Health is a priority at our schools
It was great to see children and pupils welcomed back into our schools and nurseries last week.
From the looks on their faces, they were just as eager to be back as our staff were to see them and although its early days all appears to be going well.
A huge thank you goes out to parents, teaching staff, unions and council staff for making it all happen so smoothly.
Ensuring our buildings are safe and that our children, pupils, their families and our staff are healthy continues to be our top priority.
There will be things about school that won’t look like they normally do.
However, by following national guidance we are doing everything we can to continue to suppress the virus.
Getting the balance between safety and hygiene while also making the learning environment as close to normal as possible is vital to support confidence and provide reassurance to our staff, pupils and parents.
Health and well-being will continue to be a priority for our schools and nurseries and our education psychology team have developed a range of resources to use throughout the first term.
These resources build on existing programmes to ensure children and young people feel cared for and have the right tools to help them deal with this incredibly challenging time.
I hope everyone has settled in well to school and nursery.
I know the last few months have been difficult for parents and carers.
However, I thank you for your continued patience, flexibility and understanding.
If you still have questions, please visit www.renfrewshire.gov.uk/openingschools or talk to your school or nursery for more information.
I’m acutely aware of the impact coronavirus is having on the local economy and of the critical role the council can play at this tough time.
If your job has been affected, I would urge you to contact our Invest in Renfrewshire team who are on hand to offer practical advice and support to people of all ages who find themselves out of work.
We also have our in-house Business Gateway advisers available now to provide tailored assistance to people self-employed, to new start businesses and established companies.
Businesses may even benefit from up to two days of fully funded consultancy support from experts across a range of topics including finance, digital and social media, IT, legal, property and HR.
In recent months, we have approved and awarded more than 2,600 Scottish Government grants locally, amounting to £27.5million to help Renfrewshire businesses deal with the immediate impact.
We have also carried out detailed discussions with 500 local businesses and listening to what they told us, we have created the Renfrewshire Coronavirus Business Support Fund.
There’s a Business Restart Loan to assist with short-term cashflow, a Business Resilience Grant, offering match-funding up to £10,000 to help meet changed objectives and plans for growth and an Adaptation Grant match-funding up to £2,500 for businesses to ensure their premise meets physical distancing requirements.
All these funds are designed to make the biggest difference in the short-term, while we are also working with business, enterprise and education partners locally to prepare Renfrewshire’s long-term road map to recovery.
Details of all business and job support is available at: www.renfrewshire.gov.uk/ coronavirus-businesses.