The Government has announced a scheme to help young people get online by Increasing data allowances on mobile devices to support disadvantaged children

This scheme temporarily increases data allowances for mobile phone users on certain networks. This is so that children and young people can access remote education if their face-to-face education is disrupted.

Schools, trusts and local authorities can request mobile data increases for children and young people who:

• do not have fixed broadband at home
• cannot afford additional data for their devices
• are experiencing disruption to their face-to-face education

Children with access to a mobile phone on one of the following networks might be able to benefit:

• Three
• Smarty
• Virgin Mobile
• EE
• Tesco Mobile
• Sky Mobile

Other providers may join the scheme at a later stage.

The data pupils will get will depend on their mobile network. Some networks can’t offer data to Pay- as- you-go (PAYG) customers. Please click network providers info below.

EE

Smarty

Tesco Mobile

Virgin Media

Three

Please click the attachments below for more information and complete the google form to request support to temporarily increase your child’s data on their mobile device.

Privacy Notice (Please read)

Government Get Help With Tech Education – Mobile Data Privacy Notice

Google Form

https://forms.gle/dQSHaebxKL2ZJgZi9

 

 

Following yesterday’s announcements by the government, please find below an update for parents.

Week commencing 4th January:
– Monday – Holiday
– Tuesday is an INSET day, so school is closed to all students;
– Remote learning commences on Wednesday for Year 11 students only;
– From Wednesday, school is open to the children of key workers and vulnerable students only from 9am – 3pm. Lunch will be provided and we expect uniform to be worn. Emails have been sent to parents before the break who have previously been identified as a key worker. If you haven’t already, please email enquiries@shevingtonhigh.org.uk if you are a key worker and need to send your child into school. Please could you also provide evidence of being a key worker (eg photograph of your staff ID);
– Children entitled to Free School Meals who are not in school will be able to request food parcels via the school website https://www.shevingtonhigh.org.uk/free-school-meals/as the voucher system will not continue. More details will follow next week.

Week commencing 11th January:
– Year 11 return to school for face-to-face education;
– Years 7 – 10 commence remote learning at home;
Key worker children & vulerable students can continue to attend school 9am – 3pm;

Week commencing 18th January:
– All students return to school.

Covid Testing
You will probably be aware that the government is expecting us to conduct the lateral flow tests at school. There is a huge amount of planning required for us to fulfil this requirement. Further details will follow next week including details of the relevant consent information.

18 December 2020

Dear Parent/Carer

Asymptomatic Testing in Schools and Colleges Updates 

We are writing to update you regarding the latest Government guidance that we received today regarding the proposed rapid testing in school from January 2021

All Year 11 pupils, vulnerable children and previously identified critical workers children will return to school on the 6th January 2021.

All other year groups need to stay at home and follow remote learning provided via Google Classroom.  Year 7, 8, 9 and 10 will return to school on the 11th January 2021.

We know this is all very late notice and we are trying to plan as much as we can but the guidance supplied at the moment is very basic. We are expecting further guidance and support to set up the test centre in school in the new year. As soon as we receive more information this will be shared with parents.

Again many thanks for your continued support as we continue to navigate these unprecedented times.

I truly hope you all have a well deserved Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Yours Sincerely

Mr J Grant

Headteacher

Testing in Schools – Parent Letter December 2020

 

 

10th November 2020

Please click below for a parent letter issued by Wigan Headteachers.

Wigan Headteachers Parent Letter

9th November 2020

Dear Parent/Carer,

I hope you have had an enjoyable half term break. For those who are continuing to self-isolate following the end of half term, thank you for continuing your isolation period and we will look forward to seeing you back at school as soon as you are able to.

You may be aware that we have seen an increase in COVID-19 cases across our schools. We know that this is having an impact on our pupils, parents/caregivers, and staff as a result. Over recent weeks, across all schools and educational settings, we have seen an increase in both the number of confirmed cases, and the number of schools reporting confirmed cases in both students and staff across the borough since pupils returned to school in September. You may have experienced your child being sent home and asked to isolate due to being a contact or because the school has too many staff isolating to enable all pupils to attend school. We know that this can be frustrating, inconvenient, and stressful for all concerned but that schools may need to do this to keep your children safe.

