www.boarding.org.uk No images? Click here Dear membersThis week’s Covid-19 communication covers:
As ever the update is issued by BSA in conjunction with our partners BAISIS and ISC. BSA reminds all schools that it is not a medical, statutory or legal authority and any advice is given on that basis. Five months have now passed since BSA’s first COVID-19 weekly briefing on January 27, 2020, and this is the 24th update.Although news and relevant information continue to be published almost daily, BSA is changing the schedule of our regular Monday updates to make them fortnightly during the summer holidays in the northern hemisphere, and it is likely during this period that bulletins will be shorter. Future guidance will be published on:
Following these dates, the frequency will be reviewed again. Any more urgent updates will be circulated as soon as they are available. BSA is grateful to the many member schools which have fed back positively on the content of the guidance. A.1: What has changed Schools in Malaysia welcomed back children last week, and schools in Thailand are allowed to open on Wednesday. Schools in Wales are opening from today to allow pupils face-to-face time before the end of term. However, relatively few of those returning at this stage will be boarders. The UK Government has indicated that there might be a change to the policy on quarantine, with a traffic light system being considered. As this information is so crucial to schools, pupils and parents, an update will be circulated as soon as any further information is received. A.2: COVID-Safe Charter BSA has also produced a template letter to which schools may add their own logo and details as appropriate, which international pupils can use as a way of demonstrating that they are travelling back to a BSA member school. A new version of the Charter for guardians will be published this week. Translations into Chinese, Russian and German have already been commissioned and are available on the BSA website. Translations into Thai and Spanish are currently being arranged, and a translation into Arabic has been forwarded by member school Swiss International Scientific School of Dubai, to whom we are very grateful. It will be available on the BSA website shortly. A further update to the Charter is envisaged over the coming weeks. A.3: Return to school: UK In Scotland, some outdoor sports courts are able to open from today, in accordance with the route map document. Planning for a return to school in August continues, with the Education Recovery Group meeting again last week. BSA will shortly be hosting a forum for schools in Northern Ireland to help with final planning towards their restart in August. The full guidance for Northern Ireland is available here. In England, the Secretary of State for Education, Gavin Williamson, has clarified again this morning that the return in September will be at the normal beginning of term date for all pupils in all year groups. Further guidance is anticipated soon, in expectation of which both BSA and ISC have forwarded comments for consideration. BSA continues to seek further clarifications on boarding both directly with DfE and with fortnightly conversations with Baroness Berridge. A reminder that colleagues in England should be aware that the recently published version of Keeping Children Safe in Education for September 2020 comments on, and has links to, Government COVID-19 documentation. The following updates from last week remain relevant:
A.4: Return of international boarders to the UK Schools must ensure they can adhere to the isolation guidance before making any commitment to quarantine and must also ensure that parents and pupils are aware of what the arrangements will be before committing to a return to the UK or booking any flights. Hopefully, the updated scheme will help resolve some of these issues. BSA is also having further conversations this week regarding the possibility of co-ordinated flights for international boarders, but this is proving to be a particularly challenging issue to resolve. The information on visas and sponsorship is below:
A.5: BSA Checklist and BSA COVID Supplier list Last week BSA launched a list of suppliers of vital equipment on our website, and the list continues to grow. BSA does not officially endorse any of the products listed, and schools are urged to perform their own due diligence checks on any company they plan to approach. All relevant COVID advice and guidance is available on the BSA website. A number of schools have queried the best care for school uniforms. School Blazer has kindly produced a guidance document for members. Our thanks also to School Blazer for sponsoring last week's National Boarding Week. A.6: #BSAheroes B. Links to previous BSA advice
If you would like further advice from the BSA, please email bsa@boarding.org.uk. Best wishes
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