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Wednesday 20 May 2020
 I hope you, your family and friends remain safe and well at this difficult time.
Thank you for your continued support of the national response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
If you are a parent at home with school age children, supporting their continued learning alongside your own work is a significant challenge.
Many of you will have heard the Prime Minister setting out the government’s position that, as well as schools continuing to being open to vulnerable children and the children of critical workers, a phased re-opening of them could begin from 1 June at the earliest, starting with pupils in nurseries, reception, year one and year six.
The government is clear that all arrangements will remain under regular review, and will only happen if the level of new infections continues to decrease.
Havering Council is working with schools to support their plans for a gradual and phased re-opening. A full health and safety risk assessment, taking into account staffing levels and their physical capacity on the school site, will guide their plans.
The safety of everyone in the school community is the most important thing for us in all of this. We all want to get more pupils back into school as soon as it is safe to do so because school is the best learning environment for our children. However, in supporting schools to re-open in a phased and gradual way, the first priority to consider will be the health and well-being of all pupils, their families and school staff.
Although all schools are working hard to respond to the guidance sent by the Department for Education, some primary, infant and junior schools may not be able to offer full time in-school education for the relevant year groups, and any new arrangements may not be introduced on 1 June. I know that each school will be thinking carefully about the guidance and respond to its own individual circumstances.
If you want to contact me directly, email me. However, please be patient as there may be a delay of a day or two in getting back to you due to the volume of messages I am receiving.
Please stay safe.
Cllr Damian White
Leader, Havering Council
Next Monday, 25 May, is a Bank holiday.
As a consequence there will be no rubbish or garden waste collections on Monday.
Collections throughout the week will occur one day later than normal.
So if, for example, your usual collection day is Wednesday please don't put your sacks out until Thursday morning.
Collections will return to normal on Monday 1 June.
On collection day please make sure your black and orange sacks are outside by 7am.
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This week is Mental Health Awareness Week and the theme is kindness.
Looking after our mental wellbeing is important at any time but during the current COVID-19 situation, with the impact this has had on our normal routines it’s more vital than ever.
Each day this week in this newsletter we're focusing on a different group in our community, providing links to information, advice, practical tools and local support.
Today we focus on parents.
As a parent, you play an important role in your child's mental health through the things you say and do, and the environment you create at home.
It’s OK for children and young people to feel sad or angry. Encourage them to talk about how they feel and find ways to help them to cope with life’s challenges.
Talking Mental Health is an animation designed to help begin conversations about mental health with younger children. YoungMinds offer tips on how to stay connected, stay calm and deal with stress at home for teenagers.
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The Government recently published new guidance for employers and employees on
safety in the workplace and guidance regarding the use of face coverings.
It advises:
- You throw away any used Personal Protective Equipment PPE (gloves and face masks) in ‘black bag’ waste at home or whilst at work, or a litter bin if you’re outside.
- Don't put used PPE in a recycling bin, they cannot be recycled through conventional recycling facilities.
- Do not purchase medical grade masks or respirators. These are prioritised for healthcare workers working in more high-risk environments. But make your own face coverings using the guidance and dispose of them in your black bag waste.
Anyone self-isolating at home with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 should continue to place their personal waste materials, including any PPE worn at home, in the ‘black bag’ waste bin. It should be double-bagged, securely tied, and stored for 72 hours before placing out for collection.
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 Claire Purssord and Tracy Cavanagh, members of of Havering Council's Adult Social Care team, came to the rescue of a local resident when her husband was admitted to hospital and she was unable to stay home alone.
They arranged for the 85-year-old to go into respite care and went the extra mile by taking her there, and returned to home to feed the cat.
Since being discharged from hospital, the resident and her husband have been reunited and are staying in the same care home for now.
Annette Kinsella, one of the Council's heads in Adult Social Care, said: “Claire and Tracy deserve to be highlighted as Havering Heroes.”
If you know of a Havering Hero please let us know. Email living@havering.gov.uk. Tell us why you consider someone a Havering Hero and we may feature them in future bulletins. If sending a picture of your hero please make sure you have their permission before emailing it to us, and let us have contact phone numbers or email addresses so we can follow up.
If you're finding things hard emotionally right now, you're not alone.
Local charity Havering Mind, can help you cope with your thoughts, feelings, and issues that you are facing at this exceptionally difficult time.
They can help with stress, isolation, depression, loneliness, anxiety, low mood, worry and more.
If you, or someone you know, needs support with their mental health, Havering Mind can listen and help you identify ways to address the problems you are facing.
Call 01708 457040 or email reach.us@haveringmind.org.uk.
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 Havering Council is looking for people from all backgrounds to join our community of foster carers.
You can find out more at a Facebook Live event this Friday, 22 May, at 10.30am when a foster carer, and a child, talk about their experiences.
Email fostering@havering.gov.uk or call 01708 434574 to book your place.
Havering Arts Development has issued a drama challenge for actors, writers and anyone who loves live performance.
The team is asking for residents to submit a short 30 - 60 second video of themselves performing a favourite passage from a book, play, film, poem, or something they’ve written themselves.
The deadline is Sunday 24 May.
Email your entry to: arts@havering.gov.uk.
Please keep social distancing etiquette while recording your videos, and ideally record them in landscape format.
Havering Arts is also working on launching new drama opportunities for later in 2020. For further information email arts@havering.gov.uk.
The first entry received set a high standard. It was by Jenny Draper who recorded a monologue from Still Life by Noel Coward, the one-act play that later became the film Brief Encounter.
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