How The Trust is responding to the current coronavirus situation

Below info from the Prince's Trust  Dear friend, I’m writing with an update on how The Trust is responding to the current coronavirus situation. I wanted to reassure you that we are closely following the government advice and our top priority is the wellbeing of our young people, colleagues and supporters. We are continuing to monitor official guidance and are looking closely at all the potential scenarios to prepare for the next stage. I am leading daily calls with senior leaders across the organisation to review the situation and to take the necessary actions to protect the health of our Prince’s Trust community.     To keep up-to-date with the fast-changing situation and how this might impact on your role specifically, please do keep talking to your Prince’s Trust contact and don’t hesitate to get in contact if you have any questions. How is coronavirus impacting the Trust? We are now seeing an impact on our services for young people, with a number of our delivery partners cancelling activities. We are monitoring the impact locally and I am discussing this daily with colleagues.    Our property team is working closely with our landlords to ensure appropriate safety measures are in place. We are also working with our cleaning contractors to ensure cleaning procedures in our centres are enhanced over the coming weeks.    Our young people may well be anxious during this period and we remain a lifeline for many of them. That’s why we have been actively considering the impact on them and have started to plan alternative arrangements to best support them remotely, if necessary, for example via telephone one-to-ones and mentoring sessions.    In engaging with young people, it remains important for all of us to encourage them to take the measures we have adopted, including following basic hygiene steps, self-isolating if they feel unwell and considering whether they should attend training or events if they are more vulnerable or have health concerns.    We are stepping up contingency planning within teams to set ourselves up to operate safely and effectively through what is likely to be a challenging time ahead.    What actions is The Trust taking to reduce the risk of exposure? In addition to following government advice, we are taking a range of sensible precautions to protect colleagues and our young people. We will keep these under constant review:

As an organisation, we will now start moving towards virtual working. Colleagues are being asked to consider holding meetings via phone or video conferencing, particularly where they involve groups from different locations. We are working with vulnerable colleagues on a case-by-case basis to put in place additional measures. For instance, to identify different work that can be done from home for colleagues who can’t carry out their usual role away from our centres. We are minimising travel and are only making necessary journeys. We are looking closely at all Prince's Trust events that are coming up over the next three months to see whether they are viable in the current circumstances and we will continue to monitor government guidance on this carefully.

What do I need to do differently?

Please follow the latest government advice, which is to stay at home for seven days if you have either a high temperature or a new, continuous cough. The NHS 111 online assessment will help you determine whether you should self-isolate or seek further medical advice. You do not need to contact NHS 111 to tell them you're staying at home, but please keep up-to-date with the latest guidance and advice on GOV.UK Public Health or NHS.

Stay in touch with your Prince's Trust contact to make sure you understand the arrangements for your region or nation and to share any questions or concerns you may have. Please inform us immediately should you be concerned that you or any other member of the Prince's Trust community might have contracted coronavirus. We understand that this is a challenging and difficult time and, if at any point you feel uncomfortable about volunteering, you just need to let us know. Ensuring that we look after ourselves as well as protect colleagues, young people and others must be the priority for the Prince's Trust community.  Thank you for all your efforts and ongoing commitment in supporting young people. We greatly appreciate all your support at this difficult time. Best wishes, Jonathan Townsend Interim UK Chief Executive