3 July 2020
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.
How will we manage coronavirus outbreaks in Devon
We've developed new measures to contain and reduce cases of coronavirus in Devon, and safeguard the health of our residents.
It's called the Local Outbreak Management Plan and it details how we will work together to help reduce the risk of outbreaks in the county, and if they do occur, identify them quickly and provide a rapid response to prevent the virus spreading.
Designed to support the national NHS Test and Trace Service, it is our local blueprint for action and builds on the effort everyone has made so far to keep infection rates here so low, protect each other and support the most vulnerable in our communities.
We are also helping other councils with their localised planning for coronavirus outbreak control as one of 11 authorities chosen by the government to share good practice across the country.
We've published the plan on our website, and it will be updated as new national guidance is published or legislation changes. You can also download a copy.
The details of our plan have been broken down into key areas to explain what is involved in this special e-bulletin sent to over 112,000 subscribers on Wednesday 1 July.
Devon County Council Leader, Cllr John Hart, said:
“The vast majority of Devon people have behaved with great sense and responsibility throughout the pandemic and that’s meant we’ve had the lowest number of outbreaks by some way throughout the crisis.
“We obviously want to keep it that way and reduce it still further. We can now build on this effort and extend the work we have done together as Team Devon to protect our residents and support the most vulnerable.
“We will now be at the forefront of responding and managing the outbreak at a local level. And if there’s a hotspot in a town or village we’ll be able to get onto it swiftly before it spreads too far.
“We’ve ensured that our plan includes a strong focus on prevention and early intervention to ensure key settings such as care homes and schools and high-risk locations and communities identify and prioritise preventative measures.
“The good sense of the people of Devon has helped protect us all so far and they continue to have a vital role in reducing the spread of the virus and preventing further outbreaks.
“I would urge them to continue to follow national guidance and advice and keep up social distancing, wash their hands regularly and, if they think they might have the virus, get a test and self-isolate if that’s necessary.”
For more information, please refer to the Local Outbreak Management Plan website, and a list of frequently asked questions.
Economic recovery plan to build a stronger Devon
Team Devon, a public and private sector partnership drawing on expertise from across the county, has published a prospectus for economic recovery from the impact of COVID-19.
The prospectus is a team effort bringing together the talent and experience from business, education, skills and public sector organisations with the backing of senior business representatives, Devon’s County, District and City Councils, the Heart of the South West Local Enterprise Partnership, Dartmoor National Park and Devon’s MPs.
Team Devon wants the county to be recognised nationally for expertise in low carbon, digital technologies; to have a flourishing tourism, food and drink and agricultural sector; and to have a sense of pride in Devon’s own products, services, talent and expertise, with communities and a business network that backs Devon. A more detailed plan and investment strategy is being developed by Team Devon to support the delivery of its actions, and it will be working in partnership with Government, Heart of the South West LEP and other agencies to implement the plan.
County Treasurer warns of huge financial challenges
Lead agencies urge the public to stay safe this weekend
As lockdown restrictions ease further this weekend, senior politicians, public health and Police leads are urging the Devon public to stay safe.
Pubs, restaurants, some leisure facilities and tourist attractions are allowed to reopen from Saturday 4 July, so long as they adhere to national public health guidelines.
Holiday accommodation sites can also reopen, and with visitors able to stay overnight, the expectation is that the county will see a significant rise in traffic on our roads.
Posters for tourism providers
These posters have been produced for tourism providers to share with their guests in order to help reduce the risk of a local outbreak of COVID-19.
Tourist charter example poster
Both posters can be downloaded from our COVID-19 resources web page.
Schools and colleges to reopen in full in September
The Government has announced that it is their plan that all pupils, in all year groups, will return to school full-time from the beginning of the autumn term. It applies to primary, secondary (including sixth forms), infant, junior, middle, upper, school-based nurseries and boarding schools. The guidance also covers expectations for children with special educational needs and disability (SEND), including those with education, health and care plans, in mainstream schools.
