Friday, 15 May 2009
Nothing to report
We're glad to say that we've nothing to report on Swine Flu ... We'll continue to keep you up to date should this change.
Wednesday, 6 May 2009
No News ...
An update from Principal Sami Cohen
Swine flu' is clearly a case of no news is good news, and I am glad to say that I have nothing of substance to add today to what we have said in recent days.
Of course we continue to follow very closely the latest guidance as it emerges from public health authorities, both locally and nationally, from the Independent Schools Council and from the DCSF (Department for Children, Schools and Families). We all know from the press that there have been a few more confirmed cases of swine flu’ in the last few days, and that a few schools, mainly in the London area, have had to close. We also know, where people in this country have contracted the disease, the symptoms have so far been relatively mild.
This is all good news – but of course a flu’ pandemic can gather pace very quickly and so, while remaining calm and carrying on with business as usual, we have to be prepared and to have procedures in place that we can activate – and communicate – quickly should things take a sudden turn for the worse.
For this reason, we urge you to keep looking at these pages on our website. We will use them to communicate information, updates and instructions to parents, staff and students if there should there be any significant developments at any point.
In the meantime, you will almost certainly have gathered from the press that the government is working with the examination boards to formulate contingency plans to deal with a situation where a school had to close either during or in the immediate run-up to GCSE, AS and A level examinations.
In essence, the intention is that students who are unable to sit public examinations due to swine flu’ (either because they are personally affected or because their school has had to close) will be entitled to ‘special consideration’. This allows an awarding body to award a grade to a candidate who is unable to sit an examination for a bona fide reason, provided that there is sufficient evidence to make a reasonable judgement. Such evidence may come from marks awarded for coursework or for units taken in previous sittings.
This, incidentally, is no different from what would happen normally where a student is prevented from sitting one or more public examinations by an illness or an accident.
– Sami Cohen
Swine flu' is clearly a case of no news is good news, and I am glad to say that I have nothing of substance to add today to what we have said in recent days.
Of course we continue to follow very closely the latest guidance as it emerges from public health authorities, both locally and nationally, from the Independent Schools Council and from the DCSF (Department for Children, Schools and Families). We all know from the press that there have been a few more confirmed cases of swine flu’ in the last few days, and that a few schools, mainly in the London area, have had to close. We also know, where people in this country have contracted the disease, the symptoms have so far been relatively mild.
This is all good news – but of course a flu’ pandemic can gather pace very quickly and so, while remaining calm and carrying on with business as usual, we have to be prepared and to have procedures in place that we can activate – and communicate – quickly should things take a sudden turn for the worse.
For this reason, we urge you to keep looking at these pages on our website. We will use them to communicate information, updates and instructions to parents, staff and students if there should there be any significant developments at any point.
In the meantime, you will almost certainly have gathered from the press that the government is working with the examination boards to formulate contingency plans to deal with a situation where a school had to close either during or in the immediate run-up to GCSE, AS and A level examinations.
In essence, the intention is that students who are unable to sit public examinations due to swine flu’ (either because they are personally affected or because their school has had to close) will be entitled to ‘special consideration’. This allows an awarding body to award a grade to a candidate who is unable to sit an examination for a bona fide reason, provided that there is sufficient evidence to make a reasonable judgement. Such evidence may come from marks awarded for coursework or for units taken in previous sittings.
This, incidentally, is no different from what would happen normally where a student is prevented from sitting one or more public examinations by an illness or an accident.
– Sami Cohen
Oxfordshire Flu update
Drawn from the daily meeting of the Oxfordshire Health Emergency Planning Group, 6th May
Following on from yesterday's report: there remains a single case of Influenza A H1N1 (Swine Flu) within Oxfordshire – the six year old girl.
Looking more widely, there has been one new confirmed case of Influenza A H1N1 (Swine Flu) in the Thames Valley on May 5. The new case, associated with travel to Mexico, is an adult in the Slough area.
View the statement from Berkshire East PCT
Following on from yesterday's report: there remains a single case of Influenza A H1N1 (Swine Flu) within Oxfordshire – the six year old girl.
Looking more widely, there has been one new confirmed case of Influenza A H1N1 (Swine Flu) in the Thames Valley on May 5. The new case, associated with travel to Mexico, is an adult in the Slough area.