It is important, to stress that the majority of transmission that we are seeing in Wigan is not happening in schools. This is a testament to the work that our schools and educational settings have put into place to make things as safe as possible for our children and young people, parents and caregivers, and staff. That said, whilst our schools have put in place significant safety measures which reduces as far as possible the risks to staff, pupils, and parents/caregivers, the ability of our schools to remain open on a consistent basis is also dependent on us all playing our part outside of school.

The additional measures that the Government has imposed have been put in place in order to bring the rate of infection down and keep residents as safe as possible. It is therefore essential that we all follow the rules in order to bring infection rates down and make it easier on our schools.

We now need to reinforce the message that, if your child is asked to self-isolate by their school for a period of time, they must follow the Government’s ‘Stay at Home’ guidance. Please note, you could be fined if you do not stay at home and self-isolate following a positive test result for COVID-19 or if you are notified that you need to self-isolate. Other really important measures we all need to follow are:

In an attempt to prevent further restrictions and lockdown measures, each area in Greater Manchester has now established an Enforcement and Compliance Team. The team’s aim is to encourage compliance with any current restrictions on individuals, families and businesses and to use enforcement action when compliance is repeatedly or blatantly being ignored.

Despite the fantastic work our schools have put in to reduce the risks of re-opening schools, there has clearly been an impact on our schools from COVID-19. Both the Chief and Deputy Medical Officers and the Government stressed in September that there is no completely risk-free option available to us, and that the risks from opening schools up again in September had to be balanced against the impacts on children from not attending school. We know that not attending school is detrimental to children’s cognitive and physical development, academic learning, emotional and mental health and wellbeing, and greatly reduces their life-long outcomes. Certainly, we have heard so many positive and heart-warming stories of Wigan’s children and young people enjoying learning and seeing their friends again over the last few weeks, and I am looking forward to hearing more of these stories over the rest of the term.

Thank you for your continued support of our schools in these challenging times.

Yours sincerely,

 

Professor Kate Arden MBChB MSc FFPH​​​
Director of Public Health​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

 

 

 

October Half Term Q&A for Parents

This document is intended to provide parents in Wigan with information in relation to some of the updated guidance which has been made available since the start of the autumn term, and some useful reminders.

The information in the below answers comes from a range of sources, which are linked to where available on the Internet:

NOTE: The content of the FAQ is correct as of 12pm on 5th November 2020

Q. The Government has announced new national restrictions, due to come in on the 5th November. How does this affect me and will it affect my child’s attendance at school?

From Thursday 5 November until Wednesday 2 December, the Government is requiring people to stay at home, except for specific purposes, preventing gathering with people you do not live with, except for specific purposes, and closing certain businesses and venues. Full details can be found on the Gov.uk website, or on the Wigan Council Coronavirus update and advice page.

Schools are expected to remain open under the new national restrictions, and one of the permitted reasons for leaving your home is for childcare or education where this is not provided online. Parents/caregivers should continue to send their children and young people to school unless they have been advised to self-isolate or are part of the Clinically Extremely Vulnerable group of children. The government continue to encourage people to cycle or walk where possible and plan ahead to avoid busy times on public transport.

Other permitted reasons for leaving home include for work purposes where you cannot work from home, to exercise outdoors or to visit an outdoor public place (note, there are specific restrictions on the numbers and groups of people within this), for medical reasons, shopping for food and essentials, to provide care for a vulnerable person or as a volunteer, or to avoid risk of injury or harm. You must not meet socially indoors with family or friends unless they are part of your household – meaning the people you live with – or support bubble.

Parents will still be able to access some registered childcare and other childcare activities (including wraparound care) where reasonably necessary, to enable parents to work, or for respite care. Early years settings can remain open, and parents are able to form a childcare bubble with another household for the purposes of informal childcare, where the child is 13 or under.

All social distancing and infection prevention measures continue under these restrictions.

If you are over 60 or clinically vulnerable, you could be at higher risk of severe illness from coronavirus. You should be especially careful to follow the rules and minimise your contacts with others, should continue to wash your hands carefully and more frequently than usual, and maintain thorough cleaning of frequently touched areas in your home and/or workspace. There is a further group of people who are defined, as Clinically Extremely Vulnerable to coronavirus. The Government is advising people within this group to work from home. If they cannot work from home, they are advised not to go to work, and may be eligible for Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) or Employment Support Allowance (ESA). Updated guidance on shielding is due to be published shortly.

