17 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.
Devon is prepared in the event of local outbreaks
Devon's Director of Public Health, Dr Virginia Pearson, says the county is ‘in a good position’ if a local outbreak occurs, following sustained low numbers of positive COVID-19 cases and steady flow of quality data.
She made the comments at our Cabinet meeting last week while discussing the Local Outbreak Management Plan.The plan is a blueprint which details how any future outbreaks of the virus in Devon would be managed and how its transmission would be contained.
Dr Pearson also chairs the COVID-19 Health Protection Board, a committee of specialists who can coordinate a swift response to an outbreak of the virus.
Devon County Council Leader, Cllr John Hart, who is chair of the Team Devon: Local Outbreak Engagement Board, said:
“Local government asked for the responsibility of managing any local outbreak should it occur, on the grounds that we can do the job better than London. It’s now up to us to make it work and this we can do with our Team Devon partnership working together for our residents.”
You can read more about the Local Outbreak Management Plan on our website.
Residents and visitors asked to ‘stick with us – follow the rules and do the right thing’ as holiday peak hits the south west
Following the opening up of the hospitality and tourist sector two weeks ago, levels of infection and new cases in the South West have continued to remain among the lowest in the country – and South West leaders paid tribute to the businesses which have opened up for playing their part in keeping the area COVID-safe.
We are now entering the crucial time at the start of the summer tourism peak. As more residents take a break with their families, and as further lockdown rules are lifted, the onus is on each and every one of us to do our part in helping prevent the spread of the virus, which remains a serious threat to public health.
So the message in the South West is clear – whether you are visiting, living here or a resident about to go on holiday – stick with us and keep following the guidance to keep everyone safe.
Team Devon meets for first time
Devon’s Local Outbreak Engagement Board, known as Team Devon, and the local COVID-19 Health Protection Board met for the first time this week.
Chaired by Devon County Council’s Leader, Cllr John Hart, the Outbreak Engagement Board’s make-up is expansive, including representatives from across Devon’s local business, tourism, schools and further education, communities and the voluntary sector, the NHS, Healthwatch and Devon and Cornwall Police.
The Engagement Board works alongside the county’s COVID-19 Health Protection Board, to give political oversight of the delivery of the local Outbreak Management Plan. It’s responsible for communication and engaging with Devon residents and communities.
Do it for Devon
You can now meet up with other households and visit more places, but still take precautions to stay safe. The more people you have interactions with the more chance the virus has to spread, so please keep a safe distance to keep Devon safe.
Do it for your family, do it for your community #DoItForDevon
Face coverings update
From next Friday, 24 July, it will be compulsory to wear face coverings in shops and supermarkets in England.
See the updated guidance on why you should wear a face covering, when to wear it
and who is exempt.
COVID-19 LGA Councillor guidance
Local Government Association has updated the COVID-19 councillor guidance, originally published back in March. As things have moved on significantly since then, the new councillor guidance on reset and recovery looks at the role that Councillors can play as we move out of lockdown and focus on supporting our places and communities through the process of recovery.
Understanding Pillar 1 and Pillar 2 data
If you have been following the national news, you’ll have heard reference to Pillar 1 and Pillar 2 testing.
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Pillar 1 testing is swab testing in Public Health England (PHE) labs and NHS hospitals for those with a clinical need, and health and care workers.
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Pillar 2 testing is swab testing for the wider population, including in-person tests at national drive or walk though testing sites and home test kits delivered to you.
The way the government reports positive tests changed on 2 July to remove duplicate results within pillars 1 and 2, so that a person who tests positive is only counted once
With our Local Outbreak Management Plan now in place, we are working on publishing regular up- to-date local and national data on our website as it becomes available to ensure everyone in Devon is as informed as possible about the situation in the county, so they can work with us to keep themselves, their families and their communities safe. We will share the webpage with you as soon as its ready.
Schooling and welfare
Summer holiday provision
The Prime Minister has confirmed that providers who run community activities, holiday clubs, after-school clubs, tuition and other out-of-school provision for children will be able to operate over the summer holiday with safety measures in place. The government has set out guidance for providers of out-of-school settings, like holiday or tuition clubs, that wish to operate over the summer holidays and have also released protective measures guidance to help them put measures in place to reduce the risk of infection and transmission of coronavirus (COVID-19). When schools in the local area have closed for the summer term, children of all ages and from multiple schools may attend these settings.
