Victoria School
"Working Together for Success"
Victoria School
Working Together for Success
Latest News
See here for the latest news and updates
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School Nursing during Partial Closure Period
Fri 20 Mar 2020Special School Nursing Service
Dear Parent/Carer
Following government recommendations for schools to offer a limited service during the coronavirus pandemic we would like to assure you that you will still be able to access help and support from the special school nursing service.
During this time you can continue to get support and advice from the special school nursing service by either emailing:
BCHNT.holidaycoverssnteam@nhs.net Or Telephone: 0121 466 4270 OR 0121 465 2622.
The email and telephone lines will be staffed Monday to Friday 08:30 – 16:00 and staff will be able to support or advise as required. If you email or leave a message outside these times staff will be in contact with you when they return
Please check www.birminghamcommunity.nhs.uk for any information about other services.
Kind Regards
Caroline Moore -Service Manager
Hannah Dyson - Clinical Lead
Special School Nursing Service
Do you need this information in another language or format?
If you require this information in an alternative language or format such as Braille or large print, or in a different language please contact customer services on 0800 917 2855.
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Online Safety During Partial Closure
Fri 20 Mar 2020Some of you and your young people may be spending more time online during the partial school closure. National Online Safety are offering a free subscription to all of their #onlinesafety guides.
'Not only will you receive all of our existing guides, you'll receive a new guide every Wednesday as part of our #WakeUpWednesday campaign!'
Please visit and share:
https://nationalonlinesafety.com/guides?utm_source=Twitter&utm_campaign=Free-Guides-Subscription
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Latest Information on partial school closures and free school meals
Fri 20 Mar 2020Dear parents and carers,
The government has now provided a much clearer and broader definition of who might classify as "key workers". The advice continues to state that the majority of children should be cared for at home but schools will remain open to provide care to a much smaller number of children who are especially vulnerable or whose parents have to be able to get to work as they are classed as key workers. We will be working hard today to get in touch with every family to determine whether you would need to send your child to school in the coming weeks. I continue to be concerned that for many of our children, their underlying medical conditions would be such as to make them more susceptible to the effect of Coronavirus and that for these individuals, being cared for at home is probably the safest option.
We are also looking at ways to help families whose children are entitled to free school meals. Probably a voucher system for you to buy healthy food for them would be the most suitable option but we still need to determine exactly how we can make this happen.
We have not been successful in contacting all parents yet, but at this stage we have 16 pupils needing to access school next week. We are liaising with Birmingham City Council in regard to the provision of transport, and will open Tuesday to Friday from 9am to 3pm. The kitchens will be thoroughly cleaned on Monday. Children in attendance from Tuesday to Friday will receive a school lunch.
School nurses will be in attendance, although fewer of them than usual. Physiotherapists will also be in attendance. Your child may not be cared for in his/her usual classroom or with his/her usual peers, or even by the usual staff (although all will be experienced school staff). However, we are confident that they will have a safe and happy day at school.
The provision will be under daily review and we will let you know of any changes as they arise. At this stage we are not sure whether we can provide a service during the Easter holidays and will be contacting you again to check whether this is something that is needed.
Thank you for your support and flexibility throughout the past week and going forward into the next few weeks. There will be staff at school to receive your calls on monday, so if you have any questions, please feel free to phone.
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Emergency Closure Letter
Thu 19 Mar 2020Dear Parent / Guardian,
Due to the recent announcement from the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson that all UK schools must close due to the spread of Coronavirus, we are writing to officially notify you of Victoria School’s closure.
This is an extremely difficult situation which impacts us all, but we believe that the closure of schools is necessary to ensure the safety, health and wellbeing of everyone and prevent further spread of the virus.
The Prime Minister has advised that children should not be left with older grandparents or older relatives who may be particularly vulnerable to the Coronavirus.
Vulnerable children and children of key workers will continue to be able to come into school as normal. Examples of these key workers include NHS staff, police and delivery drivers who need to be able to go to work. Vulnerable children include those who have a social worker and those with educational health and care plans. We are awaiting further instructions on this as to how it will affect our school.Our staff have been working hard behind the scenes to devise a learning plan to ensure that your child still has the opportunity to continue their studies remotely. Please find details of our emergency education plan below:
https://www.victoria.bham.sch.uk/ – ‘Pupils’ section – home learning
If you have any questions or concerns regarding the closure, please do not visit the school as all staff will be working remotely but contact email: enquiry@victoria.bham.sch.uk
As soon as we have an official date to re-open, we will communicate this with you via the school website.
Can I remind you all to register and download the website app to your mobile phones.
Until then, we would like to offer our very best wishes and hope that anybody affected by this unprecedented virus makes a speedy recovery.
Yours Sincerely,
Headteacher
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Coronavirus Update 19 March 2020
Thu 19 Mar 2020Following on from the government advice yesterday we plan on closing Victoria School at the end of the day on Friday. We are awaiting further advice about the role of the school for keyworkers and vulnerable children. We will be in contact with families over the next 2 days to discuss this further.
We are also trying to clarify with physios, nurses, transport and our kitchen staff what this announcement means for the service they provide. As always we will keep you updated as soon as we know more.
We appreciate that there is much that is still unclear about the announcement of school closures and we are doing all that we can to get clarification and make the best decision for our young people and their families.
