Your weekly newsletter to stay ‘school connected’

The coronavirus [COVID-19] has brought new challenges to us all, at a time

of reduced social contact ‘CONNECTED’ is your weekly newsletter to bring

you updates about Health, Care and Education, along with ideas to occupy

your time. If you would like to get in touch, then please email us at

help@attendanceplus.co.uk

GOV.UK Coronavirus (COVID-19): what you need to do

STAY AT HOME o Only got outside for food, health reasons or work (but only if you cannot work from home) o If you go out, stay 2 metres (6ft) away from other people at all times o Wash your hands as soon as you get home

Don’t meet others, even friends or family.

You can spread the virus even if you don’t have symptoms.

Health: o Updates about COVID-

19 o Importance of social

distancing and self-isolation

o Staying fit & well

Care: o Mental Health &

Wellbeing o Money matters,

finances & budgeting o Housing matters

Education: o School openings for

Keyworkers & Vulnerable children

o Continued learning

C O N N E C T E D

A T T E N D A N C E

p l u s

Issue 2

Get CONNECTED and back issues here

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King’s College London C-19 App

Self-report daily. Help slow the outbreak. Identify those at risk sooner.

Take 1-minute to self-report daily, even if you are well.

Help our scientists identify:

• High-risk areas in the UK • Who is most at risk, by better understanding

symptoms linked to underlying health conditions • How fast the virus is spreading in your area

For more information on the App, the research and how you can help click here

Importance of social distancing – we’re in it together! “The nation staying home is having a big impact on the spread of the virus in the UK, according to our research findings.” Dr. Tim Spector – King’s College London This video provides information about social distancing, why it’s important, how the virus is spread by coming into contact with others, and how you can do your bit to prevent the virus from spreading. To see the video, click here

“One form of exercise a day” – with rules for social distancing how can you can safely exercise? Example exercises can include running, walking or cycling – alone or with members of your household. Exercise levels and duration can vary depending on your level of fitness and it’s advised to take this near your home. Here’s some great information from Suffolk, advice on exercising in and out of doors, and for all ages and abilities.

Keep Suffolk Moving

Health

o COVID-19 updates o Importance of social distancing and self-

isolation o Staying fit & well

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Free School Meals - Support for pupils who have to stay at home

During the COVID-19 outbreak the Government has asked schools to provide support to

children that are eligible for free school meals who have to stay at home. Schools will provide

meals depending on their arrangements e.g. by an in-house catering team, local authority

catering team, or by private provider. If schools are unable to use their existing provision,

they may have other options e.g. local initiatives.

National voucher scheme

The Government has developed an alternative if your school is unable to provide meals or

food parcels to families of pupils eligible for benefits-related free school meals. The national

voucher scheme enables schools to issue vouchers to eligible families for use in

supermarkets and will be issued to the adult with caring responsibility for that child. School’s

will decide how to issue these vouchers depending on the parents and carers’ ability to

access the internet. Alternatively, schools can choose a supermarket on the family’s behalf

and send the eGift [voucher] to the parent or carer.

• Schools, in partnership with the family where possible, will consider the convenience of the supermarket

• how to share vouchers with families in a safe and easy way – this may include posting the voucher or arranging for a secure collection

Supermarkets available

Morrisons, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Waitrose and M&S

Redeeming the vouchers

Once families have received their voucher, they will be able to redeem them in store at the

selected retailer by either:

• Presenting the voucher on a smartphone or tablet

• Presenting a paper copy of the voucher

Contact your school for further information and about the provision of meals over Easter

Care

Free School Meals

FIND A FOOD BANK

Food banks are grassroots, community organisations aimed at

supporting people who cannot afford the essentials in life. The

Trussell Trust has a list of Food banks and you can find your local

food bank using their map here

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Keyworker - Iza

To reduce the spread of coronavirus [COVID-19] the Government closed schools with partial opening

for those children that absolutely need to attend i.e. children of Keyworker parents and Vulnerable

children. See - essential areas of employment. Attendance Plus spoke with Iza, a Keyworker,

whose children attend Valence Primary School in Dagenham, Essex.

What’s your experience of having your school open to you?

“I was worried when I was identified as a Keyworker, how it would

work both for me and my family. I needed to go to work, I had no

Childminder, I had no one to look after my children.”

What’s your experience of having your school open for your

children?

“It’s absolutely amazing, I explained to my children that I needed to

help other people and that Valence was here to help me.

Did you have any reservations about using your school in this

way?

