Dear Parents and Carers
In the light of recent government announcements related to the coronavirus outbreak, we are writing to you to bring you up to date with how this is affecting us at Summerhouse.
The main symptoms of the coronavirus are a new continuous cough, loss of sense of taste and/or sense of smell or a high temperature.
If nobody in your household is showing these symptoms, your child should attend Summerhouse as usual. Unless we are instructed by the government to close, we will aim to keep Summerhouse open.
The Prime Minister announced new measures that apply to all of us in relation to the virus. You can read about these measures at:
If anyone who lives in your household develops a new continuous cough, loss of sense of taste and/or smell or a high temperature, the government has stated that all household members must stay at home and not leave the house for 14 days. The 14-day period starts from the day when the first person in the house became ill. If you are keeping your child off school because they have one or both of the symptoms, or because someone else in your household has one or both of the symptoms, please let us know on the first day of their absence. They must then be kept off school for 14 days. We will not allow them to return to Summerhouse until the 14 day period has elapsed.
If your child develops either of these symptoms at Summerhouse, we will telephone you and ask you to collect them as soon as possible. Your child must then be kept off school for 14 days. Any child developing symptoms at Summerhouse will be asked to wait in a designated isolation room until you collect them.
If a member of your household develops symptoms during their period of isolation at home, they must stay off school for 7 days after the symptoms first appear. This means, for example, that a child may be at home because their sibling developed symptoms but who does not develop symptoms until the twelfth day of their isolation. They would have to stay at home for a further 7 days meaning that their total isolation period would be 19 days. If you require any advice about how long to isolate your child for, please call us and we will discuss it with you.
These are unprecedented times, and we must all do everything in our power to protect those members of our community (such as the elderly and those with underlying health conditions) who are most vulnerable to the virus. This will inevitably cause great inconvenience to some of our families, but please be aware that we are following government guidelines closely.
In the meantime, for the pupils who are able to continue to attend, please be assured that we are being extra vigilant in the way that we clean Summerhouse and encourage pupils and staff to maintain the highest levels of hygiene.
Our prime minister is providing daily updates, and we will inform you immediately if any of these updates has consequences for pupils at Summerhouse.
If you have any concerns about your child’s welfare and safety in Summerhouse, please contact us and we will answer any question that you may have.
Yours Sincerely
Maureen Thomas
Head Teacher