 

Q. Should my child wear a face covering in school?

In both early years settings and primary schools, there is no change to the existing position. It is not mandatory for staff and visitors to wear face coverings. In situations where social distancing between adults in settings is not possible, settings can recommend the use of face coverings for adults on site, for both staff and visitors.

In schools where pupils in year 7 and above are educated, face coverings should be worn by adults and pupils when moving around the premises, outside of classrooms, such as in corridors and communal areas where social distancing cannot easily be maintained. This was already the case for pupils in year 7 and above, and staff and visitors in Wigan schools as we were previously under the ‘High’ and ‘Very High’ local alert levels. Face coverings should also be worn by pupils in year 7 and above when travelling on dedicated school transport to secondary school or college.

Some individuals are exempt from wearing face coverings and the Government expect adults and pupils to be sensitive to those needs.

 

Q. What happens if my child falls ill?

Anyone who develops symptoms of COVID-19, or whose household member develops symptoms, should immediately self-isolate. They should not attend school.

You should let the school know of your absence by phone. The school will record this information and direct you to the ‘Stay at Home’ guidance, which currently advises that the person with symptoms should isolate for 10 days starting from the first day of their symptoms and the rest of their household for 14 days. If your child is in school when they start showing COVID-19 symptoms, the school will isolate them in a safe place and contact you immediately.

You must then arrange for your child to have a COVID 19 test. You can do this via nhs.uk or by contacting NHS 119 via telephone.  If the test is negative, and your child feels well and no longer has symptoms similar to COVID-19, they can stop self-isolating. However, they could still have another virus, such as a cold or flu, in which case it is still best to avoid contact with other people until they are better.

If your child tests positive for COVID-19, they should still follow the Stay at Home guidance, which states that they must continue to self-isolate for at least 10 days from the onset of their symptoms, and then return to school only if they do not have symptoms other than cough or loss of smell/taste. Other members of the household should continue isolating for the full 14 days. It is extremely important that those who have been advised to self-isolate do so to prevent further transmission of Covid-19.

 

Q. What happens if I or another family member falls ill. Should my child attend school?

Anyone who develops symptoms of COVID-19, or whose household member develops symptoms, should immediately self-isolate. They should not attend school. If a test on the member displaying COVID 19 symptoms is negative, then your child will be able to return to school.

 

Q. What happens if another child in my child’s bubble falls ill?

If a child who attends or staff member who works at a school tests positive for COVID-19 then the school will be contacted by a contact tracer.

The school will then work with the contact tracer to identify direct and close contacts of the case during the 48 hours prior to the child or staff member falling ill. This is likely to be the classmates and teacher of that class. In some circumstances your child may be sent home for a short time as a precautionary measure whilst contact tracing is carried out.

The social distancing measures put in place by educational settings outside the classroom should reduce the number of other direct/close contacts.

If your child is identified as a direct or close contact, they will be asked to stay away from the school/setting and advised to self-isolate for 14 days starting from the day they were last in contact with the case.

Anyone else in your child’s household does not need to self-isolate unless your child develops symptoms. Your child does not need testing for COVID-19 unless they develop symptoms.

 

Q. How is the NHS COVID-19 app used in schools?

The app is available to anyone aged 16 or over to download if they choose. This will mean that some students in year 11, and the majority of students in years 12 and above will be eligible to use the app and benefit from its features. Staff members will also be able to use the app. 

Your child’s school should have a policy on how they are using the NHS COVID-19 app based on guidance. The general guidance is that settings advise or require students and staff to pause contact tracing whilst on the premises where mobile phones are required to be left in lockers or bags in communal areas at all time, to avoid the app misidentifying close contacts. When someone switches it off, the app will give the user the option to set a reminder for 4, 8 or 12 hours, after which they will receive a notification to remind them to switch contact tracing back on.

Please click below  for PDF version

Letter to Parents – Wigan LA

Dear Parents and Carers

I am writing to you today to thank you all for the continued support during these challenging and unprecedented times.  Over the last two weeks we have had a number of students and staff test positive to Coronavirus which has increased further the pressure and challenge to us all.

