Parent letter – Chair of Governors
Data Collection
Dear Parent(s) Carers and Guardians,
As you may be aware the Welsh Government needs data on a regular basis to understand overall attendance patterns and to identify the characteristics of pupils who are not attending school. I am therefore writing to you to inform you that all schools in Pembrokeshire have been asked to ensure that all parents and carers are made aware of this new data collection.
The following data will now be collected for the purpose of this project:
- Unique Pupil Number (UPN)
- Forename
- Middle name(s)
- Surname
- Gender
- DOB
- Home postcode
- Ethnic background
- Eligibility for free school meals
- Additional learning needs
- English as an additional language
- Attendance code for each half day session
The privacy notice attached will provide further information on how the data will be used in the new process. Please note any reference to ‘we’ in the attached privacy notice refers to Welsh Government and not an individual school.
Regards/Cofion
Steven Richards-Downes
Director for Education
Cyfarwyddwr Addysg
Collecting attendance and personal characteristics data from schools from September 2020
We collect a wide range of data about you on an annual basis, and this is explained in more detail in this privacy notice.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic and schools having to adapt to new ways of working, we need to be able to collect attendance data more frequently than once a year. Collecting up to date information will support us and provide the evidence we need to understand the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on attendance and how we can support schools.
How frequently are we collecting this data?
We will keep the frequency of collection under regular review. Initially the data will be collected every week but we may need to collect the data more regularly.
For which pupils are we collecting data?
We are collecting data for every pupil in a maintained school as at September 2020.
What information are we collecting?
We are collecting the following information about you every week:
- UPN
- Forename
- Middle name(s)
- Surname
- Gender
- DOB
- Home postcode
- Ethnic background
- Eligibility for free school meals
- Additional learning needs
- English as an additional language
- Attendance code for each half day session in that week
Why are we collecting this information?
This information is needed as a key part of our response and planning during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. The data will be collected every week to ensure that the latest data is available to inform our response. The data will be used for statistical and research purposes only and no decisions will be made about you using this data.
How will we use this information?
We will use the data in the same ways that we have listed in our main privacy notice.
Will we be sharing the data?
We may share this information with those organisations listed in the main privacy notice.
How long will we keep the information about you?
We will keep the data that identifies you until you are 25 years old.
What is the legal basis for collecting this data?
Section 538 of the Education Act 1996 provides the legal basis for collecting this data. This requires schools to make such reports and returns, and give such information, to Welsh Ministers as they may require for their functions in relation to education.
Your rights under the GDPR
Your rights are explained in full in the main privacy notice.
Covid-19 – Parent Information
Schools and COVID-19 – Information for Parents
1. Can I chat to other parents in the playground?
Yes, but it is really important to stick to the 2m social distancing rule in
the playground, as well as everywhere else. We know that it is really
tempting to greet people you’ve not seen in a long time with a hug or
kiss, or to join a chat with a group of parents, but COVID-19 is still with
us. Even if you are wearing a mask, social distancing is essential.
2. Will my children be doing PE?
Yes, PE is really important for children, but lessons will be adapted to
reduce risk of spread of COVID-19. You can make it much easier by
checking when your child has PE lessons and making sure that they go to
school in their PE kit on those days.
3. Can children go to school with a cold?
If a child does not have symptoms of COVID-19 but has other cold-like
symptoms, such as a runny nose, they do not need to be tested and they
and you do not need to self-isolate. Your child can go to school if fit to do
so.
4. Are children able to go to school if a parent or another
sibling, or anyone else in their house has symptoms of
COVID-19?
If a child/parent/household member develops symptoms of COVID-19,
the entire household should immediately self-isolate, and book a
test for the individual with the symptoms. It is not necessary to test
the entire household if they are not symptomatic.
The COVID-19 symptoms are:
a new continuous cough
a high temperature
loss of or change to sense of smell or taste
5. Are children able to go to school if they have been in contact
with someone who they don’t live with but who has
symptoms of COVID-19?
If a child has been in “contact” with someone experiencing symptoms,
they should carry on as normal until that individual receives their test
result. If this is positive, the TTP Team will contact people identified as
contacts.
Contact means:
face-to-face contact with someone less than 1 metre away
(including when you have worn a face covering or face mask)
spending more than 15 minutes within 2 metres of someone
travelling in a car with someone (even on a short journey)
6. What happens if the school has a positive case for COVID19?
When a confirmed case of COVID-19 is identified as attending an
educational or childcare setting (staff or pupil) contact will be made with
the case (or parent) to assess whether they attended the school during
their infectious period and whether further tracing of contacts in the
school is needed. If any staff member or child within the school is a
contact of the case, they will be required to self-isolate for 14 days and
contacted by your local Test, Trace, Protect (TTP) team or Education
Department. If a staff member or child from the school is not a contact of
the case, they will not be required to self-isolate.