The Early Years and Childcare Service has put a list together of those holiday schemes that are intending to open over the summer holidays. The list is available on Pinpoint, and includes up to date information about early years group settings, childminders and holiday clubs. If you are contacted by a family who cannot find what they need, please direct them to complete the Unable to Find Childcare Form and return it to Pinpoint. If they are happy to do so, one of our team will contact them to help with finding the childcare they need over the summer holiday period.
Return to school in September
The government plan is that all children and young people, in all year groups, will return to school and college full time from the beginning of the autumn term. This is because the prevalence of coronavirus (COVID-19) has decreased since schools and colleges restricted their opening in March, the NHS test and trace service is up and running and more is understood about the measures that need to be in place to create safer environments in schools.
It is vital that children and young people return to school and college – for their educational progress, for their wellbeing, and for their wider development.
The government has said that school and college attendance will, therefore, again be mandatory from the beginning of the new academic year. For parents and carers of children of compulsory school age, this means that the legal duty on you as a parent to send your child to school regularly will apply. Where children are not able to attend school as parents are following medical and/or public health advice, the absence will not be penalised.
The government has produced guidance for parents which sets out some of the changes and protective measures the government is asking schools and colleges to put in place and what parents, carers, children and young people will need to do to help ensure schools and colleges are as safe as possible for everyone. Parents of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) should also refer to the separate guidance for full opening of special schools and other specialist settings.
Parents may be feeling a mixture of emotions about their child’s return to school, and that is understandable. If you would like help or support, please contact your school first and they will put you in touch with services who can help.
When planning how your child(ren) will get to and from school, the Department for Transport has issued the coronavirus (COVID-19): safer travel guidance for passengers.
For any children entitled to transport assistance from the Local Authority, our Transport Coordination Service is working with transport providers and your school. Please speak directly to your school regarding this.
If a child has symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19), however mild, they must stay at home for 7 days from when their symptoms started. If someone your child lives with has symptoms, everyone must stay at home and not leave the house for 14 days.
Full government guidance for households with possible coronavirus infections is available online.
Recording of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s address to school leavers
43,000 people joined the Prime Minister’s live address to all school leavers congratulating them on reaching the end of their final year at school. A recording of the address is now available to view on Facebook and YouTube.
Guidance on the protective measures for holiday or after-school clubs and other out-of-school settings for children during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak
We have updated the protective measures for holiday or after-school clubs and other out-of-school settings guidance with more information on group sizes and the considerations that need to be made, and the opening of indoor sports facilities from 25 July, including indoor gyms, sports courts and fitness and dance studios.
If your school or college operates outdoors, you should also refer to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport’s guidance for the public on the phased return of outdoor sport and recreation in England.
Free school meals over the summer period for pupils leaving their current education setting
The Covid Summer Food Fund will enable children who are eligible for benefits-related free school meals to be supported over the summer holiday period. This includes providing support where needed for year 6, year 11 and year 13 pupils who were confirmed as eligible and claiming benefits-related free school meals during the summer term, regardless of whether they remain registered with the school.
Where applicable, the school that the pupil is leaving is responsible for ordering the pupil’s free school meals for the Covid Summer Food Fund at least one week before the end of the school term.
Please read all emails from Edenred to ensure that your orders have been processed correctly.
Online education resources
The Department for Education has published a list of online resources for schools and parents to help children learn at home.
Ofsted guidance on phased return to inspections
Ofsted has published guidance for nurseries, childminders, schools and colleges about their phased return to inspection. On Monday, Ofsted announced that they will be carrying out a phased return to inspection, starting with an interim period of visits during the autumn term. Ofsted intend to resume full inspections in January 2021, and are keeping the exact timing under review.
Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) have announced that they will visit local areas to help improve their special education needs and disabilities (SEND) systems following the disruption of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
Ofsted and CQC will work collaboratively with local areas to understand the experiences of children and young people with SEND and their families during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, and to support local areas to prioritise and meet their needs.
Be aware of scam emails
The DfE has been informed that some parents have received an email stating the following: ‘As schools will be closing, if you’re entitled to free school meals, please send your bank details and we’ll make sure you’re supported’.
The DfE can confirm that this is a scam email and is not official. We urge parents that if you receive any emails like this, please do not respond and delete it immediately.
Plans for all children and young people to return to full-time education at the start of the autumn term
The guidance for the full opening of schools, early years and colleges at the start of the autumn can be found here:
SEND Improvement Board
The latest SEND Improvement Board newsletter is available to view.
