St Austin's RC PrimaryCoronavirus
13.10.21
Please see latest NHS advice using the following link:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
16.07.21
Please refer to document below for the latest information regarding contact tracing.
12.07.21 Update (Reception Class)
Further update for parents/carers of pupils in Reception class. Please scroll to the bottom of the page to access "YR Parents" letter, outlining information regarding isolation and return date to school.
Further update for parents/carers of pupils in Nursery, Year 1, Year 2, Year 3, Year 4 and Year 6 - Please scroll to the bottom of the page to access "General letter to all school students, parents, guardians and staff 12.07.21".
07.07.21 Update (Year 1)
Further update for parents/carers of pupils in Year 1. Please scroll to the bottom of the page to access "Y1 parents covid isolation" letter, outlining information regarding isolation and return date to school.
07.07.21 (Year 5)
Further update for parents/carers of pupils in Year 5. Please scroll to the bottom of the page to access "Y5 parents covid isolation" letter, outlining information regarding isolation and return date to school.
Remote learning is now in place.Year 5 pupils to login in to Microsoft Teams.
Further update for parents/carers of pupils in Nursery, Reception, Year 1, Year 2, Year 3, Year 4 and Year 6 - Please scroll to the bottom of the page to access "General letter to all school students, parents, guardians and staff 07.07.21".
25.06.21
Further update for parents/carers of pupils in Nursery and Year 6. Please scroll to the bottom of the page to access "Letter for direct and proximity contacts 25.06.21" outlining information regarding isolation and return date to school.
Remote learning is now in place. Nursery pupils to access SeeSaw and Year 6 pupils to login in to Microsoft Teams.
Further update for parents/carers of pupils in Reception, Year 1, Year 2, Year 3, Year 4 and Year 5 - Please scroll to the bottom of the page to access "General letter to all school students, parents, guardians and staff 25.06.21".
9.04.21
Update for Parents and advice from St Helens Council received 9.4.01:
Young People urged to follow guidance following cluster of Covid-19 cases
Residents across St Helens are being asked to remain vigilant and reminded to act within the guidance after a noticeable spread of COVID-19 cases in the borough.
St Helens had seen a decrease in cases of covid-19 overall, however a recent increase in the last 10 days (29 March to 7 April) of COVID-19 cases has been reported, predominantly in school aged children and their families, and as a result a number of schools have had to ask year groups to isolate for 10 days to reduce the risk of spread.
Parents should follow these rules:
- If your child has been asked to isolate, they should not leave the house for any reason until the end of the isolation period unless it is to get a test if they develop symptoms of Covid-19 or receive urgent medical treatment. This includes a ban on all social activities such as sports activities or meeting with other children.
- During the school holidays and beyond, continue to use the free lateral flow tests and parents should report the results, positive or negative, to their schools.
- If they develop symptoms or test positive through a symptom free test they should book in to have a traditional PCR test to confirm if they have Covid-19.
With some outdoor sports under way again across the borough sports clubs are also being urged to remember the guidance that only one parent is allowed to attend a match of their child and those not participating should keep their distance and wear a mask if possible when attending games. People should not be attending if they have been asked to isolate, or they or anyone in their household has symptoms of covid-19 (new cough or temperature and or loss of taste or smell).
Sue Forster, Director of Public Health at St Helens Borough Council, said: “Everyone in St Helens Borough has worked really hard to help us bring our rates down from the heights of 870 cases per 100,000 people down to 21.6 cases as we are at the moment. With rates so low now it means when we have cases that are linked together across a number of locations like we have in these two areas we can be clearer on where the spread has come from and warn people to watch out.
“The key message parents of school children have to remember is to make sure your child is regularly having testing if they have the home test kits and that all the family should also test regularly as a number of these cases have come to light after parents have tested positive. If anyone in the household is feeling unwell and displaying symptoms everyone has to isolate while that person is tested, which includes not sending children to school. Finally please make sure you keep your school up-to-date with the testing record of your child too.
“Testing is a crucial way to make sure that we can break the chains of transmission, keep our rates low, protect lives and make sure as more services unlock we keep Covid-19 rates low. Now that symptom free testing is open to everyone please make use of the free testing options we have and get tested twice a week to protect our communities.”
If you do not have COVID-19 symptoms, you can walk in (no appointment required) to one of our symptom-free testing stations for a quick, free, supervised test:
- St Mary’s Indoor Market, town centre
- Chester Lane Community Centre, Sutton Manor
- Grange Valley Youth Centre, Haydock
- Torus Housing Office, Newton Road, Parr
- Perth Community Centre, Thatto Heath
at the following times:
- Monday to Friday, 8.30am–6pm
- Saturday and Sunday, 10am–3pm
- Torus Housing Office is open 1pm–6pm, Monday to Friday and 10am–3pm on Saturdays and Sundays
- Perth Community Centre is open 1pm–6pm on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays
- Grange Valley Youth Centre and Torus Housing Office in Newton Road will be open from 8am on Saturday 10 April.
