Parent Support: Coronavirus
Your child/children will are hearing lots of information about coronavirus (COVID-19) and may feel quite anxious about how this is going to affect them (and their education). Below are a few tips on how to support your child’s emotional wellbeing and how they can find support.
- Find Out What Your Child Already Knows: Ask questions geared to your child’s age level. This gives you a chance to learn how much they know — and to find out if they’re hearing the wrong information. Follow your child’s lead. Some may want to spend time talking. But if your child doesn’t seem interested, that’s OK.
- Offer Comfort — and Honesty: Focus on helping your child feel safe, but be truthful. Don’t offer more detail than your child is interested in. If your child asks about something and you don’t know the answer, say so. Use the question as a chance to find out together.
- Speak calmly and reassuringly: Explain that most people who get sick feel like they have a cold or the flu. Children pick up on it when parents worry. So when you talk about coronavirus and the news, use a calm voice and try not to seem upset.
- Know when they need guidance: Be aware of how your child gets news and information. Point them to age-appropriate information so they don’t end up finding news shows or outlets that scare them or have incorrect information. BBC Newsround is a great place to start.
- Talk about all the things that are happening to keep people safe and healthy: They may be comforted to know that scientists are working to develop a vaccine.
- Your child may be worrying more about family and friends than themselves: Letting them call or Skype with older relatives can help them feel reassured about loved ones.
Below are some useful contacts and resources to support your child’s emotional wellbeing, should they need them.
School Contacts: We will try our best to respond to school emails. However, we may not always be available. If your child sends an email with concerns, please make sure they CC two people into the addresses. If they do not get a response, please see below for other ways to receive support.
| Mrs Ramsden (Safeguarding Lead) | r.ramsden@bedford.wigan.sch.uk |
| Mrs Critchley (Safeguarding Mentor) | s.critchley@bedford.wigan.sch.uk |
| Miss Darbyshire (Y7 PGO) | e.darbyshire@bedford.wigan.sch.uk |
| Mrs Green (Y8 PGO) | c.green@bedford.wigan.sch.uk |
| Mrs Aaron (Y9 PGO) | l.aaron@bedford.wigan.sch.uk |
| Mrs Haselden (Y10 PGO) | h.haselden@bedford.wigan.sch.uk |
| Mrs Walsh (Y11 PGO) | s.walsh@bedford.wigan.sch.uk |
Other Useful Contacts:
| Police | Tel: 101 / 999 (emergencies only) |
| NHS | Tel: 111 Web: www.nhs.uk |
| Childline | Tel: 0800 1111 Web: www.childline.org.uk |
| Kooth | Web: www.kooth.com |
| Young Minds | Web: www.youngminds.org.uk |
| Mind | Tel: 0300 1233393 Web: www.mind.org.uk |
| Atherton & Leigh Foodbank (for parents/carers only) | Tel: 07980881925 Web: www.athertonleigh.foodbank.org.uk |
Mindfulness: Recently, we have introduced students the mindfulness practices. You may find mindfulness is a great way to help you to relax and ease anxieties. You can either download apps such as Calm or Headspace or log on to www.dotbe.org (password: Fofboc) for guided practices.