Human Flu Pandemic

November 2008 News

DCSF has produced guidance on planning to support learning if schools close for extended periods during a flu pandemic. For more information, and a link to the guidance, click here.

Background

Influenza pandemics are not new. Three flu pandemics caused public health emergencies during the last century and experts are predicting that another is inevitable and will almost certainly reach the UK.

No-one knows exactly when a pandemic will occur. Once a pandemic arrives, it is likely to spread throughout the country in a matter of weeks. It may come in two or more waves several months apart. Each wave may last two to three months across the UK as a whole.

The UK Health Departments have published a framework for how the Government overall will respond. The Government recommends that organisations, including those in the public sector at local level, should be as prepared as possible now so that plans can be activated when a pandemic arrives.

DCSF produced a range of guidance documents in consultation with other Government departments and various external bodies as part of the Government’s co-ordinated efforts to encourage prudent planning across all sectors, supporting the Department of Health, as lead department, in preparing and planning for a possible pandemic. There is general planning guidance for different sectors, issued in July 2006, model plans for schools and FE colleges, issued in December 2006, and infection control guidance for different settings. In January 2008, the Department for Children Schools and Families (DCSF) and the Department for Innovation Universities and Skills (DIUS), added Frequently Asked Questions to make information on some key issues more easily accessible.

There are links to the guidance below, grouped by the type of guidance. Within each section, there will be specific documents for different sectors so you can select the version(s) most relevant to you.

General planning guidance

There are different versions of guidance for different sectors. Click on the appropriate entry below to go to the version relevant to you.

Model plans/checklists

As mentioned in the earlier guidance, DCSF has developed a model plan/checklist for schools that they may choose to use, or adapt, when developing plans along with their local authorities.

A similar document has also been developed for use by further education colleges.

These can be downloaded from the links below:

Infection Control Guidance

We have developed this guidance with the assistance of the Department of Health and the Health Protection Agency to help you operate more safely in a pandemic. Much of the guidance would also be relevant as general good hygiene practice to help you reduce the spread of more common infections. The downloads below also include 2 NHS posters (on hand-washing and ‘coughs and sneezes’) which you can order free-of-charge from dh@prolog.uk.com , quoting refs 278819 or 279933 respectively.

Guidance on Planning to Support Learning During Extended School Closures

When the then DfES issued its initial guidance on planning for a human flu pandemic, the guidance promised that further guidance on remote learning would be issued in due course.

After discussions with interested parties, DCSF has now made that guidance available, click here for the Word version of the text, or here for the pdf version.

While there have been exchanges and discussions with stakeholders on this, there has not been a full national consultation. Given that, and the fast-changing nature of any work linked to technology, DCSF intend to review and revise this guidance regularly, probably next in autumn 2009.

In that review, we will take account of any comments on this version of the guidance (either on the principles behind the guidance or on the text). We would therefore ask you to e-mail any comments to flu.planning@dcsf.gsi.gov.uk

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

FAQ on some of the key issues relating to DCSF and DIUS sectors in a flu pandemic can be found here.

We will review and update guidance regularly. For that reason, most of the guidance is available in electronic form only.
If after reading the guidance you have any further queries, please e-mail flu.planning@dcsf.gsi.gov.uk or telephone the DCSF public enquiry helpline on 0870 000 2288.

School emergency-management plan Human Flu Pandemic Health and safety in schools School security Educational visits First aid Evacuation procedures Calling emergency services Counselling Media handling Communicating with parents	Human Flu Pandemic November 2008 News DCSF has produced guidance on planning to support learning if schools close for extended periods during a flu pandemic. For more information, and a link to the guidance, click here. Background Influenza pandemics are not new. Three flu pandemics caused public health emergencies during the last century and experts are predicting that another is inevitable and will almost certainly reach the UK. No-one knows exactly when a pandemic will occur. Once a pandemic arrives, it is likely to spread throughout the country in a matter of weeks. It may come in two or more waves several months apart. Each wave may last two to three months across the UK as a whole. The UK Health Departments have published a framework for how the Government overall will respond. The Government recommends that organisations, including those in the public sector at local level, should be as prepared as possible now so that plans can be activated when a pandemic arrives. DCSF produced a range of guidance documents in consultation with other Government departments and various external bodies as part of the Government’s co-ordinated efforts to encourage prudent planning across all sectors, supporting the Department of Health, as lead department, in preparing and planning for a possible pandemic. There is general planning guidance for different sectors, issued in July 2006, model plans for schools and FE colleges, issued in December 2006, and infection control guidance for different settings. In January 2008, the Department for Children Schools and Families (DCSF) and the Department for Innovation Universities and Skills (DIUS), added Frequently Asked Questions to make information on some key issues more easily accessible. There are links to the guidance below, grouped by the type of guidance. Within each section, there will be specific documents for different sectors so you can select the version(s) most relevant to you. General planning guidance There are different versions of guidance for different sectors. Click on the appropriate entry below to go to the version relevant to you. Full guidance for schools, providers of childcare, early years and other children’s services, and local authority children’s services departments; Summary version of guidance for schools; Hard copies are available to order; Summary version of guidance for childcare and early years providers; Guidance for FE colleges Guidance for HE institutions Information for parents Model plans/checklists As mentioned in the earlier guidance, DCSF has developed a model plan/checklist for schools that they may choose to use, or adapt, when developing plans along with their local authorities. A similar document has also been developed for use by further education colleges. These can be downloaded from the links below: Model pandemic flu plan for schools Model pandemic flu plan for FE colleges Infection Control Guidance We have developed this guidance with the assistance of the Department of Health and the Health Protection Agency to help you operate more safely in a pandemic. Much of the guidance would also be relevant as general good hygiene practice to help you reduce the spread of more common infections. The downloads below also include 2 NHS posters (on hand-washing and ‘coughs and sneezes’) which you can order free-of-charge from dh@prolog.uk.com , quoting refs 278819 or 279933 respectively. Infection control guidance for day schools and early years/childcare settings Summary chart for early years/childcare settings Infection control guidance for childminders Summary chart for childminders Infection control guidance for residential settings Infection control guidance for HE and FE establishments NHS hand-washing poster NHS ‘coughs and sneezes’ poster Guidance on Planning to Support Learning During Extended School Closures When the then DfES issued its initial guidance on planning for a human flu pandemic, the guidance promised that further guidance on remote learning would be issued in due course. After discussions with interested parties, DCSF has now made that guidance available, click here for the Word version of the text, or here for the pdf version. While there have been exchanges and discussions with stakeholders on this, there has not been a full national consultation. Given that, and the fast-changing nature of any work linked to technology, DCSF intend to review and revise this guidance regularly, probably next in autumn 2009. In that review, we will take account of any comments on this version of the guidance (either on the principles behind the guidance or on the text). We would therefore ask you to e-mail any comments to flu.planning@dcsf.gsi.gov.uk Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) FAQ on some of the key issues relating to DCSF and DIUS sectors in a flu pandemic can be found here. We will review and update guidance regularly. For that reason, most of the guidance is available in electronic form only. If after reading the guidance you have any further queries, please e-mail flu.planning@dcsf.gsi.gov.uk or telephone the DCSF public enquiry helpline on 0870 000 2288.
The advice contained on this site should not be taken as an authoritative interpretation of the law. That is a matter for the courts.