To collect a home testing kit;
You can also walk in to collect a COVID-19 home testing kit from any of the above sites, as well as the following sites (subject to availability):
- Fairclough Street Car Park, Earlestown (Monday to Friday, 2.30pm–8pm)
- Haydock Park Racecourse, Newton-le-Willows (Monday to Friday, 2.30pm–8pm)
There is no need to make an appointment to collect a home test kit. Do not visit a collection site outside of opening hours, as they could be used to test people with coronavirus symptoms outside of these times. If you are 18 or over, you can collect two packs of home test kits; each pack contains seven tests.
You can find out more about testing at www.sthelens.gov.uk/letsgettested including opening hours and how to register for traditional PCR tests too. You can also order home testing kits if you cannot access them from one of our sites via https://www.gov.uk/order-coronavirus-rapid-lateral-flow-tests
04.03.21
Please see letter below dated 3.03.21 from St Helens Council regarding the wider opening of schools.
01.03.21
Please see letter below dated 01.03.21 regarding re-opening to all pupils with effect from 8.3.21.
26.2.21
The DfE have released advice for parents on 'Keeping children safe from abuse and harm', please see link below:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-keeping-children-safe-from-abuse-and-harm/advice-to-parents-and-carers-on-keeping-children-safe-from-abuse-and-harm
12.02.21
Please see latest newsletter dated 12.02.21 below.
9.02.21
Please see 'Blog' below received from Sue Forster, Director of Public Health for St Helens dated 5th February 2021.
29.01.21
Dear Parents,
Thank you for all your help and support in these difficult times. Just to reassure you that we are here should you have any difficulties and need any support.
With effect from Monday, 1st February 2021, KS2 children will be invited to meet their teacher 'live' on Teams. The meetings will start at 9.15am and children will be guided through the learning programme for the day. The daily timetable will also be available on-line as a written format for those who cannot make the meeting. For those children sharing devices I suggest that live briefings are accessed on alternate days.
With effect from Friday, 5th February from 2.30pm until 3pm, to support wellbing, we are introducing 'Fun Fridays'. The children will have the opportunity to see their friends and Teacher live and take part in fun activities such as quizzes, debates and educational games.
Keep well and take care - Mrs Wade, Headteacher
12.01.21
Please see important newsletter to Parents dated 12.01.21 below together with letter from St Helens Council, People's Services dated 12.01.21.
05.01.21
Please see letter to parents dated 5.01.21 below.
04.01.21
Please see latest update below dated 4.01.21. If your child is in Nursery, Reception, Y1 or Y2 and you are a keyworker, please save the document below (January 2021 update) complete and return the form to staustinrc@sthelens.org.uk.
2.11.20
Please see Statement for Schools letter below dated 2.11.20.
20.10.20
Please see letter attached - Advice for all parents.
1.10.20
Please see letter from St Helens Council dated 29th September 2020 regarding SEND Playscheme for October half term.
24.09.20
Please see letter below from NHS for parents/guardians dated 23rd September 2020.
10.9.20
Please see letter below received from St Helens Council for parents.
8.9.20
Please see letter from St Helens Council dated 8.9.20.
02.09.20
Please scroll to the bottom of the page to download and view the most recent information for parents: '02.09.20 Parental Information'.
22.7.20
Please see the following documents at the bottom of the page:
- Letter to Parents/Carers from St Helens Council dated 22.7.20.
- Summer Brochure amended
On behalf of St Helens School Nursing Team:
St Helens School Nursing - We welcome your views and feedback.
​Dear Parent and Carer
The School Nursing Service plays a key role in helping to keep children and young people healthy whilst they are at school or in another setting.
From time to time we review these services to make sure that they are able to respond to the changing health needs of our school age population and we would welcome your views on making sure that we get it right.
Following is a link to a brief survey and we anticipate that it will take no longer than 10 minutes to complete, should you want to participate. All completed surveys will be entered into a competition for the chance to win 6 x £25 Cineworld Vouchers.
https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/C4J3K6/
Thank you for your help.
Julie Dunning
Senior Commissioning and Development Manager - Child Health Services
Integrated Children's Commissioning Service
Atlas House
Corporation Street
St Helens
WA9 1LD
14.7.20
Please see letter below regarding re-opening to all pupils in September 2020.
3.7.20
Free School Meal Vouchers are scheduled to be issued next week to all parents of pupils who are entitled to a Free School Meal under the Government's COVID-19 Summer Food Fund. The vouchers will be issued directly from Edenred. Please use the same method to redeem your voucher.
The voucher will cover the whole of the school Summer holiday period.
28.05.20
Scroll to the bottom of the page to download the most recent update regarding the wider opening of school letter: '28.05.20 Phased Wider Opening Update'.