Covid-19 secure measures will remain in place to reduce the risk of transmission, with schools being asked to keep children in class or year group sized ‘bubbles’ and encourage older children to keep their distance from each other and staff where possible. This is alongside protective measures such as regular cleaning and handwashing. Read the guidance for full opening: schools, on the Department for Education web pages.
Schooling and welfare
National update
The Prime Minister has set out a transformative ten-year rebuilding programme for schools across England. The rebuilding programme will start in 2020-21 with the first 50 projects, supported by over £1 billion in funding. Further details of the new, multi-wave ten-year construction programme will be set out at the next Spending Review. Investment will be targeted at school buildings in the worst condition across England – including substantial investment in the North and the Midlands – as part of the Prime Minister’s plan to level up opportunity for all.
The Secretary of State for Education,Gavin Williamson, has confirmed he will not be asking schools to open over the summer holidays, and there is no expectation that schools should open for vulnerable children and children of critical workers over this period.
Summer holiday provision
Providers of community activities, summer clubs, tuition and other out-of-school activities will be able to open over the summer, with safety measures in place. Updated Government guidance about what parents and carers need to know about nurseries, childminders, schools and colleges until August 2020, can be found on the Department for Education web pages.
Devon schools providing support during the summer
In Devon, the Early Years Team is now working closely with providers to support the opening of wrap-around care for school age children and formal childcare over the summer. Parents, particularly keyworkers, are being encouraged to contact the usual providers to book a place. Places will be confirmed once the Government has published its guidance for providers after 4 July 2020.
Schools are trying to support this process by allowing their premises to be hired out by providers over the summer period. The Health and Safety Team is therefore supporting the completion to an appendix to the normal lettings policy to cover the current COVID-19 situation.
The School Place Planning Team is also continuing the brilliant work they have been doing with local learning communities throughout the pandemic to support this work.
Summer holiday childcare
Parents will be able to find what childcare will be available on the Pinpoint Devon website, which will soon start to include holiday provision. If at that time parents cannot find childcare, they can complete the Unable to Find Childcare Form and the Early years team will then arrange for one of our team to contact them. Updated information on those settings that will be open in the summer holidays will also be posted on our education section of the public website, when available.
Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) phase 2
Devon County Council, the NHS Clinical Commissioning Groups and other partners are now starting work on phase 2 of our SEND transformation work. This programme aims to transform the experience of children, young people and families with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND).
Phase 1 of the programme provided an independent and detailed insight into the breadth of the current system and the experiences of families and providers to date. It also reported on the opportunities for transformation across health, education, and social care, and the voluntary and community systems for children and young people with SEND.
A multi-agency steering group is now being set up to deliver phase 2 of the programme. In this stage we will agree what our SEND transformation work will look like and how we will implement it in order to transform services for children and young people with SEND and their families. Further information will provided to members as this exciting programme moves forward.
Supporting and protecting children
New Government guidance has been published: Keeping children safe from abuse and harm. This guidance brings together sources of information about the main risks children may be vulnerable to during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and signposts you to help and support available.
The National Network of Designated Healthcare Professionals made a passionate and powerful submission to the May Health Select Committee on behalf of children, arguing for a national re-set in our approach to children. The Devon Children and Families Partnership and Children's Services agree that children have sacrificed much to protect the community during the pandemic. They have missed a substantial part of their education, and for vulnerable children the cost of that loss is likely to be very high. They have experienced all the anxieties and uncertainties that adults have experienced, including bereavements and loss, and they are facing a very uncertain future with anticipated increases in child poverty and threats to their future employment and life chances.
Children's Services' response to coronavirus (COVID-19)
Phase 1 of the coronavirus (COVID-19) response in Children’s Services was about re-purposing schools and education, getting help and support to families who needed it risk, maintaining contact, assessing risk and safety planning. The Devon Children and Families Partnership (DCFP) has embraced the need for an urgent re-set for children nationally and locally. We are particularly mindful of the emotional and mental health and well-being needs of children and young people as they return to school. We have started work on demand modelling because we anticipate a significant uplift in need across all of Children’s Services.
