Pupils, parents and carers have key role to play in Covid fight

Pupils, parents and carers are being reminded they have a key role to play in the fight against coronavirus – both at school and while they are on the school run.

Adults are asked to do all they can to maintain social distancing when dropping off or picking up their children from school and, where schools are operating staggered start and finish times, to arrive at their allocated time and not wait around any longer than they need to.

Parents and carers are also urged to consider wearing a face covering, particularly if they are going onto the premises.

To promote the message, the council has provided primary schools with signage to put up outside their premises highlighting some of steps that parents and carers can take to help.

Meanwhile, pupils can play their part when they are in school by washing their hands more often, staying in their school bubble at all times and wearing a face covering if required. As an area of national intervention, secondary school pupils in Wolverhampton – along with staff and visitors – must wear face coverings in corridors and communal areas where social distancing is harder, unless they are exempt from doing so for medical reasons.

Councillor Dr Michael Hardacre, Cabinet Member for Education and Skills, said: "It’s wonderful to see so many children and young people in school this term – for many, this is the first time they have been in full time education since the start of the coronavirus pandemic back in March.

"The challenge now is for us all to do everything we can to keep infection rates low so that as many children and young people as possible can continue to attend school in the weeks and months ahead.

“There have been a number of cases of Covid-19 within local schools since the start of term, the vast majority of which are the result of transmission in the community, not the classroom.

"However, each confirmed case is having a big impact on our schools; every time there is a case, the whole of the affected bubble, including pupils and teachers, have to self-isolate for 14 days. We are working with schools to keep bubble sizes to a minimum and are also pushing for teachers to be able to get priority access to testing so that they can get back to the classroom more quickly once they are confirmed free of the virus.

"Ultimately, though, the more we can all do to keep Covid-19 away from our schools the better; that's why it's so important that everyone – pupils, teachers, parents and carers – does all they can to reduce the spread of the virus as much as possible. Please carry on doing all that you can to help."

People should self-isolate and book a test if they develop symptoms of Covid-19, including a fever, a new, continuous cough or a loss or change to the sense of taste or smell. To book a test, please visit www.gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test or call 119. No-one in the family should attend school while a family member is self-isolating, though they should remain in contact with the school at this time, and only those with symptoms need to get a test.

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.

For full details of the local restrictions which were introduced in Wolverhampton last week, and the answers to frequently asked questions, please visit www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/restrictions.

There’s lots of advice on how people can protect themselves and their families from coronavirus from the NHS atwww.nhs.uk/coronavirus.