A SCHOOL’S care for its children during the Coronavirus crisis has earned it an award.

Sir Frederick Gibberd College, in Harlow, has been given the Safeguarding Initiative Award, recognising schools which have demonstrated exceptional safeguarding during the crisis.

The school submitted evidence to show how it has been taking care of its community and, as a result, secured the award from The Safeguarding Alliance.

Headteacher Dee Conlon said: “Our safeguarding team work relentlessly to make sure our children get the care they need. They go above and beyond and this award recognises that.

“We have a list of students who receive a phone call every day, every other day or at least a couple of times a week, depending on their need. Our most vulnerable children, who may not be in the right frame of mind to work independently at home, come into school, so we can see them face to face and help them with their learning and any other needs.

“We have dropped off food to our families, laptops for our children, we have supported parents and put them in touch with external providers to support them with counselling or financial advice.

“Children have an online diary they can fill out and write about their feelings, with the option to discreetly request a call from one of us, if that is what they need. In school, we have a Tell Us box, where children can post a note if they are worried about themselves or someone else or just need support. We have transferred that to the internet, so they now have a virtual Tell Us box where they can reach out to us in the same way.

“We have called every single child to discuss with them what school might look like in September.

“All of this is about giving our students ways to tell us how they are feeling. We are giving them every platform possible, so they can reach out to us.”

The school also previously received the Teach Well School Gold Award: Corona Virus Pandemic for taking care of the physical and mental health of staff during the virus outbreak.