7. Booking a COVID-19 test:
Only people with symptoms (a new continuous cough, a high
temperature, or loss of or change in the sense of taste or smell) should be
tested.
A COVID-19 test can be arranged via the Portal, or by ringing 119.
Testing is available in person or with a home testing kit delivered to and
collected from your home. The test is a throat swab or combined throat
and nose swab.
Some people are having difficulties obtaining tests. Your TTP team may
be able to help if you are having problems.
8. Self-isolation:
Anyone with COVID-19 symptoms, and anyone who lives with them, must
self-isolate, even if symptoms are mild.
You must not go to school, nursery, other childcare settings, work, or
places like a GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital.
Anyone with symptoms must self-isolate for 10 days from when their
symptoms started. They can return to school or work after 10 days if they
are well enough to do so.
Anyone in the household who does not have symptoms must self-isolate
for 14 days from when the first person in the home started having
symptoms.
A test is only needed for people who are symptomatic. People who are not
symptomatic should not have a test.
Receiving a negative test result when you are a contact of a case does
not shorten the isolation period, you will still be required to isolate for 14
days if you are a confirmed contact of a positive case.
If a parent thinks their child has symptoms BUT chooses not to put them
through a test all household members must remain in self-isolation for 14
days from the onset of symptoms.
If you receive a positive test result, you will be contacted by the TTP
Team.
If the person who has symptoms has a negative test, self-isolation can
end for everyone, children may return to school and parents can return to
work if they are well enough and as long as nobody else in the household
has developed symptoms.
COVID-19 – Main Risk Mitigation Measures Taken in School
Main Risk Mitigation Measures Taken In School
INFORMATION FOR PARENTS AND STAFF
- Staff or pupils who are symptomatic are to stay home and call school to notify them of their main symptoms. If a COVID-19 test is required, this should be arranged via the UK Booking Portal, https://gov.wales/apply-coronavirus-test or by ringing 119.
- Start and finish times have been staggered to avoid the risk of parents congregating in groups in the playground. 2m distancing tapes have been put on the floor outside the school. The full question set is asked on a weekly basis.
- Hand sanitising units are distributed throughout the school building – in classrooms and at entry and exit points. All electric hand dryers have been disabled and replaced with paper towel dispensers. Liquid soap dispensers have been installed in toilets, classrooms and the staffroom.
- All pupils wash/sanitise their hands on arrival at school and at regular intervals throughout the school day.
- All pupils wash/sanitise their hands on entering and leaving the toilets. Pupils enter the toilets one by one, unless they are in the same contact group.
- Clear signage is provided throughout the school to remind staff and pupils of social distancing, coughs and sneezes and entry and exit points. New bins for paper towels and tissues are now in each classroom and at hand-washing points.
- Pupils have been placed in contact groups and do not mix with pupils from other contact groups. Playtimes and lunchtimes are staggered in order to prevent contact groups coming into close contact with each other. Segregated playgrounds are provided for each contact group.
- All toilets, door handles, high-touch surfaces are cleaned at least every two hours with anti-bacterial cleanser. The photocopier is cleaned before and after each use. An extra cleaner is now employed to assist with these measures throughout the day.
- Staff will maintain a 2m distance from both pupil and other staff members. Where they cannot, a face covering must be worn. All visitors to the school will be required to wear a face mask.
- All staff to be aware of advice to black and ethnic minority groups https://neu.org.uk/advice/coronavirusadvice-black-educators-risk-and-safety
- Members of staff who live with clinically vulnerable people are encouraged to take extra precautions in terms of social distancing and face protection.
- All pupils have their own personal stationery pack which includes all that they need for the school day. They will not have to share resources with others. Resources used by any particular group will be cleaned and isolated for 48 hours before being used by another contact group. Children are asked to keep the items that they bring into school to essentials, such as a water bottle and lunch box/bag.
- Peripatetic music lessons will take place in the school hall or library with appropriate social distancing. These will be risk assessed by the music teachers and music service prior to the commencement of lessons.
- Extra staff rooms have been allocated and furnished to avoid close contact. All staff are provided with breaks of appropriate length. These, and all classrooms, are well ventilated.
- PPE (Personal Protection equipment) is available to all staff in all classrooms. This is to be used when administering certain first aid or intimate care.
- Should a child develop symptoms whilst in school, there is provision for them to remain with a designated adult away from their contact group until parents/guardians arrive.
- We will continue to provide ELSA (Emotional Literacy Support Assistant) sessions and all pupils will have the opportunity to complete a wellbeing check-in on a daily basis.
These are the main points from the school’s risk assessment which has been written in conjunction with the Local Authority’s Health and Safety Unit.
