Dear Parents/Carers

I’m writing to update you with the latest guidance we’ve received with regards to Covid-19 (Coronavirus) & how it may affect Woodlands Primary School. 

There has been a major change in advice with regards to how & when people should self-isolate. The new guidelines are as follows: 

•If one person in any household has a persistent cough or fever (38C+), everyone living there must stay at home for 14 days

•Those people should, if possible, avoid leaving the house "even to buy food or essentials" - but they may leave the house "for exercise and, in that case, at a safe distance from others"  

We are aware of several families at Woodlands that are currently following this precautionary advice. 

Updated advice for those people classed as being most at risk was produced yesterday too: Chief medical adviser Prof Chris Whitty said the group of people who should take "particular care to minimise their social contact" (for 12 weeks) were:

1. People over the age of 70
2. Other adults who would normally be advised to have the flu vaccine (such as those with chronic diseases)
3. Pregnant women

 
At Woodlands, we have members of staff that fall within the second & third categories of risk. School will remain open, but classes may have to be combined in some instances & changes to the timetable will be inevitable. 
 
Please inform us (01704 876444 admin@woodlandsschoolformby.co.uk) if your family is self-isolating. We can then code your child’s absence such that their attendance will not be affected & fines will not be issued. In this case your child MUST stay away from the school premises for fourteen days.
 
We have decided to stop all meetings/gatherings in school until Easter, when we will review this. The exceptions to this will be meetings with parents &/or outside agencies to discuss the safeguarding of children in our care. This means that our

• ALL after school clubs have now cancelled for the foreseeable future.
• Play & Learn group which meets on a Tuesday morning is suspended from today – please pass this on to anyone who uses this.
• Family learning on a Thursday morning in reception has also stopped.
• Visitors to school will also be curtailed until further notice, e.g. volunteers who come into school to hear readers, help in classes, etc.
• When dropping off or picking up your children, we would ask parents to stay outside the classrooms.

 
Our Y4 parents meeting, this Thursday (19^th March), about the activity residential to the Anderton Centre has been cancelled.
 
This is an extremely fast-moving situation & I would ask you to bear with me during this time. The decisions being made are taken with the health & safety of the children in our care (& their families) in mind. We will keep you informed as the situation develops. 
 
Please contact me through the school office if you would like to discuss matters further. 
 
Yours sincerely 
 
KD Williams