“I was anxious about using the school but when we came in the

office staff and teachers were calm and reassuring. I now use the

school most days… my children have their breakfast and have

activities. I’m impressed with what has been done to support

families in such a short time, in a day it felt there was a structure in

place, and it works well.”

What would be your advice to other Keyworker families if they

had similar reservations?

“I’ve spoken to other parents about the support at Valence as

some didn’t realise the school was open to Keyworker families.

I’ve talked to them about the support that I’m getting… My

children are enjoying their time playing in the playground, using

bikes, doing art and craft, playing Badminton and using the

school’s computers.”

A huge thank you to Iza and the many other Keyworkers like her. Also, a huge thank you to

Valence Primary School for providing such vital support to families like Iza’s.

Inter Views

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ART SPACE

Art is a diverse range of human activities, including creating or performing, to express imaginative

and conceptual ideas for appreciation and influence. Activities related to Art can take many forms

including the history of Art to journalism, using Art in media, curating galleries and museums, to the

actual production of Art itself.

Art plays a vital role in society as it can bring into view the feelings and imaginations of people and

alter our view of the world [e.g. how we see the world, people and place]. At this time perhaps there’s

never been such a need for Art, to see, feel and unite people to overcome the coronavirus. Also, to

have Art as window on the world in a time of lockdown e.g. by seeing works online.

For ART SPACE we want to understand your world. Have you created something that you’d like to

share? If so, get in touch we’d love to see what you’ve been doing help@attendanceplus.co.uk

Spotlight on Artists

Away from the conventional we want to focus on those Artists unknown. One such Artist is Sharif

Persaud. Sharif has shown his work in a number of smaller galleries like AUTOGRAPH. He explores

his contemporary life and autism, sharing both his pleasurable and traumatic sides of life, his

relationship to social care and addressing important questions of healthcare. In the exhibition Have

You Ever Had Sharif painted this picture, the cast from the BBC show Holby City. To find out more

about Sharif and to see him paint the picture click here.

Stay at home, protect the NHS

#ThankYouNHS

Education at home

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Pupil Gallery

Do you have a picture for Pupil Gallery? If so, get in touch help@attendanceplus.co.uk

Have you considered a career in Art?

From painter to sculptor, fashion to furniture design, museum or gallery curator, education and further learning, a teacher or lecturer, Art has something to offer you. There are many courses around our nations and here are just a few to explore.

Belfast School of Art National College of Art and Design

University of Arts London Edinburgh College of Art

The Glasgow School of Art Swansea College of Art Cardiff School of Art & Design

Lockdown lookout – museums and galleries with online viewing

AUTOGRAPH photographs, people, identity, place, human rights and social justice. Relaxed events for visitors that benefit from a quiet and less crowded environment, particularly suited to people with complex support needs or those with autism, their carers’ and families.

ART UK charity with a website that represents a collaboration between over 3,200 British institutions. ART UK makes art available for everyone – for enjoyment, learning and research.

Victoria and Albert Museum art and design from around the world and from different times, paintings, sculpture, manufacturing and objects by type and material (glass, plastic and metals).

Tate collection of four museums showing art of all styles, nations and people - Tate Modern, Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives.

School: The Petersfield School

Student: Ella

Year Group 10

About the work

“I wanted to explore how likeness

and character link. Is one possible

to have without the other? Without

character, no one would be unique.

If we all had the same looks, no one

would be unique. Both come

together to form emotion, body,

brains and so on. This is what

makes us human.”

Thank you for sharing this Ella and

good luck with your studies!

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Life on a Submarine - coping with lockdown

It’s Easter, the sun has come out, temperatures have warmed, and you may be

tempted to go out as normal. But we need to keep to the Government guidance

and stay at home. Frustrating, but we’re in it together! Submariners have

first-hand experiences of lockdown as they can spend months at sea, not

surfacing and having very limited contact with the outside world. Here are

some helpful tips from Submariners to help us stay at home.

Sub Lieutenant Andrew Rose

“The submarine keeps a watch system... During my six-hours on I’m busy doing jobs… keeping

lookout… managing defects or just general rounds of all the kit. During the six-hours off is when you

get a chance to wash, exercise or catch-up on any admin, relax and sleep – or study. I was very

lucky to have a good crew... If I ever felt down, I know I could talk to them... have a laugh. It helps

to keep busy too because it keeps your mind focused. On board we have a few weights, some mats

and an exercise bike… There’s plenty of exercises that you can do without moving from your mat –

sit-ups, press-ups and squats… Exercise was massively important for keeping healthy and be ing

able to exercise really helped morale… [At home] There’s plenty we could do… such as cleaning,

exercising, contacting friends, learn a new skill etc.”

