COVID 19 ADVICE & INFORMATION

At this time the population still does not have any proven immunity from COVID 19 and, as yet, we have no vaccine or nationwide tracing app for the virus, so it still has the potential to spread extensively. The heath and wellbeing of myself, my pupils and those around us is my primary consideration.

Please avoid wearing clothing that exposes skin to touch the seats. Eg, backless or sleeveless tops (you can put something over the top of one of these to cover the skin), short shorts or short skirts. Short sleeves are ok as are shorts/skirts down to knee length.

We will require you to wash your hands with soap and water for 20-30 seconds under a running tap immediately prior to your driving lesson. We will wipe down all contact points of the car down with disinfectant.

Due to the close contact environment, you will need to wear a face covering to your lesson. This way, we will help protect each other. Please avoid touching your face whilst wearing the covering. There are a series of factors which the Government describes as a "reasonable excuse", which means you don’t have to wear a mask:

  • If you have a physical or mental illness or impairment, or a disability that means you cannot put on, wear or remove a face covering
  • If putting on, wearing or removing a face covering would cause you severe distress
  • If you are travelling with, or providing assistance to, someone who relies on lip reading to communicate
  • If you are travelling to avoid injury or escape the risk of harm, and you do not have a face covering with you
  • If you need to remove it during your journey to avoid harm or injury or the risk of harm or injury to yourself or others
  • If you need to eat, drink, or take medication you can remove your face covering
  • If you are asked to remove your face covering by a police officer or other official
  • According to the website Autism Eye, these rules around "reasonable excuses" also cover people with autism.

We will contact you the day before your lesson to check that you have not have any symptoms of Covid 19 over the past 10 days and that you've not been in close contact with anyone with symptoms over the past 14 days. There will be no short notice cancellation charge to anyone who has cancelled due to either of these reasons during this time. The main symptoms of coronavirus are:

  • a high temperature – this means you feel hot to touch on your chest or back (you do not need to measure your temperature)
  • a new, continuous cough – this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours (if you usually have a cough, it may be worse than usual)
  • a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste – this means you've noticed you cannot smell or taste anything, or things smell or taste different to normal

Most people with coronavirus have at least 1 of these symptoms.

If you have any symptoms you must contact me and get tested ASAP and self isolate. Notify me when the result comes through immediately. If the result is positive then you must self isolate for a minimum 10 days but if symptoms persist then this may extend beyond the 10 days until symptoms disappear. If the result is negative then you can resume lessons again. We will also contact you if we experience any symptoms or if we have a positive test result. If you are contacted by test and trace after a positive test then you will have to say you've been in close contact with us. We will also need to give your details if contacted by test and trace due to being in close contact.

COVID-19 can make anyone seriously ill. But for some people, the risk is higher. There are 2 levels of higher risk as described on the gov.uk website:

  • High risk (clinically extremely vulnerable)
  • Moderate risk (clinically vulnerable) People at high risk from coronavirus include people who:
  • Have had an organ transplant
  • Are having chemotherapy or antibody treatment for cancer, including immunotherapy
  • Are having an intense course of radiotherapy (radical radiotherapy) for lung cancer
  • Are having targeted cancer treatments that can affect the immune system (such as protein kinase inhibitors or PARP inhibitors)
  • Have blood or bone marrow cancer (such as leukemia, lymphoma or myeloma)
  • Have had a bone marrow or stem cell transplant in the past 6 months, or are still taking immunosuppressant medicine
  • Have been told by a doctor they you have a severe lung condition (such as cystic fibrosis, severe asthma or severe COPD)
  • Have a condition that means they have a very high risk of getting infections (such as SCID or sickle cell)
  • Are taking medicine that makes them much more likely to get infections (such as high doses of steroids)
  • Were born with a serious heart condition and are pregnant People who are shielding remain vulnerable and should continue to take precautions but can now leave their home if they wish, as long as they are able to maintain strict social distancing.
  • If you’re classed as clinically extremely vulnerable from coronavirus
  • If you’re clinically extremely vulnerable, you should have received a letter telling you that you’re in this group or have been told by your GP. DVSA recommends that you take your driving test after 1 August 2020, when shielding will be paused People at moderate risk from coronavirus include people who:
  • Are 70 or older
  • Are pregnant
  • Have a lung condition that's not severe (such as asthma, COPD, emphysema or bronchitis)
  • Have heart disease (such as heart failure)
  • Have diabetes
  • Have chronic kidney disease
  • Have liver disease (such as hepatitis)
  • Have a condition affecting the brain or nerves (such as Parkinson's disease, motor neurone disease, multiple sclerosis, or cerebral palsy)
  • Have a condition that means they have a high risk of getting infections
  • Are taking medicine that can affect the immune system (such as low doses of steroids)
  • Are very obese (a BMI of 40 or above) If you're at moderate risk from coronavirus, it's very important you follow current Government advice, which states you should take particular care to minimise contact with others outside your household. If you're pregnant and worried about coronavirus, there is advice on the gov.uk website. If you fall into either of these categories then you should consider whether you would like to take driving lessons at this time.

Before getting in the car, if paying by cash (you can pay by bank transfer if you prefer) I will take payment outside the car then we will check again that you're well enough to do the lesson and we will provide hand sanitiser that we require us both to use before getting in the car. If we have any doubt as to your health either before or during the lesson then I'll cancel the lesson immediately.

We will not shake hands, share visual aids, pens etc. with you and will be minimising contact with you for safety.

We will have windows open as much as possible during the lesson to aid ventilation. If it's a cold day you may want to wrap warmer than usual.

Parents, guardians or friends will not be allowed to sit in on lessons during this time.

Immediately after your lesson, please wash your hands again with soap and water for 20 seconds under a running tap. You can use my hand sanitiser again after the lesson if you wish.