Coronavirus: School praised over safeguarding plans for closure
Neil Puffett
Wednesday, March 18, 2020
A primary school has been praised for drawing up thorough plans to safeguard vulnerable pupils ahead of school closures due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Parklands Primary School in Leeds published details of its intention to enact "emergency safeguarding procedures" early this week.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced today (Wednesday) that all schools will close from Friday.
Exceptions will be made for children of key workers and vulnerable children including those in care, children with a social work and children with education, health and care plans.
Chris Dyson, head teacher at the school, shared plans for a possible closure over Twitter.
Here is our @ParklandsLeeds #CrisesPlan in the event of a school closure. Hopefully it won’t come to it. The children will be fed daily and food hampers provided. EVERYCHILD will be spoken to and have work set by their teachers . Together we will be strong pic.twitter.com/ZgOTbWU9tr
— Chris Dyson (@chrisdysonHT) March 12, 2020
For children with child protection concerns there will be twice-weekly visits to the child's home by two members of staff, one of which will be a designated child protection lead. There will also be phone contact once a week.
Meanwhile, food hampers will be provided for children with child protection concerns and families deemed to be "vulnerable". Hampers would be collected from the school, staggered according to classes and year groups to avoid large gatherings, the guidelines state.
"Hopefully it won’t come to it," Dyson said, adding: "The children will be fed daily and food hampers provided. Every child will be spoken to and have work set by their teachers. Together we will be strong."
The plans attracted praise on Twitter with Sharon White, chief executive of the School & Public Health Nurses Association, saying: "You’re an absolute shining example as a head teacher Chris and worth your weight in gold to your children and families."
Andy Couldrick, chief executive of Birmingham Children's Trust, said he is pushing for similar preparations in his local authority area.
"This is great. Outstanding. Encouraging similar approach," he wrote on Twitter.
The Department for Education has said that, alongside Public Health England, it has been sending regular updates to all educational settings since the start of February.
It has also set up a dedicated helpline (0800 046 8687) for education leaders, teaching staff and parents to answer questions about coronavirus related to education.
Last week, early years leaders called on government to provide clarity on what financial support will be made available for nurseries, amid concerns over the potential financial impact of parents removing their children from settings due to illness or on advice to self-isolate.
This story was updated on 18 March
