clinically vulnerable children - September

[Inandoutthedustybluebells]

Does anyone have a plan for how their school will manage those children who are deemed to be clinically vulnerable in September (moderate risk, but not high enough to be shielding)? If you are doing risk assessments for clincally vulnerable staff, will you be doing them for individual children as well?

I have no idea how this will work. I suspect we will want to see medical advice in some circumstances, particularly for more unusual cases.

I have a clinically vulnerable DC myself with a very rare health condition. He is only two so nursery attendance doesn’t matter but at the moment his surgeon doesn’t want him back and may not in September either.

I think we are increasingly being nudged (you only need to look at MN threads) to think the needs of the clinically vulnerable are irrelevant and they (particularly the adult ones) are being portrayed as over cautious fusspots.

At the moment, that attitude seems to focus on the adult vulnerable population but there are a lot of vulnerable children : I do worry for how much support and help -and understanding- they will be afforded by schools. There are 19,000 shielded aged 0-19 and many many more in wider vulnerable categories.

Assuming that parents want the children back at school though...I can’t see how a school could accept them without a risk assessment? And having done that, it seems like it would be a bit of a minefield in terms of needs/resources? I just wondered if anyone has gone down that route already?

I think that is easy in a small school; big schools a nightmare!

A child with medical condition should already have a care plan , so I guess it would need tweaking and that would form the RA.

We did have a Year 1 parent who wanted to send back her DC with a heart condition. We advised her to contact the GP/ specialist and thankfully she did as we weren’t sure where we stood if she just decided to send him in.

Piggy my DC probably won’t need a healthcare plan by the time he gets to primary school. But is very close to the shielded category with regard to covid.

At my school, healthcare plans are drawn up for every child with medical needs, even mild asthma if there is an inhaler and allergies etc so there should be one, really. I don't mean EHCP which is a confusing term!

The new guidance barely mentions children who are clinically vulnerable. Would it be reasonable for these children to wear masks? I still can’t get my head around how its going to be possible for them all to avoid public transport. I just don’t see any other option for lots of children.