Welcome Back
Welcome back and Happy New Year!
We are delighted to see our children ready and raring to go this morning and are all looking forward to an exciting term ahead.
A couple of helpful reminders:
After School Clubs
After school clubs will resume next week. If you haven’t already done so, please confirm your wish for your child to continue attending or enrol in a new a CHS club here. Places will automatically be renewed in both LAMDA Drama and AFA Football clubs. If you wish to discontinue either of these clubs please contact the teachers directly:
Drama: gillianhorgan@gmail.com
Football: info@achievefootballacademy.com
Uniform
Please do make sure that you have returned the following items of uniform, washed and ready for the new term. Once again, please make sure that all items of uniform are clearly labelled, including all parts of 3in1 coats & both right and left hand gloves.
· 3in1 coats, including fleece lining.
· Fleece hat, scarf and gloves.
· Park shoes
· Art apron
Spare PE kit to remain in a school drawstring bag to change into incase of bad weather.
Health
With the increased risk of seasonal illness. Please do not send your child into school if they have a fever. For children of 5 years and older, a fever taken on a digital thermometer of 37.6°C (99.6°F) or higher.
As a school, we are of course aware of reports in the news about Strep A and scarlet fever and while there are increased cases around the country in comparison to recent years, it remains very rare for people to get extremely sick from these. Whilst we are waiting for official Department for Education guidance, we are reinstating some of the basic hygiene measures that were so familiar during COVID in order to help reduce the general spread of germs throughout the school at this time of year and have a current Strep A Risk Assessment.
We are all reminding pupils of the following measures in school and we would welcome you reinforcing these measures at home.
Respiratory and cough hygiene. The old saying of “coughs and sneezes spread diseases” is a reminder of the importance of the following aspects:
o cover nose and mouth with a tissue when coughing and sneezing, dispose of used tissue in a waste bin, and clean hands
o cough or sneeze into the inner elbow (upper sleeve) if no tissues are available, rather than into the hand
o keep hands away from your eyes, mouth and nose after sneezing or coughing.
Hand hygiene
o Wash hands more frequently with warm water and soap, as well as after using the lavatory and before eating.
o Use hand sanitizer gel if it is difficult to wash with soap and water.
As a school, we will be increasing the frequency of cleaning around common touch points, such as table tops, handles and taps.
Symptoms and what to look for…
The official guidance for Strep A is developing but the information on scarlet fever can be found on the NHS and UK Health & Security Agency websites, ‘Scarlet fever is usually a mild illness, but it is highly infectious. Therefore, look out for symptoms in your child, which include a sore throat, headache, and fever, along with a fine, pinkish or red body rash with a sandpapery feel. On darker skin, the rash can be more difficult to detect visually but will have a sandpapery feel.
If your child has scarlet fever, keep them at home until at least 24 hours after the start of antibiotic treatment to avoid spreading the infection to others. Early treatment of scarlet fever with antibiotics is important to reduce the risk of complications.
Contact NHS 111 or your GP if…
o your child is getting worse.
o your child is feeding or eating much less than normal.
o your child has a temperature of 39°C or higher.
o your child is showing signs of dehydration
o your child is very tired or irritable.
Call 999 or go to A&E if…
o your child is having difficulty breathing – you may notice grunting noises or their tummy sucking under their ribs.
o there are pauses when your child breathes.
o your child’s skin, tongue or lips are blue.
o your child is floppy and will not wake up or stay awake.
Complications to be aware of…
Children who have had chickenpox recently are more likely to develop a more serious infection during an outbreak of scarlet fever and so parents should remain vigilant for symptoms such as a persistent high fever, cellulitis (skin infection) and arthritis (joint pain and swelling). If you are concerned for any reason please seek medical assistance immediately.
If your child is fit and well, your child is expected to attend school as normal. Please follow our sickness and absence policy, if your child is unwell. You can refer to the school sickness and absence policy here
We will send more information as we receive it but in the meantime, if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact the school office.
As you are aware, we are currently looking to recruit a new full time school secretary. In the meantime, we have a team of CHS staff covering the school office lead by our wonderfully efficient Ms White.
