public Health England sheet);
- The school has adopted the Local Authority Procedures as set out in their Emergency plans and outlined in the school’s Business Continuity plan.
The school will remain open and the extensive extra-curricular programme will continue as normal but in the unlikely event that there is an exceptional variation to deviate from a normal working day we will communicate to parents in the usual way, with updates on the school website and by email. We will, of course, keep parents informed of any developments as we try to manage this unprecedented situation in the best interests of all.
Reasonable additional precaution for visitors to the school.
We will also be asking all potential visitors who have recently travelled to any Category 1 country affected by coronavirus (COVID-19) not to visit the school for 14 days after arrival in the UK, even if symptom free. Please let us know if you have recently travelled to a high risk area and you therefore need to postpone your visit. Anyone who has had contact with someone who has the virus, or who has travelled to a Category 2 country and who then experiences symptoms themselves, must also refrain from visiting the school and follow the current guidance which is to self-isolate and ring 111.
The list of Category 1 and 2 countries can be found on the following web page List of Category 1 and 2 countries. The latest information and advice about COVID-19 can be found on the Government website.
