Introduction and useful links for parents, including supporting your child's mental health and wellbeing

Dear Parents and Carers

This page of the website will provide you with the details you need to understand what we consider to be the most important information to share with you. We hope this is helpful in giving you the essential information.

The government has also published advice for parents and carers on supporting their child's emotional and mental wellbeing during the pandemic:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-on-supporting-children-and-young-peoples-mental-health-and-wellbeing/guidance-for-parents-and-carers-on-supporting-children-and-young-peoples-mental-health-and-wellbeing-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak

I am sure you know but it is worth re-stating that it is vitally important that your child does not attend the Academy if they have any of the COVID-19 symptoms, any member of your household has the symptoms, or if your child has been in immediate contact with any person who has symptoms, or if your child has returned from a country on the Government Travel restrictions website.

If your child has been exposed to anyone with confirmed symptoms or you have returned from a country on the list of travel restrictions then you must remain at home and call the Academy for further guidance.

Main symptoms

The main symptoms of coronavirus are:

a high temperature – this means you feel hot to touch on your chest or back (you do not need to measure your temperature)
a new, continuous cough – this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours (if you usually have a cough, it may be worse than usual)
a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste – this means you've noticed you cannot smell or taste anything, or things smell or taste different to normal

Most people with coronavirus have at least 1 of these symptoms.

We have prepared a powerpoint for our parents, students and staff. We hope that the slides are easy to understand and use. Please access this powerpoint from the Covid-19 information dropdown menu.

There is a slide for:

- what to do if your child, you or a member of your household develops symptoms at home

- what we will do if your child develops symptoms when attending the academy

- how we will deal with any positive cases, including liaising with the local health protection teams.

Support for parents of vulnerable students, including those with Special Educational Needs and/or disabilities

Mrs Francesca Arhin is leading the SEND team during this time and so please email her at f.arhin@harrisclapham.org.uk if you have any questions and/or queries.

Please note that there is some useful help and advice available for parents to help support children with special educational needs during the crisis. This includes:

https://www.specialneedsjungle.com/calming-coronavirus-anxiety-children-everyone-else/#Update

https://petervermeulen.be/2020/03/16/autism-and-the-corona-virus-20-tips/ for top tips for supporting children with autism affected by Coronavirus.

The Lambeth local offer, updated for Covid-19 can be accessed on:

https://www.lambeth.gov.uk/send-local-offer

The Harris Clapham Academy Support email

We have created a bespoke email for parents and students to use during the crisis. It is: claphamsupport@harrisclapham.org.uk

We will prioritise dealing with any concerns in relation to our vulnerable group of students, but we have a team of staff who will monitor and check any information coming into the email.

Other sources of support and guidance

We are conscious that online learning and students using more internet resources may bring some additional worries. Our staff have received updated training and protocols on safeguarding at this time. We are confident that our use of technology is safe.

However, you may find the following particularly useful:

Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health

The college have identified a range of useful websites and information to help parents and children at this time. The website can be found here: https://www.rcpch.ac.uk/resources/covid-19-resources-parents-carers

The webpage can also be downloaded as a pdf here.

Stay at home activities for children and young people: https://www.rcpch.ac.uk/resources/stay-home-activities-children-young-people

Young Minds – advice for young people on coronavirus

https://youngminds.org.uk/blog/what-to-do-if-you-re-anxious-about-coronavirus/

Mind – advice for adults on protecting their mental health and well-being

https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/coronavirus/coronavirus-and-your-wellbeing/

The NHS

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/

And a reminder of help for staying safe online – you may wish to discuss this with your child too:

Childline

https://www.childline.org.uk/info-advice/bullying-abuse-safety/online-mobile-safety/staying-safe-online/

BBC

https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/findoutmore/help-me-out-staying-safe-online

NSPCC