Coronavirus update and school plan
Dear Parents/Carers,
As you are no doubt aware, the World Health Organization has declared that the outbreak of corona virus has become pandemic, since it has now spread worldwide. Whilst Malawi has been spared thus far, it is likely that the situation will change in the near future. We are getting in touch to let you know what we are doing in light of this, and what we expect from all of you, to help make sure our school community keeps safe and calm.
We’d like to assure you that at GSIS we’re taking all of the necessary steps to protect our community and are continuing to follow official guidance from the government and other specialist organizations.
What is the current situation?
> The school remains open
> All school functions continue to run as normal, including after school clubs and societies.
> Pupils should attend unless they feel unwell – if your child has any of the following symptoms, they should remain at home for 7 days:
> a new, continuous cough and /or
> a temperature
> If your child is unwell, please report this to the school office before the start of the day.
> IGCSE Exams
We are currently planning for all examinations to take place at school, as scheduled. This may need to change and we will respond to any Cambridge exam board instructions. We will share any new information that we receive with you as soon as we can.
We know that the uncertainty around exam arrangements is unsettling for pupils. We hope that they will understand that there is nothing to be gained from worrying about it – we have to trust the authorities to come up with a solution that will be fair to everyone and which will reflect the hard work pupils have put in.
> We’ll keep you up to date with any changes to the current situation.
What we’re doing to protect and support pupils and staff.
> Response to a pupil feeling ill at school
> The unwell pupil will be placed in isolation in the sick bay and the parents/carer contacted.
> Students will be informed to tell a member of staff if they feel unwell.
> In the event of a confirmed case, a risk assessment will be undertaken. Contacts are not considered cases and if they are well, they are very unlikely to have spread the infection to others, however:
> they will be asked to self-isolate at home for 14 days from the last time they had contact with the confirmed case.
> School Cleaning Schedule
> The current cleaning schedule will be enhanced and rigidly monitored. Communal areas such as toilets will be scheduled for additional cleaning during the course of the school day.
> all surfaces that a suspected case has come into contact with will be cleaned using disposable cloths and household detergents, according to current recommended practice. These include: all potentially contaminated high-contact areas such as toilets, door handles, telephones
> Enforcing hand-washing
> Additional soap will be made available in at all hand-wash stations.
> In the Early Years and Lower Primary classes, Teaching Assistants will be on hand to supervise the younger children.
> Education
> Pupils have already been informed regarding hygienic practice during year group assemblies. Further reminders will be delivered during the coming weeks.
> Each class will have lessons to discuss the best ways to prevent the spread of infectious diseases.
> Informative posters will be strategically placed around the school.
> Monitoring Students
> All students will have their temperatures taken before school starts each morning. This will be done using an infra-red thermometer, which will identify any student having an abnormally high temperature.
What we need you to do
> If you have recently changed your contact details, please inform the school office as soon as possible via telephone.
> Talk to your children about the corona virus. It’s a scary time and we should make sure that our children feel supported. If they have access to the internet, BBC Newsround has regular updates for younger children.
> Come and collect your child right away, if we ask you to (we’ll contact you if they become ill with either a temperature or a new, continuous cough)
> Please ensure that you have access to the platform used by the school to disseminate urgent information: these include ‘Telegram’, SMS, ‘Facebook’ and, most importantly, our brand new school website, found at gsismw.com
> Please provide a small packet of disposable tissues for your child to use in class.
> Please ensure that your child brings his/her own food to school for consumption at break. We will not allow children to share food. It is also advisable that children use plastic utensils with which to eat, rather than eating with their hands.
What happens if the school has to close?
We’ll only close if we are officially advised to do so or we don’t have enough staff to run the school. In either case, we’ll:
> Alert you to the closure using the aforementioned platforms.
> We will advise regarding the re-opening in the same way.
> Inform you of our plans for remote learning if the school needs to close at some point. At that time also, we will let you know how you can help in monitoring the work set.
Please keep in mind that we’re only sending out this information to help the school community prepare. There are currently no plans to close.
If you have any questions
Please consult the school office if you have any questions about our response to this issue.
We understand that this is a difficult and worrying time for pupils, parents and our staff. The situation may change quickly, so please check our website regularly and we will do our utmost to tell you if anything in this guidance changes.
Thank you for your continued support.
Peter W. Davies
Principal