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Answer:

Anyone who has tested positive with Covid-19 should isolate for ten days. Anyone in their household should isolate for at least 14 days. You must tell NHS contact tracers that your child, or children, attend an education or childcare setting.

Answer:

You can meet one other person from outside your household if you are outdoors. Public gatherings of more than two people, unless you live with them, are still prohibited by law. There are no limits on gatherings in the park with members of your household.

You can gather outdoors. Social distancing guidelines should be observed.

Answer:

Your school may do several things, including but not limited to:

  • Working to ensure that children and staff do not attend school, or get sent home, if they have Covid-19 symptoms - and get tested.
  • Regular handwashing
  • ‘Respiratory hygiene’ such as covering your mouth when coughing or sneezing and employing the ‘Catch it. Bin it. Kill it.’ tissue method, followed by handwashing
  • Frequent cleaning
  • Reduced contact and mixing including:
    • One-way systems
    • Markings on the floor
    • Bubbles
    • Staggered start and finish times, and more
Answer:

For the vast majority of children, the benefits of being back in school far outweigh the very low risk from Covid-19.

Children appear to have a milder course of infection than adults. Most children have mild symptoms or no symptoms at all. Deaths in children due to Covid-19 are extremely rare.

 

Answer:

In early August the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH), an authority on the health of children and young people, summarised the key current evidence regarding Covid-19 in children and young people.

Highlighted sections of the RCPCH work can be found below but we recommend that you read the full report here:

  • There have been far fewer cases of Covid-19 in children than adults - children consistently make up one to five per cent of total case numbers.
  • Covid-19 infection appears to be milder in children than in adults - with children presenting milder symptoms or no symptoms at all. Infants and children typically appear to make full recoveries.
  • Very few (around one per cent) of those infected develop life-threatening symptoms and deaths are extremely rare (around 0.01 per cent) similar to seasonal flu.
  • Emerging evidence from several countries suggests children may be less likely to acquire the disease.
  • There is some evidence that transmission by children is limited, with trends emerging to support this claim - but further research is required - studies in multiple countries, including China, of infected families have concluded that the illness was not introduced by children and a study in France found one infected child did not pass on Covid-19, despite being exposed to over 100 people. Similar studies in Ireland, Singapore and the Netherlands have found no secondary transmission from children in education settings.

Covid-19 infections in Tower Hamlets are now low, so the chances of your child catching it at school are also low. Schools are taking lots of steps to stop the virus spreading in addition to the NHS Test and Trace service which aims to find infections and stop them spreading through communities.

Since March, there have been no cases of Covid-19 in Tower Hamlets education settings. From June onwards, with wider reopening, there have been a total of two cases - introduced from the same household - with no onward transmission.

All the research suggests children may be less likely to catch Covid-19. There have been very few examples of children passing Covid-19 on in schools across the world. 

Washing children’s hands when they leave school and arrive home can reduce risk further.

Answer:

Attendance will be mandatory from September, making it a legal requirement to send your child to their school.

Fines are a possibility, but we want to support families to feel confident about going back to school first.

Answer:

In late March, Covid-19 infections were increasing faster than anticipated. The government then announced that schools should close to slow the spread of the virus.

Answer:

In mid-May, Transport for London announced that may be introducing a temporary removal of free travel on buses and trams to schools for 11 to 17-year-olds in full time education.

This is most likely to be introduced following October half term, so travel would still be free on the return to school in September until Monday 2 November. Much of the detail is still unknown, and the situation could change, so this is the best information we have right now.

This does not impact on our statutory transport obligations.

Schools will work with Transport for London to check eligibility for discretionary free travel.

Transport for London estimate that 30 per cent of children would remain eligible for free travel, which would include the following:

  • Children aged ten and under
  • Children aged 11 to 17 who live more than two miles from their school/college
  • Children aged 11 to 17 who live less than two miles away from their school/college if they:
    • have a social worker
    • have an Education, Health and Care Plan
    • are in alternative provision (i.e. educated in a pupil referral unit, or an alternative provision academy/free school)
    • do not have a safe walking route
    • cannot walk due to a medical condition or lack of mobility

For everyone else, using an 11 to 15 and 16+ Zip card, they will be charged half of an adult fare on buses (£0.75).

Children turning 11-years-old should retain free travel until they finish primary school and eligible pupils turning 18-years-old should retain free travel until they finish school that year.

Answer:

Where possible, you should avoid public transport and walk, cycle or scoot to and from school.

If you must use a private vehicle, try to park a few streets away from your school and walk the remaining distance. If you are dropping children off at the school gate, please do not idle - switch your engine off - to cut down on pollution outside of our schools. You should avoid parking anywhere where there are restrictions - look for signage, red lines, single and double yellow lines.

Check this page regularly for the latest advice, information and support on active travel.

Answer:

Following government advice, measures adopted on public transport such as social distancing, will not be applied to statutory transport provision.

This is because pupils will not be mixing with the general public. Furthermore, government advice confirms that children may be mixed for activities such as specialist teaching and transport.

Like other local authorities in London, we do not have the budget, capacity or vehicles to allow for transport by bubble. Children will still travel in groups based on where they live, with an emphasis on consistency for students, drivers and staff.

We will continue to work closely with Public Health England to ensure all journeys are done in the safest way possible, and we will be responding to government guidance as it evolves.

If parents would prefer to take control of arrangements for travel to and from school, you may opt for a personal travel budget (PTB). A PTB is a payment made directly to parents to arrange their own transport.

This is only available to families who are eligible for travel assistance, with a PTB being adopted for the long term. Eligible families may also claim for help with the cost of a travel card or a contribution to the cost of petrol, if using their own vehicle.

The council also offers independent travel training (ITT) to children over ten-years-old, see video example of ITT here.

For further information on your eligibility and possible transport option available, call our Special Education Needs and Disabilities Travel Assistance Team on 020 7364 4397 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm).

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