A Submariners top tips for lockdown

1. Routine: get into a routine and keep doing it, days will move into weeks, weeks will move into months. Settle into routine.

2. Cleaning: make sure you’re clean. Clean your environment and make sure you regularly wash your hands.

3. Downtime: make sure you give yourself downtime. 4. Communicate: talk to people in your home, call people, being social is vital. 5. Exercise: where you can, get sunlight and fresh air while keeping to the rules for social

distancing. 6. Look for the positives: be part of the solution, isolation won’t last forever. Think of the

things you and your friends will be able to do once it’s all over.

To read the full interview and to find out about Submarine careers click Royal Navy

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Our Oceans - opportunities and activities

There are many more employment opportunities and adventures that involve life both on top and

under the sea, including marine biology and conservation. Did you watch Blue Planet? Perhaps you

could watch it now via BBC iPlayer? Perhaps you can discover and understand more about the

oceans and what you can do to protect them now and for a future career.

Download an Oceans poster

Dive deeper to discover how Blue Planet was made

Get involved with protecting our Oceans stories, photography and amazing videos from the deep!

Learn about the history of the Submarine, how they’ve been used and what they’ve been used for.

Watch videos of Triton Submersible Submarine and others.

Through the porthole, what will you discover porthole?

Marine life | Conservation | Science | Education & Careers

Share your adventures, discoveries and pictures of the life aquatic

help@attendanceplus.co.uk

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Heard of the Gruffalo? Axel Scheffler has illustrated a digital book for primary school age

children, free for anyone to read or print out, about the coronavirus and the measures that

we can take to control it. Published by Nosy Crow, and written by their staff, it has input from

Professor Graham Medley of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. Thank you

to Nosy Crow and all contributors.

The book answers key questions in simple language appropriate for 5 to 9 year olds:

• What is the coronavirus?

• How do you catch the coronavirus?

• What happens if you catch the coronavirus?

• Why are people worried about catching the coronavirus?

• Is there a cure for the coronavirus?

• Why are some places we normally go to closed?

• What can I do to help?

• What’s going to happen next?

Short Story

To download your copy

CLICK HERE

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Chocolate Easter Egg Nest

A firm favourite that doesn’t require over complicated ingredients, where children can get

messy and there’s not a great deal of time to wait until they can be eaten – yum!

Ingredients

• 225g/8oz plain chocolate, broken into pieces • 2 tbsp golden syrup • 50g/2oz butter • 75g/2¾oz cornflakes • 36 mini chocolate eggs

Method

1. Line a 12-hole fairy cake tin with paper cases. 2. Melt the chocolate, golden syrup and butter in a bowl set over a saucepan of gently

simmering water (do not let the base of the bowl touch the water). Stir the mixture until smooth.

3. Remove the bowl from the heat and gently stir in the cornflakes until all of the cereal is coated in the chocolate.

4. Divide the mixture between the paper cases and press 3 chocolate eggs into the centre of each nest. Chill in the fridge for 1 hour, or until completely set.

For more recipes see BBC Food

Food

Recipe of the week

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Coronavirus

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

Parents, children young people and families: https://www.gosh.nhs.uk/news/coronavirus-covid-19-information-children-young-people-and-families

Pregnancy and baby: https://ihv.org.uk/families/parenting-through-coronavirus-covid-19/

Vulnerable groups: https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus-extremely-vulnerable

Housing

Citizens Advice: offering information, advice and guidance on renting, arrears, eviction, tenancy, repairs, Council Tax, mortgage problems, homelessness. https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/housing/

Money

Money Advice Service: money and budgeting https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/categories/managing-money

And, coronavirus what it means for you and possible entitlement https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/coronavirus-what-it-means-for-you

Indoor activities

Scouts https://www.scouts.org.uk/the-great-indoors/

Health & fitness https://www.nhs.uk/change4life/activities/indoor-activities

Mental Health & Wellbeing

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

Talking to children about illness – all ages: The British psychological Society

Older people: https://www.ageuk.org.uk/information-advice/coronavirus/coronavirus/

Need to talk with someone? Contact Samaritans / call 116 123

Child or young person, need to talk? Contact Childline / call 0800 1111

Experiencing domestic abuse? National Domestic Abuse Helpline / 0808 2000 247

About us

Attendance Plus is an independent provider of attendance support for schools, children, young people and families. Find out more at www.attendanceplus.co.uk

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