Latest News and Updates

Crossdale will be closed to all pupils on Monday 4^th January

Dear Parents,

A number of staff have made the difficult decision to write to me this afternoon outlining that under section 44 of the Health and Safety act 1974 they will not be attending school for the foreseeable future due to the rise in coronavirus infections over Christmas. The exception they have stated is being in school supporting the learning of key worker and vulnerable children where necessary.

As a consequence, there will be significant disruption to face to face learning from tomorrow. In fact, the timing of the letters and union advice means that Crossdale will be closed to all pupils tomorrow – sadly at this late stage we are not even able to confirm how we will open safely to the children of keyworkers and vulnerable children from tomorrow. Nottinghamshire County Council have suggested that schools might need to close to pupils given the timing of these events, so we will not be alone in remaining closed tomorrow.

Along with other senior leaders I will spend the rest of the day and tomorrow planning a way forward to support our children and families in these unprecedented and unfortunate circumstances. Later today, we will send out a survey for keyworkers and vulnerable children with the aim of offering provision in school for those groups, at the very least, from Tuesday. We will also offer remote learning on Monday to all children and going forward for those children whose classes are closed – this is likely to be most pupils in most year groups.

I do not underestimate the disruption this late notice will cause families and I sincerely apologise for the late notice, inconvenience and disruption to your children’s learning.

Windmills Childcare pre-school will be open as normal with wrap around care for pre-school children operating from the bungalow.

Regards,

Peter Cresswell

(Headteacher)

Summary:

• Crossdale will be closed to all pupils tomorrow
• A survey for keyworker and vulnerable children will be sent out later today
• We will offer keyworker and vulnerable children provision, at the very least, in school from Tuesday.
• We will offer remote learning from Monday.
• I will write to parents again tomorrow updating them on plans for Tuesday and beyond

Over the first few days of the holiday, schools have been asked to help coordinate Public Health England’s response to any positive cases of Covid-19 amongst school age children.

As such, if your child has a confirmed case before the 25^th December, please contact us using covid@crossdale.notts.sch.uk letting us know:

• Your child’s name and class
• When he / she was last in school
• When he / she started to show symptoms
• When he / she had a test
• When the positive result was confirmed

We will then contact members of staff and other children who might need to self-isolate.

After the 24^th, you should follow NHS advice and, if appropriate, let us know on the first day back, the 4^th January, that your child is self-isolating following a positive test result.

NHS advice can be found here: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/

Further details:

• If we are notified of a positive test by 24^th December, and the child’s first symptoms occurred no less than 48 hours after their last day attending school (20^th December, if child attended on the 18^th) we will attempt to trace contacts of that child in school, as per government advice, and following any further advice. We will usually email any contacts, so please do check emails regularly.
• If a positive test result occurs after the 24^th December, or symptoms occur 48 hours after the last attendance in school, we will not do any tracing as per government guidance. Track and trace will perform any tracing in these circumstances. However, please still let us know of a positive result. The graphic below may explain this more effectively.

Please find a poster below with details of the latest Tier 3 restrictions from 2nd December.

CONFIRMED CASE OF COVID-19

Dear Parents,

We have been made aware of a member of our school community, a Y6 pupil, who has tested positive for COVID 19.

As a result, all Y6 families have been contacted, informing them that their child must self-isolate and stay at home for 14 days. Household members of the Y6 pupils sent home today do not need to self-isolate themselves unless the child subsequently develops symptoms.

The school will remain open and all other pupils should continue to attend as normal if they remain well.

We know that you may find this concerning but we are continuing to monitor the situation and are working closely with Public Health England. This letter is to inform you of the current situation and provide advice on how to support your child. Please be reassured that for most people, coronavirus (COVID-19) will be a mild illness.

If you need to contact school about any issues linked to CV-19, especially in the evening or at weekends, please contact us using covid@crossdale.notts.sch.uk . The earlier we know about children with symptoms or positive tests, the quicker we can respond and protect other members of the school community.

What to do if your child develops symptoms of COVID 19

If your child develops symptoms of COVID-19, they must not come to school and should remain at home for at least 10 days from the date when their symptoms appeared. Anyone with symptoms will be eligible for testing and this can be arranged via https://www.nhs.uk/ask-for-a-coronavirus-test or by calling 119. 

All other household members who remain well, must stay at home and not leave the house for 14 days. This includes anyone in your ‘Support Bubble’.

Further information is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-stay-at-home-guidance/stay-at-home-guidance-for-households-with-possible-coronavirus-covid-19-infection

The 14-day period starts from the day when the first person in the house became ill.

Household members should not go to work, school or public areas and exercise should be taken within the home.

If you require help with buying groceries, other shopping or picking up medication, or walking a dog, you should ask friends or family. Alternatively, you can order your shopping online and medication by phone or online.

Household members staying at home for 14 days will greatly reduce the overall amount of infection the household could pass on to others in the community

If you are able, move any vulnerable individuals (such as the elderly and those with underlying health conditions) out of your home, to stay with friends or family for the duration of the home isolation period.

Symptoms

The most common symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) are recent onset of:

• a new continuous cough
• a high temperature
• a loss of, or change in, your normal sense of taste or smell (anosmia)

For most people, coronavirus (COVID-19) will be a mild illness.

If your child does develop symptoms, you can seek advice from the nhs.uk website at https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/check-if-you-have-coronavirus-symptoms/. If you are concerned about your child’s symptoms, or they are worsening you can seek advice from NHS 111 at https://111.nhs.uk/ or by phoning 111.

How to stop COVID-19 spreading

There are things you can do to help reduce the risk of you and anyone you live with getting ill with COVID-19

Do

• wash your hands with soap and water often – do this for at least 20 seconds
• use hand sanitiser gel if soap and water are not available
• wash your hands as soon as you get home
• cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve (not your hands) when you cough or sneeze
• put used tissues in the bin immediately and wash your hands afterwards

Further Information

Further information is available at https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/

Yours sincerely

Peter Cresswell

We will try to answer any questions you send to contact@crossdale.notts.sch.uk