Woodlawn Primary School - contingency plan until school closes

Cleaning

·      Enhanced cleaning routines to ensure that surfaces and ‘touch points’ such as door handles, light switches and telephones are regularly disinfected. Each class has disinfectant wipes for wiping door handles etc

Pupil awareness

• We will maintain procedures regarding hand washing. This will include proactively encouraging children to wash their hands at several times during the day.
• Additional hand washing facilities available in classrooms. Classrooms are stocked with soap and paper towels
• School will encourage pupils that if they need to cough or sneeze - "to catch it with a tissue, bin it, kill it by washing your hands with soap and water or hand sanitiser".
• School will encourage pupils to wash their hands with soap and water or hand sanitiser - on arrival at school, before eating, after breaks, after using the toilet and before coming to school.
• School will encourage pupils to try not to touch their eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
• Teachers will use recommended resources to teach pupils about personal hygiene and good handwashing techniques.

Symptoms

• Pupils displaying symptoms relating to coronavirus should not come to school.  Any person who develops a new, continuous cough and/or high temperature will be sent home and advised to self-isolate for seven days.
• If anyone has been in contact with a suspected case, no restrictions or special control measures are required while test results for COVID-19 are awaited. There is no need to close the setting or send pupils or staff home.
• If there is a confirmed case of coronavirus of a pupil or staff member we will be contacted by the local Health Agency to discuss the case, identify people who have been in contact with them and advise on any actions or precautions that should be taken. The Public Health Agency will also be in contact with the patient directly to advise on isolation and identifying other contacts, and will be in touch with any contacts of the patient to provide them with appropriate advice. Advice on cleaning of communal areas such as classrooms, changing rooms and toilets will be given by the Public Health Agency. If there is a confirmed case, a risk assessment will be undertaken by school with advice from the local Public Health Agency. Then a decision will be taken about the potential closure of the school.

Visitors to school

• Visitors should use hand sanitizer or wash their hands when entering the school building.

Other considerations / alterations

·      Swimming lessons will be cancelled until further notice.

·      Lego workshops are cancelled.

·      No After-school clubs will run after 3pm.

·      Parents kept up to date with developments through the use of Facebook online platform, our school website and if need be by letter and text message.

·      Teachers to begin to prepare resource packs for pupils in the event of a school closure (following advice from teachers’ unions).

·      Kitchen staff are now using disposable clothes for wiping down tables

·      Cutlery and cups are now handed to children by kitchen staff, rather than children collecting their own

·      There is a strict handwashing regime for all staff working in the kitchen and canteen.

·      School will remain open until such time as the Government or Department of Education decide otherwise. We will follow advice given by the Public Health Agency.

• Until further notice, parents with children in the primary school will be encouraged to leave pupils off at the entrance and not enter the school building unless absolutely essential. Parents wishing to visit classrooms to speak to the teacher/principal or who have a meeting scheduled will be asked to wash their hands or use hand sanitizer.