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Home Learning Resources
Wed 18 Mar 2020Given the large number of pupils currently self-isolating at home and the possibility of future school closures, we have compiled a range of useful home learning resources for your reference and use under the PUPILS tab on this website. Resources range from simple activity ideas to internet learning sites with free logins. We are sure you and your children will find loads of interesting educational content to pursue. -
Coronavirus Update 18 March 2020
Wed 18 Mar 2020The Government has announced its new COVID-19 Emergency Bill which will be published later this week. There will also be an important announcement by Gavin Williamson, Secretary of State for Education, to the House of Commons at 5pm this evening.
In the meantime, to limit the spread of disease to our very vulnerable pupil population, I implore all parents to please keep children at home if they exhibit any signs of illness, but in regard to COVID-19: a new cough or an elevated temperature. If children present with either of these symptoms at school, you will be contacted and will need to collect your child from school as soon as possible and then keep them in isolation at home for a minimum of 7 days. We currently have about one third of our pupils absent from school either self isolating because they are vulnerable owing to underlying conditions, or because they have symptoms. We are also experiencing a growing number of staff absent for a variety of reasons. However we are not aware of any confirmed cases of COVID-19 among pupils or staff.
We appreciate that this is a stressful and confusing time for everyone and ask that everyone follows government guidance in order to keep themselves and others safe and healthy.
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New guidance for households with possible COVID-19 infection
Tue 17 Mar 2020New guidance to stay at home for 14 days if someone in your household has symptoms of COVID-19 is the focus of the next stage of a public awareness campaign launched by Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock today.
The new guidance will set out that individuals will still be asked to self-isolate for 7 days from the onset of COVID-19 symptoms but any individuals in the household will now be asked to self-isolate for 14 days from that moment as well.
If other members of your household develop symptoms, however mild, at any time during the 14 days, they must not leave the home for 7 days from when symptoms started.
The new phase of the campaign will build on the existing TV, radio, online, digital and billboard adverts currently visible all over the country. These reinforce the importance of washing your hands more often and for 20 seconds, and ask people to self-isolate for 7 days if they develop a high temperature or a new continuous cough, however mild.
Government has taken the further measure of asking whole households to isolate because it is likely that people living with others will infect each other or be infected already. Staying at home for 14 days will greatly reduce the overall amount of infection the household could pass on to others in the community.
The Prime Minister also today set out a number of social distancing measures to reduce the risk of infection from the spread of coronavirus. For those who remain well, are under 70 or do not have an underlying health condition, they are advised to limit their social contact where possible, including using less public transport, working at home and considering not going to pubs, restaurants, theatres and bars.
For those who are over 70, have an underlying health condition or are pregnant, they are strongly advised against these activities and to significantly limit face-to-face interaction with friends and family if possible.
The government’s public awareness campaign offers clear, practical advice so people can play their part in preventing and slowing the spread of the virus.
The most important thing individuals can do to protect themselves remains washing their hands more often, for at least 20 seconds, with soap and water. Make sure you cough or sneeze into a tissue, put it in a bin and wash your hands.
The awareness campaign also reiterates the importance of seeking help online by visiting NHS.UK/coronavirus to check your symptoms and follow the medical advice, rather than visiting your GP. It also urges people with any symptoms to avoid contact with older and more vulnerable people.
Only if symptoms become worse should people use the NHS 111 service. To ensure the phone service is readily available to those who need it, where possible people should use the 111 website rather than calling.
Earlier this month, the Prime Minister published a ‘battle plan’ for tackling the disease in the UK, which sets out plans for a range of scenarios. Last week, the Prime Minister confirmed the UK has moved into the second stage of this plan, the ‘delay’ phase.
Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock said:
Coronavirus is the biggest public health crisis we have faced in a generation, and we will do whatever is necessary to protect our elderly and most vulnerable people and keep the public safe.
This is an unprecedented situation and it’s so important for each of us to rally together and do our bit to protect ourselves and each other, as well as our NHS, from this disease.
Washing hands regularly for 20 seconds or more remains the single most important thing each of us can do, but we now also need to ask everyone in a household to stay at home if anyone in their home shows symptoms.
Combating this virus will require a huge national effort. We must do all we can to save lives, protect the NHS and keep the most vulnerable people in our society safe.
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Corona Virus Update 16 March 2020
Mon 16 Mar 2020No changes today - in fact we are slightly ahead of the advice!
What you need to know:
- staff, young people and children should stay at home if they are unwell with a new, continuous cough or a high temperature to avoid spreading infection to others. Otherwise they should attend education or work as normal
- if staff, young people or children become unwell on site with a new, continuous cough or a high temperature they should be sent home
- clean and disinfect regularly touched objects and surfaces more often than usual using your standard cleaning products
- supervise young children to ensure they wash their hands for 20 seconds more often than usual with soap and water or hand sanitiser and catch coughs and sneezes in tissues
The updated guidance can be found here:
Current advice remains in place: no education or children’s social care setting should close in response to a suspected or confirmed COVID-19 case unless advised to do so by Public Health England.
The Chief Medical Officer has advised that the impact of closing schools on both children’s education and on the workforce would be substantial, but the benefit to public health may not be. Decisions on future advice to education or children’s social care settings will be taken based on the latest and best scientific evidence, which at this stage suggests children are a lower risk group
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CANCELLATIONS
Mon 16 Mar 2020Consistent with Coronavirus recommendations to discourage crowds of people coming together, especially in schools, we have decided to cancel the Transition Morning on Friday 20 March and Parents' Evening on 25 March. Teachers will be in touch to arrange phone conversations in lieu of Parents' Evening.