Supporting and protecting children
Head of Children's Social Care, Darryl Freeman, is expected to return to work on 17 August. A huge thank you to Rachel Gillott who is covering the role in Darryl’s absence.
As many of you would have heard by now, Chief Officer for Children's Services, Jo Olsson, has made the decision to retire at the end of the year. Jo came to Devon early in 2016 for two years and committed without reservation to lead Devon through its next inspection.
At the time an inspection was expected in 2018 but of course didn’t happen until the end of 2019. The Leader of the Council, the Cabinet Member, the Cabinet, the Chair of Scrutiny and the Chief Executive have been unequivocal in their support for Jo and for Children’s Services. The advertisement for the Chief Officer for Children's Services role will go out in July and we hope to have someone in place before Jo’s end date.
Jo said:
"Things are in good shape, there is a lot to do, of course, there always is. We’ve got good leadership in Devon, robust acting up arrangements for Darryl’s absence and excellent support from our Commissioner and Chair of Improvement Partnership who are fully supportive of our plans.
"There are always multiple reasons not to take courageous next steps but, for Devon and for me the time is right. I am relying on all to ensure services remain focussed on children, maintaining stability and continuing the good work I see every day. This is just a natural progression at the right time."
We have been notified from Ofsted that there will be a monitoring visit following our inadequate inspection judgement. Children's Services have been working hard in unprecedented times to drive improvement throughout the service whilst dealing with the impacts of COVID-19. Commissioner, Eleanor Brazil, has been working with Senior Leaders to support this improvement, and the Improvement Partnership meets monthly to track the improvement and plan next steps.
Support for clinically vulnerable residents
The Government's offer of free basic food supplies and medicine deliveries for those clinically extremely vulnerable to coronavirus and advised to 'shield' at home will end on Friday 31 July.
This is because from Saturday 1 August, the government guidance will be relaxed so clinically extremely vulnerable people will no longer be advised to shield and can resume a more normal lifestyle, including visiting shops so long as they follow strict social distancing measures. Priority access to supermarket delivery slots will continue.
NHS Volunteer Responders together with many charitable and local community groups will continue to offer support after 31 July.
New one-off newspaper, “Devon Together”, to be delivered to households across Devon this week
More than 300,000 households in Devon will receive a free newspaper delivered to their door this week, designed as a guide to services and next steps in the continuing efforts against COVID-19.
Its door to door delivery is to ensure that residents, particularly in rural or isolated communities, who might not otherwise access their news or information digitally, are kept up to date with coronavirus-related information.
It includes vital news about Devon’s Local Outbreak Management Plan, and the new measures to contain and reduce cases of coronavirus in the county and safeguard the health of local people. You can also read it online.
“It is essential that we have good communication and for us all to work together to beat coronavirus,” said the Leader, Cllr John Hart.
“We and our Team Devon partners in public health, the NHS, our District Councils and other public and emergency services, are doing everything we can to communicate effectively to our residents.
“One of our many communication channels is with this newspaper, which is aimed at reaching residents who are less likely to be accessing their information online.
“It will also be available in some supermarkets and other publicly-accessible settings.”
Find out what support is available
There is a free service to find out what help people can get from the Government and other organisations.
You can find information about:
- what to do if you're feeling unsafe where you live, or if you're worried about someone else
- going into work
- paying bills or being unemployed
- getting food
- having somewhere to live
- mental health and wellbeing, including information for children
We also have a map and full list of the community support groups that we are aware of that have local initiatives to support those in need right now.
 LG80 'Team up' to ask questions to Leadership Group
Watch our Chief Executive, Phil Norrey; our Chief Officer for Highways, Infrastructure Development and Waste, Meg Booth; and our Chief Officer for Communities, Public Health, Environment and Prosperity, Virginia Pearson as they answer questions from LG80 around lessons learned, what the next 12 months looks like and the role we can play in the recovery. LG80 consists of all of our Heads of Service and their direct reports.
(only available to those with a devon.gov.uk email address).
Increase in highway spending by over 50 per cent for this year
Devon County Council’s Cabinet, on Wednesday (July 8), approved spending an additional £27M on Devon’s roads for this year, making the current year's allocation the largest ever annual investment in Devon’s Road Network.
 ... a reminder about Test and Trace
We all want Devon to recover from this pandemic as quickly and as safely as possible, and for that to happen we all need to do our bit to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
It's really important that if you develop coronavirus symptoms you get a free NHS test to check if you have it.
You can find out more about how to get a test, what happens if your result is positive and if you're contacted by the NHS Test and Trace service on the NHS 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
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