This has led to a number of year groups self-isolating and staff isolating.  I have had a number of parents contact school sharing their frustrations and seeking clarity to why we have chosen to isolate full year groups.  So I thought I would attempt to explain our specific situation at Shevington High School and how we are applying the Government Guidance.

As you are aware all schools were issued Government Guidance to use, to help prepare for a full return of all students in September.  We have used that guidance and applied all the safety measures that are within the document, to ensure all students and staff are as safe as possible.

To this end we have created year group zones and implemented staggered break times, staggered lunchtimes and one way systems to try to reduce the transmission of the virus across school and our children’s families.  We also took the decision to introduce face coverings from the start of this term again to help to reduce the transmission of the virus as students move around school.

In Secondary Schools the Guidance says that year groups are to be seen as a bubble.  Therefore we have five bubbles across the school.  To follow the guidance further we have Years 7,8 and 9 following their timetables from one classroom and our teachers move around to them lesson by lesson.  This was to reduce movement around school and limit the times that students from different bubbles mix.  We could not achieve this with Year 10 and 11 as they have individual timetables due to student option choices, so they move lesson to lesson in their zone.

There are a number of challenges that we face ensuring students in all years are safe and we meet all the risk assessments and control measures we have. All year group bubbles have a break and lunch in their bubble and we clean and sanitise the canteen between each bubble sitting.  We do only have one canteen and to comply with the risk assessments we have introduced a one way system for the students as they collect food and take their seats.  We have also had to reduce the number that can sit down at tables as students can’t sit and face each other.

This is one of our major issues, so despite students spending time in the same classroom that does avoid student movement and reduces possible transmission, we still have lunch and break as a full year bubble.  Because of the small size of the canteen and the challenges with social distancing it is really hard to ensure we can safely identify close contacts following a positive test result in a year group. Even though we do remind the students to social distance and wear masks throughout the day. It is really difficult for 175 students to do this while they eat their lunches during their recreational time.

We are trying our hardest to ensure students are safe in school.  The school is sadly a drastically different place since the pandemic. Our role is not only to ensure the students are learning and making great progress but we have the additional pressure to try to reduce the possibility of a Covid 19 outbreak across the school and our families.

This responsibility isn’t taken lightly and we do work closely with Public Health every time we have a case. We do also contact trace as much as we can despite the challenges I have highlighted above.  Many parents have had a call from me personally over the last two weeks as we try our best to identify those extremely close contacts and make sure our students and families are safe and supported.

What keeps me awake at night at the moment is the thought that we have an outbreak and that in turn is passed to our Shevington families and staff.  So for that reason I will always respond in the best interest of the health of all our students, families and staff.  Sending a year group home is the last thing we want to do, but self-isolation is the best way to reduce the spread of this extremely contagious and potentially deadly virus.

I know self-isolation of a year group can be inconvenient but the alternative is to put others at risk. We have Google Classroom in place and are running live lessons, lesson tasks and coaching for all classes and will endeavor to ensure students are not disadvantaged while they are isolating.

I hope this has helped parents to understand our current position and that we are truly trying our best to educate the children under extremely difficult circumstances but also as a school are doing everything we can to keep the children and staff safe and well.

Yours Sincerely

Mr J Grant

Headteacher

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dear Parents and Carers

We have been informed this morning 3rd October that one of our Year 8 students tested positive for Covid 19. As a precaution and following Public Health advice we require all Year 8 students (the bubble) to stay at home and isolate on Monday 5th October till Wednesday 14th of October. All Year 8 are to return to school on the 14th October.

This is in line with advice by Public Health to other schools in the same position.

We will monitor the situation and keep you updated. All students isolating will need to log onto Google Classroom and follow their timetables and tasks that are set for the period of time out of school.

Thanks again for all your support at this difficult and challenging time.

Mr Grant

Advice to All Parents/Carers – Single case

Dear Parents/Carers

We have been advised by Public Health England that there has been a confirmed case of COVID-19 within the school.

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.

The small number of children who have been in close contact with the individual who has tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19) have received a letter informing them that their child must stay at home for 14 days.

The school remains open and your child should continue to attend as normal if they remain well.

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

Mr J Grant

Headteacher