In light of current circumstances and steps taken by other local schools, we have decided to postpone parents’ meetings scheduled for the week beginning 16th March, as well as all class assemblies, until further notice. Tiddywinks playgroup will be cancelled until after Easter. All after school clubs, including Baglan Buddies, are also cancelled for the forseeable future. Please ensure you have Schoop installed on your mobile device in order to receive updates from the school. Updates will also be provided via Twitter pages. If you do not have a Twitter account, you are able to view class Twitter accounts via the class pages on the website.
Government Advice
The government has stated that we’ve now entered the “delay” phase of the Coronavirus outbreak. This means that the following steps should be taken:
- Stay at home for 14 days if you, or anyone in your household, has either a new continuous cough or high temperature
- Only contact 111 if your condition worsens considerably
Further details can be found on the Public Health Wales website which is continuously being updated: https://phw.nhs.wales/
If your child is off school for any reason, please ring the school office on 01639 769775 so that their absence can be logged appropriately.
What are we doing as a school?
We have explained to pupils the importance of washing their hands with soap and water regularly. Government advice is to wash hands for at least the length of time it takes to sing Happy Birthday twice. Pupils are being encouraged to do this whenever they do wash their hands. Children are being encouraged to cough or sneeze into a tissue which is then discarded. If they are not able to do so, they are encouraged to cough or sneeze into their elbow (in a “dab” motion).
Water fountains are currently closed. Children are asked to bring in their own personal water bottle to enable them to drink throughout the school day.
Older pupils are having regular discussions about the virus with their teachers in order to keep them informed. We know some children have been feeling anxious about things they have heard in the media so staff are working with pupils to put them at ease and to learn the key facts. We have subscribed to First News (a children’s newspaper) who explain the situation in a child-friendly manner and pupils are able to read these articles and discuss them with their teacher.
Cleaning staff are working hard to ensure surfaces and communal areas are sprayed and wiped down as much as possible. Shared resources such as iPads and Chromebooks are also being cleaned more regularly.
Antibacterial hand gel is available at the sign-in desk at the school reception for all visitors to use upon entry to the school.
We will be closely monitoring children’s health. If a child is considered to be exhibiting a high temperature and/or a new continuous cough, we will contact parents to collect them as a precaution.
If your child does need to self-isolate, there are lots of things they are able to do to continue their learning at home. Please read our “Learning at Home” post for more details: https://blaenbaglan-primary-school.j2bloggy.com/blog/learning-at-home/