21.05.20
Scroll to the bottom of the page to download the most recent update regarding the re-opening of school: '21.05.20 Letter to Parents/Carers'
15.05.20
Parents and carers can access a letter from St Helens Council by scrolling to the bottom of the page and downloading "Re-opening letter to parents and carers 14052020"
14.05.20
For parents/carers of pupils in Nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 6, please scroll to the bottom of the page and download the information letter: '14.05.20 Returning to School'.
When you have downloaded and read this letter, please click the appropriate link below and complete the survey:
Nursery and Reception Return to School Survey
Year 1 and Year 6 Return to School Survey
These links will be available until 12:00pm Monday 18th May.
11.05.20
Scroll to the bottom of the page to download the most recent information for parents: '11.05.20 Update for Parents'.
15.4.20 Free School Meal Voucher update
The first set of Free School Meal Vouchers have today been sent through to Parents' e-mails as supplied by Edenred. Guidance to redeem the voucher is supplied on the accompanying e-mail or can be found in the guidance at the bottom of this page. Further vouchers have been ordered and are awaiting action by Edenred.
07.04.20
Free School Meals update - The School has ordered free school meal vouchers which take approximately 48 hours to be delivered via e-mail to parents who are eligible to receive free school meal vouchers (£15.00 per week) through the Government scheme.
03.04.20
School will be closed next week (w/c 6th April) and will be open for Emergency Childcare with effect from 9am on the 13th April 2020. Should a parent who has registered for emergency childcare wish to contact school please telephone: 07540670256. Thank you.
Scroll to the bottom of the page to download the most recent information regarding Free School Meals - 'Free School Meals Update 02.04.20'. With effect from 20th April 2020 Free School Meal vouchers will be sent via an 'eCode' by e-mail to eligible families. Parents will then be able to go 'on-line' to redeen the eCode against the following retailers:
- Morrisons
- Tesco
- Sainsbury's
- Asda
- Waitrose
- M & S Food
25.03.20
Scroll to bottom of page to download the most recent advice to parents: '25.03.20 Update for Parents'.
Coronavirus Update 20.3.20
The Government Guidance is that schools will be open to ‘the children of key workers; those with Educational Health and Care Plans and those children who are vulnerable’. The Local Authority has produced the attached questionnaire/ application form in order to ascertain the emergency childcare needs of key/ critical workers.
As these are emergency childcare arrangements, parents are asked only to use school as a childcare provision if it is absolutely necessary to do so and other arrangements cannot be made. The safety and wellbeing of all concerned must be taken into consideration.
Return this application form only if you require emergency childcare arrangements from Monday 23rd March 2020 to staustinrc@sthelens.org.uk as soon as you possibly can today.
Coronavirus Update 19.3.20
Please see letter dated 19.3.20 regarding school closure and coronavirus update.
Coronavirus Update 17.03.20
New 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.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-stay-at-home-guidance
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.
If your child or a member of your household has symptoms as per the guidance below then a self-isolation period of 14 days is required:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
Coronavirus Update: 16.03.20
The safety of our children, families and staff is paramount. Therefore, we are cancelling all Assemblies (including Lenten Assemblies), Easter Bingo, Trips and whole school gatherings as a precautionary measure. Thank you for your understanding.
Coronavirus – 13.3.20
Government advice:
Personal hygiene is the most important way we can tackle COVID-19, especially washing hands more; and the catch it, bin it, kill it strategy for those with coughs and sneezes – also help in delaying the peak of the infection.
The Department for Education has launched a new helpline to answer questions about COVID-19 related to education. Staff, parents and young people can contact the helpline as follows:
Phone: 0800 046 8687
Email: DfE.coronavirushelpline@education.gov.uk
Opening hours: 8am to 6pm (Monday to Friday)
The importance of hygiene
The Department of Health and Social Care launched a public information campaign that focuses on the importance of handwashing. Washing hands for 20 seconds is central to prevent and slow the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19).
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/public-information-campaign-focuses-on-handwashing
The school has conducted a risk assessment and put minor adjustments in place to minimise risk of infection.
Important - Water bottles
Please ensure that your child has their own labelled water bottle in school each day to drink from.
We receive regular information direct from Public Health England. Currently there are no changes to the threat levels in school and we are operating as normal. Children are being asked to wash hands regularly as this is the most effective way of preventing spread.
We are currently planning to run all clubs, lessons, booster classes and trips as normal next week, based upon our latest advice. However, the local advice that we receive is being updated constantly as the national situation changes.
We now have a page on our website, in view of this, to reflect our school’s position. Please consult this, to be sure of our latest position.
A Governors’ meeting will be held over the next 2 weeks, to ensure that we are as prepared as possible to deal with an escalation in cases locally.
We will update you if the situation changes
For further information please go to https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
Thank you for your help.
12/06/20
Please see attached update for parents.