As you will no doubt be following in the news, the current situation with the Coronavirus (COVID-19) situation is continually changing.
Please be assured that we are keeping ourselves updated with the latest guidance as well as receiving regular updates from the Local Authority and Local Public Health Teams.
We have also put extra measures in place to increase our cleaning regimes across the nursery as well as remaining vigilant for any potential symptoms in any of the children or staff.
Please continue to work with us as and when the advice changes.
The main focus of the current Government and Public Health guidance is to prevent and delay the spread of this virus. We continue to emphasise with the staff and children the importance of handwashing and hygiene, in line with the guidance about how best to prevent the spread of infection. We politely ask parents / carers to also help continue this at home.
What do I need to do if I think my child has any COVID-19 symptoms?
Please see here for the current NHS guidance: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/ if you feel you or your child have any of the following symptoms:
- A high temperature (37.8C or over) – they feel hot to touch on the chest or back
- A new, continuous cough – this means they have started coughing repeatedly
Please do not medicate your child with paracetamol or ibuprofen-based medication prior to bringing them into the setting as this masks the temperature symptoms.
The demand on NHS 111 services is high so please ensure you check the NHS 111 online checker tool for guidance: https://111.nhs.uk/covid-19
What happens if we are concerned your child is unwell and presenting COVID-19 symptoms?
If your child becomes unwell in our care, we will follow our normal process of contacting parent/carers to collect them from the nursery setting, therefore please ensure we have up to date contact details for yourself and anyone that is an authorised person to collect
We have received additional guidance to try to isolate any child presenting any symptoms away from other children. We will of course not leave your child unattended and their key worker or another nursery practitioner will care for your child until you are able to pick them up.
We will then require you to follow current government guidance to self-isolate your child.
If you or your child do have a positive test for COVID-19 please inform the nursery so that we can follow local public health guidance.
What happens if there is a confirmed case of COVID-19 at the nursery?
If this happens, we will follow local public health guidance which may include a short-term closure of the nursery whilst we deep clean.
We will keep all parents up to date on what actions we are taking and any relevant advice if this event occurs.
We appreciate these new measures may cause some inconvenience, but during these uncertain times we have to follow Government/Public Health England (PHE) guidance advice to safeguard children and staff and to do everything we can to contain this disease.
More information
The Department for Education has launched a new helpline to answer questions about COVID-19 related to education. Staff, parents and young people can contact the helpline as follows: phone: 0800 046 8687, email: [email protected] (opening hours: 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday)
If you have recently travelled to any of the identified ‘hot spots’, then please speak to the Nursery Manager for further advice.
https://www.nhs.uk/…/coronavirus-cov…/advice-for-travellers/
https://www.gov.uk/…/covid-19-specified-countries-and-areas…
Thank you
Anna Sarginson
Director