Parents urged to help their schools stay Covid-secure

Parents and carers are being reminded to carry on doing all they can to keep the city’s schools Covid-secure.

Schools, colleges and universities have been allowed to remain open during the national coronavirus lockdown currently underway, and pupils should continue to attend school unless they are poorly or are self-isolating because a case of Covid-19 in their household or school bubble.

Attendance at the city's schools has remained strong since the start of the second half of the autumn term, though a number of schools have introduced remote learning for classes and year groups which are currently working from home, either because they are having to self-isolate or a result of staffing issues.

Councillor Dr Mike Hardacre, the City of Wolverhampton Council's Cabinet Member for Education and Skills, said: "The fact that our schools have been allowed to stay open during this second national lockdown is very welcome, and they’ve worked incredibly hard to make themselves Covid-secure while continuing to deliver excellent teaching and support day in, day out, to pupils.

“It’s very important that children continue to attend school as much as they possibly can at this time, so I would call on parents, carers and pupils to do all they can to help keep their schools safe by following the Hands, Face, Space guidance and the latest lockdown measures.

“In particular, parents and carers, please maintain social distancing when dropping off or picking up your children from school and avoid congregating outside the school gates. You can really help by wearing a face covering while you’re on the school run – just like you’d do when going to the shops or supermarket, or on public transport.

“Pupils can play their part too; please wash your hands more often, stay in your bubble when you are in school and wear a face covering where you need to.

"Most importantly, if you or anyone in your household has symptoms of Covid-19 your child should not come to school – instead, your whole household must self-isolate and the person with symptoms needs to get a test as soon as possible."

Latest data shows there were 347.83 cases of Covid-19 per 100,000 people in Wolverhampton over the seven days to 14 November. That means some 915 people in the city tested positive for the virus in that seven day period – though the true number of new cases will likely be considerably higher.

The latest information and guidance around coronavirus is available at www.gov.uk/coronavirus and on the council’s own coronavirus pages at www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/coronavirus. Details of the national lockdown measures in effect until 2 December, and the answers to frequently asked questions, are available at www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/covidalert.

Symptoms of Covid-19 include a fever, a new, continuous cough and loss or change to a person’s sense of taste and smell. To book a test, visit www.gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test or call 119. People can get tested within eight days of developing symptoms.