Coronavirus
Keep Calm, Stay Connected, Be Safe
We are here for you
Staff of Manchester Health Academy will be here to support our students and their families throughout the Coronavirus Crisis, either physically at the school or connected remotely.
For emergency advice and guidance, including information about obtaining a Food Bank referral please contact Mrs Maguire on 07812 648 307 or e-mail her at [email protected] or Mrs Walker on 07519 119 949 or e-mail her at [email protected].
The Chathealth School Nurse advice service will be staffed, if you’re aged 11 – 16 you can text them at 07507 330 205 for confidential advice.
You can also contact Childline on 0800 1111.
Information and Letters
Key Worker Letter 20th March 2020
Help With Food Costs Letter 27th March 2020
Coronavirus and Mental Health Support
Coronavirus – Careers Resources
Coronavirus – Careers Resources for Post 16 students
Coronavirus – Information and support for SEN children
Top Tips for Parents, Carers and Families
Life is going to be very different over the coming weeks. Here are some ideas to help you and your family manage being at home together 24/7, whilst staying happy and healthy.
- Stay Organised – Children thrive on predictability. Establish a routine that works for you all – factor in working from home that you may have to do, learning that your child may have to do as well as activities to keep you physically and mentally healthy and things for fun. It doesn’t need to be over-strict, but it will help everyone feel calmer to know what is happening next.
- Stay Healthy – Get fresh air, eat as healthily as possible and stay hydrated
- Stay Calm – these are frightening times, but worrying won’t solve anything. Get your information from reliable sources, such as the World Health Organisation and the BBC, and consider setting yourselves a time limit on reading about the crisis.
- Stay Safe – follow the current government guidance about social distancing and self-quarantine.
- Stay Clean – Personal hygiene is the most important way we can tackle COVID-19, especially washing hands more; and the catch it, bin it, kill it strategy for those with coughs and sneezes.
- Stay Positive - Use your time together to do some positive things if you can, e.g. family movie night, board games and gardening are good ideas, but respect everyone’s need for alone time too. Encourage children to continue with their learning and make good use of work packs and online learning that the Academy has provided.
- Stay Connected - Feeling connected is an important part of maintaining good mental health. Think of ways that you can be physically distant but socially connected – it might be as simple as regular phone calls, or making use of technology to make video calls or playing games online. See below for information about staying safe online.
Staying Safe Online
Please be aware of the age restrictions for sites that your child uses:
Age 18 (or 13 with parent’s permission): YouTube, Flickr, Keek
Age 16: Whatsapp
Age 13: Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, Reddit, Tumblr, Google+, Pinterest
The NSPCC website has some very useful information about online safety
The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) website also gives good advice, and is the place to go if your child experiences anything untoward online.
5 top tips for safer social networking from the CEOP website:
If you use social networks always think about who can see the things you post and what they reveal about you.
Know who your friends are.
It’s really tempting to accept as many friend requests or follows as possible. It can make us feel popular. But remember, they could be anyone. Do you really want them seeing your pictures, videos or comments?
Share with care.
Once you’ve put something online you’ve lost control of it – it can be copied, shared or edited. It could turn up anywhere. You might be happy showing a funny picture to your friends but would you want your parents or teachers to see it?
Use privacy settings.
Most social networks let you limit what you share to friends or followers you’ve OKed. It’s always a good idea to only let people you know and trust see your stuff. Learn how to use privacy settings and how to block people who are bothering you.
Know how to report.
Most social networks let you report to them if you have a problem on their site. So if someone’s shared an embarrassing picture or is being nasty to you, you need to know how to get help. Learn how to report on any site or app you use by visiting their ‘safety’ pages. Find the Safety pages of popular sites
Know how to get help.
If you feel someone’s bullying you on a social network you should talk to an adult you trust, or, if you’d rather speak to someone you can call Childline on 0800 1111. If someone’s being weird or making you feel uncomfortable, talking about sex or asking you to do things you don’t want to do you should report to CEOP, whatever may have happened CEOP will understand or call the police on the non-emergency 101 number. You won’t be in trouble. Here is their website for further details https://ceop.police.uk/safety-centre/
Department for Education Coronavirus helpline
A helpline has been launched to answer questions about COVID-19 related to education. Staff, parents and young people can contact the helpline as follows:
Phone: 0800 046 8687
Email: [email protected]
Opening hours: 8am to 6pm (Monday to Friday)
Updates on COVID-19 can be found on the Government’s website
Government Action Plan
This document sets out what the UK as a whole has done to tackle the Coronavirus (COVID-19), and what it plans to do next.