The DCFP has scheduled three workshops over the next six weeks. The first is a listening exercise listening to the experience of children young people and families through lockdown and as we emerge. The second session will bring together what we hear from families with our local and national knowledge from data and practice wisdom. We will integrate this with the re-set challenge set out in Hidden Harms. We will be asking ourselves the four R questions based on our experience so far:
-
Return: Things we can’t wait to get back to
-
Retain: Things we do now that we want to keep doing
-
Reject: Things we don’t want to go back to doing
-
Radical: What other things could we do
The third workshop will pull everything together and articulate the vision and priorities for the partnership in the next phase of living with coronavirus (COVID-19) in the community. We will set out clearly our expectation of ourselves for Phase 2. We plan to publish the vision and priorities on the DCFP website by the end of July.
We recognise the enormous contribution everyone is making to the well-being of children and families in Devon.
Cllr James McInnes said:
“I couldn’t be more proud of Devon, the way the community has responded and the way everyone has come together to do their very best for children and families.
"We have such an opportunity now. The DCFP and Children's Services intend to seize it."
What you can and can't do
The Government has set out its plan to return life to as near normal as possible. The latest changes to the lockdown restrictions are due to come in to effect on Saturday 4 July.
To help you understand the changes, Government has published a guide to what you can and can't do after 4 July.
This includes clarity for vulnerable groups, shielding, 70 year olds and over, and care homes.
Don't forget to make sure you know how to stay safe outside your home and understand social distancing rules.
 New face covering journey assistance cards
Stagecoach is encouraging passengers who are unable to wear a face covering on the bus due to a health condition or a disability to apply for new ‘face covering journey assistance cards’ to show to drivers when they board to confirm they are exempt from the legislation.The card will be emailed so it can be saved to a mobile phone or downloaded then printed.
There is also a special card available if they need the driver to lower their face covering because they are hearing impaired and need to lip read.
Household vans able to use recycling centres
Restrictions at our recycling centres have eased again last week, so personal vans are now allowed to bring household waste as long as it’s only the same amount that would fit in a normal sized family car or trailer.
Knowledge is power!
Local Government Association (LGA) offer Council Members a range of short online modules on issues such as community engagement and leadership, Scrutiny for councillors, stress management and personal resilience. On the LGA’s e-learning hub for Councillors, you can also find online short learning modules about holding council meetings online and handling intimidation.
For a full list of e-learning modules from the LGA
And did you know many of the planned events are now webinars?
- Annual conference webinar series 2020 - ‘Re-Thinking Local: A Vision For The Future’ 7 and 8 and 9 July
- Spotlight on the Councillor 7 July 2020
- Spotlight on Sector-Led Improvement 8 July 2020
- Planning: Development Management – COVID-19 and beyond 13 July
- Working with the voluntary and community sector to support communities 15 July 2020
- Financial hardship and economical vulnerability 16 July 2020
 The NHS turns 72 on Sunday 5 July!
On Sunday 5 July 2020, it will be 72 years since the NHS and social care system was established. The NHS invites everyone to come together at 5.00pm on Sunday to come together and applaud the commitment, courage and sacrifice shown by so many. #ThankYouTogether.
Saturday 4 July, the day before the birthday, will be a moment of remembrance and reflection for all the lives of those we have lost during the pandemic. This chance for the nation to come together and pay our respects is being led by the Together Coalition. We are asking people to place a light in their window, and buildings and landmarks will be lit up as part of this collective act of remembrance.
Take the chance to celebrate all our NHS health and care colleagues across Devon.
Find out more about the day on the NHS England website.
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.
Sign up for Devon County Council updates on coronavirus
The latest national advice on coronavirus (COVID-19) is available on the
Government website and NHS website
and Coronavirus Information Service on WhatsApp.
You can find local guidance and information about the impacts on our services on the Devon County Council website
DCC staff guidance for dealing with coronavirus (COVID-19)
Please note that all of our sites and offices are closed to the public, except for necessary prearranged visits
|
