Gad’s Hill School Contingency Plans for Swine Flu



Introduction


These procedures have been designed based on advice from the Department of
Children’s School & Families and the Department of Health. Most people will be
aware that the swine flu is spreading throughout the UK and other countries and that sooner or later children at Gad’s Hill School may be infected. This document attempts to answer questions parents may have in relation to any contingency plans we have in place to deal with a swine flu outbreak should it happen.

1. What will happen should a pupil at Gad’s Hill develop flu symptoms?
That child must stay at home and away from school until the illness has
passed.

2. What should I do if my child is suffering from swine flu?
Inform the school immediately and the school will then advise yourself and
other parents as to what contingency will be put in place.

3. What will happen if a child at Gad’s develops Swine Flu?
The school will possibly close for at least one week. Parents will be informed
by text, letter and the school website.

4. What should I do if I discover one of my immediate family has been
identified as having swine flu?
You must tell the school immediately. Depending on the circumstances the
school will put into place the appropriate contingency plan to deal with the
situation.

5. How do I know whether my child has swine flu?
The symptoms for swine flu are very similar to ordinary seasonal flu or a
common cold that is headaches, high temperature, sore throat, aching joints.
However whether someone is actually infected with swine flu can only be
properly determined by your GP who will arrange for the appropriate blood
tests to be taken. Only at that stage can we determine whether it is swine flu
rather than ordinary seasonal flu.

6. Where do I find help and advice on swine flu?
The NHS Direct website www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk has useful information on
swine flu and I would recommend that parents make themselves aware of the
content of this site.

7. How will the children be educated if the school is closed?
The school has a contingency plan to enable children to be educated via the
use of ICT utilising email and the school’s intranet. Teachers will be able to
contact pupils by email and to give them tasks and school work to do whilst
they are away from school. We appreciate that this is not quite the same as
being in class however it will enable us to continue a reasonable level of
education rather than simply closing the school and not providing any other
educational input at all.

8. If the school was forced to close how would we know when the school is
going to reopen?
Parents will be informed of the school’s re-opening date by the text message
system, letter and notices on the school website.

9. Would parents be updated during such a situation?
The school would update parents as and when it became aware of
developments particularly in respect of having to extend or shorten the school
closure quarantine period or if we needed to pass on specific advice which we
have advised from the health authorities or other departments.

10. Is there anything we can do with the family to prepare for such a swine
flu contingency?
In respect of the school please ensure that the school has up to date mobile
telephone numbers and e-mail addresses for your family so that we can
contact you quickly in such an emergency and update you with events, and to
ensure that your child receives educational tasks and appropriate work for
them to do whilst the school is closed. Please be observant for signs and
symptoms of swine flu and alert the school at the earliest opportunity if you
feel your child is ill.

I very much hope that the school does not have to close as a result of swine flu although a number of school s already have and it is best to prepare for such an eventuality in the hope that we do not need to implement it.

I would ask parents to ensure that if their children are ill that they do keep them away from school. Please do not send a sick child into school for your own convenience. The impact may be that the whole school has to close as a result. The net result of such selfish behaviour may be the school being closed for many weeks until our children are completely free of the disease. If your child is ill please keep them away from school until they are better. I am sure you would not want your own child to become infected and put themselves and indeed the rest of their family at risk because another parent sent their child into school knowing them to be unwell.

In the meantime, I hope that this document is useful to you however if you have any questions please do contact the School Nurse in relation to health matters or myself in relation to operational or policy matters.