View the statement from Berkshire East PCT
Oxfordshire influenza case and general advice
The College receives a daily briefing bulletin from the Oxfordshire NHS. The report for 4th May contained the following information that you may find useful:
(Drawn from the daily meeting of the Oxfordshire Health Emergency Planning Group)
Number of confirmed Oxfordshire cases
We can confirm that a six year old girl from Oxfordshire has tested positive for the influenza A (H1N1) virus. The girl has been treated at home and has now made a full recovery. She was treated with anti-viral drugs and responded well to treatment. We can confirm that she has recently visited Mexico.
In addition the following advice was stressed
General infection control practices and good respiratory hand hygiene can help to reduce transmission of all viruses, including the human swine influenza. This includes:
(Drawn from the daily meeting of the Oxfordshire Health Emergency Planning Group)
Number of confirmed Oxfordshire cases
We can confirm that a six year old girl from Oxfordshire has tested positive for the influenza A (H1N1) virus. The girl has been treated at home and has now made a full recovery. She was treated with anti-viral drugs and responded well to treatment. We can confirm that she has recently visited Mexico.
In addition the following advice was stressed
General infection control practices and good respiratory hand hygiene can help to reduce transmission of all viruses, including the human swine influenza. This includes:
- Covering your nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing, using a tissue when possible (Catch it!)
- Disposing of dirty tissues promptly and carefully (Bin it!)
- Maintaining good basic hygiene, for example washing hands frequently with soap and water to reduce the spread of the virus from your hands to face or to other people (Kill it!)
- Cleaning hard surfaces (e.g. door handles) frequently using a normal cleaning product
- Making sure your children follow this advice
- It is important to stress that swine influenza virus is not transmitted by food. There is no risk of catching the illness from eating properly handled and cooked pork or pork products.
Friday, 1 May 2009
Swine flu: precautionary measures and keeping you informed
As you will be aware, the World Health Organisation has now put Swine Flu at phase 5. While we continue to hope that the disease will not take on serious pandemic proportions, it is obviously important that, as a school, we are as well prepared for all eventualities as we possibly can be.
Our approach is:
We will, of course, stay in contact with the College’s GP practice and track the latest guidance from the public health authorities.
How we will inform parents and guardians
In order to keep parents and guardians informed quickly and in real time, we have decided to add this section to our website (http://www.doverbroecks.com/health), which we will update daily, or at least as often as necessary. In it you will find information on what we are doing as a school as well as links to the latest information from the relevant national and local health departments.
If, in the next few days, your child should display flu like symptoms and you are in doubt about what to do, we recommend that:
Information will be displayed on this website from now on, so please do keep an eye on it on a regular basis.
In the meantime, I should just say that we have no particular reason to fear an outbreak of flu either in the College or in the Oxford area. These are all precautionary measures designed to ensure that, if things should change for the worse, we have procedures and channels of communication that we can put into use immediately.
With best regards,
Sami Cohen
Principal
Our approach is:
- to stay calm and maintain school life as normal
- to take common sense steps to encourage good hygiene practices so as to reduce the risk of the transmission of any kind of flu’ infection within the school community
- to ensure that we have in place clear procedures for dealing with any suspected or proven occurrences of the disease
- to keep parents, guardians, students and staff closely informed of any developments both externally and internally.
We will, of course, stay in contact with the College’s GP practice and track the latest guidance from the public health authorities.
How we will inform parents and guardians
In order to keep parents and guardians informed quickly and in real time, we have decided to add this section to our website (http://www.doverbroecks.com/health), which we will update daily, or at least as often as necessary. In it you will find information on what we are doing as a school as well as links to the latest information from the relevant national and local health departments.
If, in the next few days, your child should display flu like symptoms and you are in doubt about what to do, we recommend that:
- You keep your child at home in the first instance.
- You follow the latest government guidance. Currently, you are advised to ring NHS Direct.
- Telephone or email us to keep us informed.
Information will be displayed on this website from now on, so please do keep an eye on it on a regular basis.
In the meantime, I should just say that we have no particular reason to fear an outbreak of flu either in the College or in the Oxford area. These are all precautionary measures designed to ensure that, if things should change for the worse, we have procedures and channels of communication that we can put into use immediately.
With best regards,
Sami Cohen
Principal
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