Coronavirus COVID-19 update

To everyone involved with us at English in Totnes

We are open to face to face and online students now.

What to expect in our school

In general, cases of COVID 19 have declined owing to a successful vaccination programme and we are trying to offer our students a normal experience when studying with us at our school.

That said, we are still encouraging our students and staff to follow sensible precautions to prevent the spread of respiratory infections such as COVID or influenza. These precautions include:

getting vaccinated- any student who lives in the UK can register with a GP and get vaccinated
using face coverings in some public indoor situations, such as concerts or theatres
wearing face coverings in the common areas at school if you have a cough or cold
staying at home and isolating from your host family and other students if you have a temperature or feel unwell- don't come to school and spread it to other students and staff
use the hand sanitiser on arrival and departure from school
wash your hands regularly during the course of the day and after using the toilet
keep your distance from other students and dont hug or shake hands on meeting new people
socialise with other students outside as much as possible

This website offers useful information for living safely with respiratory infections including COVID.

Here are some of the ways in which we will be protecting our students, staff and host families once students arrive in Totnes:

In the school building:

Common areas- we encourage everyone to use the automatic hand sanitiser before going upstairs. Only one person can use the toilet at one time. Windows and doors are kept open throughout the building. We are not currently wearing masks in the classroom but this is your choice- you can wear a mask if you want to. We ask students to wear masks in common areas such as the office and the student lounge if you have a cough or cold.
Classrooms- we have fewer students than usual per classroom seated a minimum of 1m apart and all our resources are online so students need to bring a laptop or tablet with them. Hand sanitiser is available for students in every classroom and we ask them to use it when coming in and out. Stair banisters and door handles are sanitised every breaktime. At the end of class our teachers wipe down all the tables, backs of chairs and door handles before the next group arrives.

In the host families:

Common areas- we have asked homestays to clean and disinfect more frequently than usual and to maintain social distancing even at mealtimes.
Possible self-isolation if students test positive for COVID-19 whilst staying in a host family - we ask our homestays to confirm in advance that they would be happy to isolate any student booked in with them if necessary. We also ask students to similarly be understanding if their host becomes ill and needs to isolate from them until the risk of infection is over.
Possible extension of stay in homestay- we also ask that they would be happy to have the student to stay longer if either the student or the homestay had symptoms or COVID19 itself, in accordance with government guidelines.

This is what we are currently doing, but we are hoping that the situation may ease as vaccinations increase worldwide and the infection comes under control. Our default position is safety however!

If, having read this, you wish to discuss any aspect of this, please contact Margie, Rick or Amy at info@englishintotnes.com.