Somersham Primary School

Parents : Official Documents : Information about swine flu

WHO alert level raised to 6

The World Health Organisation has increased its influenza pandemic alert level to 6. This means that there is now evidence of increased and sustained human-to-human transmission of the swine flu virus across a number of global regions.

What does this mean for the UK?

Within the UK we are beginning to see signs of sustained transmission of the virus within the community. There are now 806 confirmed UK cases and we can expect the numbers to increase steadily over the next few weeks and months, boosted by the onset of the autumn/winter when flu viruses spread more readily.

We cannot yet be certain how many people will be affected by the virus, but it appears that children under the age of 16 are more likely to catch it. Virtually all the cases in the UK so far have been mild.

The UK is well prepared for dealing with a pandemic. We have good stocks of anti-viral drugs for treating flu and from the autumn we shall have access to a vaccine.

What does this mean for children's services?

All children's services, including schools, group early-years and childcare settings and children's social care should continue to operate as normal, while remaining alert to any child exhibiting flu-like symptoms. Any child or member of staff who may have flu should stay at home and medical advice should be sought. There may be circumstances where local health authorities advise individual schools and early-years and childcare settings to close temporarily in order to contain the spread of infection or because there are high numbers of swine flu cases among pupils and/or staff. Unless they are advised to close on health grounds or unless the school or setting judges there are too few staff to guarantee pupil safety, schools and nurseries should plan on staying open.

Schools, group early-years and childcare settings, and managers of children's services, should all now urgently review their emergency contingency plans.

Key messages for schools and group early-years and childcare settings

Key points for schools, group early-years and childcare settings are:

• Ensure parents' and carers' contact details are up to date
• Review infection control procedures
• Prepare plans for keeping children's learning going if the school or setting has to be closed for a period

Full guidance and Q & A from the Department can be accessed at http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/educationoverview/flupandemic/.

The school holidays

School holiday activities for children and young people should continue as normal this summer but parents and the organisers of activities should be alert. Any child presenting flu-like symptoms should return home as soon as possible, contact - but not visit - their GP and seek treatment. Group early-years and childcare and childminder arrangements should likewise continue operating as normal during the holidays.

Reopening schools and early-years and childcare settings after the holidays

The health authorities will be monitoring the spread of infection closely over the summer. Schools and group early-years and childcare settings should assume that they will re-open as usual at the start of the autumn term. There may be circumstances where local health authorities advise a later re-opening date for some schools, for example if there is a high rate of infection in a particular area. Local authorities should ensure they have out of hours contact details for all schools and group early-years and childcare settings in their areas in case there is any question of a delayed start to the autumn term. In general however we expect the vast majority of schools to return after the holidays at the beginning of term. We are not expecting the Government to advise mass school closures because this would only be considered in the event of a severe pandemic.

Children's services and social care

Directors of children's services will want to satisfy themselves that they have sound business continuity plans in place to deal with the impact of a flu pandemic on all the services for which they are responsible including children's homes, and other placements for looked after children, for whom continuity of care is important; as well as social care for vulnerable children and other children at risk. The Department's guidance on emergency planning for these services is at http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/emergencies/planning/flupandemic/.

Swine Flu Update

Tel: (01487) 840412 / Fax: (01487) 741194 / Emergency Site No. (07905) 945411
E-mail: office@somersham.cambs.sch.uk / Website: www.somersham.cambs.sch.uk
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