19 June 2020
DCC staff guidance for dealing with coronavirus (COVID-19)
Public: coronavirus (COVID-19) advice for Devon on our website
Please pass this onto district, borough, parish and town councillors as appropriate. The bulletin can be shared as a link by clicking the 'View it as a Web page' link at the top.
 Football team tackles lockdown loneliness
We're helping to raise awareness of loneliness and encourage people to speak about it openly this Loneliness Awareness Week, 15-21 June 2020.
Braunton FC Ability Team, for young people and adults with disabilities, has been keeping their players active, connected and entertained during lockdown with the help of a £350 grant that we funded jointly with North Devon Council.
They used it to deliver activity packs to their 25 players, aged between 7 and 57 years old with disabilities including autism, cerebral palsy, Down’s syndrome, learning difficulties and epilepsy.
Melanie, one of their coaches, said:
“We want to say a massive thank you…The packs have been very popular, and we have enjoyed being able to deliver them to our players - seeing them using their packs has been amazing and feedback from parents and carers has been terrific.”
Understanding and supporting our BAME colleagues during COVID-19
There is little doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting all of us in many different ways and that this is having an impact on our health and wellbeing, on our livelihoods, and on our way of life.
It is clear that many people are deeply concerned about the situation and the impact on them and their loved ones.
However, for people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds, this sense of anxiety is undoubtedly heightened.
Although there remains a lot that is unknown about the make-up of the coronavirus epidemiology, there is growing evidence suggesting that people from BAME backgrounds are disproportionately affected by COVID-19.
We take any concerns from our colleagues about the impact of COVID-19 very seriously. Once infected, many of the pre-existing health conditions that increase the risk of having severe infection (such as having underlying conditions like diabetes and obesity) are more common in BAME groups and many of these conditions are socioeconomically patterned.
We would like to remind all Members of the information available on Inside Devon.
Schooling and welfare
99% of Devon schools are now open and the numbers attending continue to increase as they support a wider age range of pupils. 17,603 young people attended on Monday 15 June, 2,525 of those were vulnerable children (compared to just over 1,000 before May half term).
The number of key worker children attending has now grown considerably and as explained last week, this means some schools may soon reach capacity. In order to keep parents informed, an open letter from the Head of Education and Learning has been sent to parents via schools and will soon be available on the Devon County Council website. You can read the open letter here.
Supporting and protecting children
We are planning for the next phase of COVID-19. The fact is that through lockdown children have sacrificed much to protect the community. International data has shown that lockdown, as a response to coronavirus (COVID-19), has a significant and harmful impact on the most vulnerable children. We know that they have missed out on their education and for disadvantaged children this will be a double whammy. We know that their lives have been transformed under lockdown, for some an opportunity for an enriching time within a loving family, for others a time of enormous stress; struggles with poverty, experiences of violence, deteriorating mental health, online grooming and abuse.
We won’t know the full extent of the harm that children have suffered until they return to trusted relationships outside the home but we are planning for significantly increased demand that will be exacerbated by the economic downturn we are expecting. In the UK, reports by Unicef UK, SCIE, Childline and the NSPCC already indicate this impact with both Childline and the NSPCC reporting a demand in their services since the beginning of the lockdown period.
Ofsted has reported a 50% rise in reporting of serious incident notifications (SIN) for infants under 12 months. In Devon we have two SIN for infants in May.
Letters to directors of children’s services (on 22 May) from Ministers signify the importance of safeguarding partners working effectively to identify and respond to multiple vulnerability. These reports alongside the Government summit on Hidden Harm, on the 21 May, substantiate that we need to be prepared for a wave of demand into the social care system.
Current data for both domestic abuse impact in families and children's mental health are both showing an increase in the level of harm and injury.
We owe it to children to recognise the price they have paid to keep the community safe and to do everything in our power to ameliorate adverse impacts in particular for those children who already experience the greatest disadvantage.
Now, we must put children front and centre of our thinking and planning. We are therefore considering scenarios for increased demand to children's social care and other statutory services.
Current planning considers both a sharp rapid increase of demand or a slow significant increase over a long period of time. Mitigation includes actions to both prevent the demand wave by meeting the need early and in the community and also to accelerate the tapering of the wave by effective multi-agency work as set out in the diagram below. As part of our second phase planning and recovery work we are working on this analysis and action planning further and tracking demand indices.
Free school meals to be extended over the summer holidays
Children in England who are eligible for free school meals will receive a six-week food voucher to cover the summer holiday period, after a campaign by Manchester United and England footballer Marcus Rashford.
The criteria for free school meals is on the Government's website.
Parents can make a quick application online where their eligibility can be assessed immediately.
In Devon parents can apply for free school meals through the Free School Meal Portal.
Adult care and health scam alert
Look out for test and trace scam
We've heard about another test and trace scam, which is also trying to con people into paying for a COVID-19 swab test.
Here's what happened. A care home manager received a text to say that he had tested positive following a recent swab, and that he needed another test. He phoned the number in the text and was told that he'd have to pay for the test. He was asked for his bank details.
This is a scam, and it was quickly reported to the police.
For avoidance of any doubt, the NHS Test and Trace service will absolutely not:
- ask for bank details or payments
- ask for details of any other accounts, such as social media
- ask you to set up a password or PIN number over the phone
- ask you to call a premium rate number, such as those starting 09 or 087
Text messages will come from NHStracing.
Calls will come from 0300 0135000.You’ll be asked to sign in to the NHS Test and Trace contact tracing website.
Citizen's Advice
One in every three people have been contacted by a scammer since the outbreak began, according to Citizen’s Advice.
They’re offering advice on how to protect yourself and others against them.
Bereavement support
Marie Curie Day of Reflection Campaign and where to find support
Marie Curie’s bereavement support service has been supporting people throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and will be continuing to do so while life slowly returns to normal.
Discover what bereavement support is available on our DCC COVID-19 web pages.
Guides for businesses to help them re-open safely
Non-essential businesses opened again this week in England, but not all businesses are yet allowed to open.
This Government advice explains if a business or venue can open.
There are eight guides to help employers, employees and self-employed, to understand how to work safely during COVID-19. The guides cover a range of different types of work. Depending upon your business, you may need to refer to more than one guide.
Click through to the toolkit of images and animations
Help spread the message to keep our roads safe
Following on from the advice to take extra care, however you travel, we have an up-to-date 'DCC road safety social media and communication toolkit' for you to refer to.
Members! Spread the message about road safety by sharing these animations and images through your email auto-signature, on social media and within your community.
The Road Safety Team has included some suggested wording for Twitter posts too.
If you see any posts on social media, please share them and use the hashtag #TakeExtraCareInDevon
Don't forget that for information on cycling including cycle routes, maps, advice and free adult cycle training sessions please visit the Travel Devon website and videos can be found on the Travel Devon YouTube channel.
 Here are just a few of the community projects that have been helped by the COVID-19 Prompt Action Fund:
And
By pulling together across the Council, with our partners and our communities, we are doing everything we can to help us all through this incredibly difficult time. Thank you to you and your community and stay safe and well.
Please note that all of our sites and offices are closed to the public, except for necessary prearranged visits
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