Information updated as at Thursday 13 August 2021
As part of The Pyjama Foundation’s commitment to our community’s health and safety we are monitoring the situation closely and following all the relevant advice from the state and federal governments and updating our policy as required.
In 2020, we learnt that information surrounding COVID-19 and its impacts on the community can and will change by the day, particularly during lockdown periods. During this time, the way we operate our service may also look different but despite this, what we do and our reason why we do it will always remain the same. Our mission is to create positive relationships for every Australian child in care and in doing so empower them with learning, life skills and confidence. Together with our volunteers we are continuing to ensure that is possible, and these vital relationships remain long into the future.
This page provides advice and information about support available to The Pyjama Foundation’s volunteers, foster carers, children and other stakeholders. The page will be updated as needed.
Key measures adopted by The Pyjama Foundation
- Physical Pyjama Angel visits are currently not occurring in NSW and VIC due to the current COVID-19 outbreak and subsequent lockdown. The return to normal visits will not commence until all restrictions have eased and it is safe to do so, based on State Government Directives (as hyperlinked above).
- QLD Pyjama Angel’s have returned to normal visits, with increased restrictions based on current State Government Directives in the 11 identified Local Government Areas in the South East and Cairns in the Far North. Most notably, restrictions require masks at all times and no more than 10 people in a home at one time (including residents).
During this period, Pyjama Angels have been asked to consider our COVID-19 checklist before any visit:
- Are you feeling well and are the people in your home feeling well? If you or anyone you have been in close proximity with have experienced any flu-like symptoms, please refrain from visiting and advise your Carer.
- Have you visited any of the locations identified through contract tracing or have you been in contact with anyone who has? If you have visited any of these locations, we advise following government protocol to seek out a COVID-19 test and receive a negative notification prior to visiting again. Please let your Carer know if this applies to you.
- Have you come into contact with a person who has tested positive of COVID-19? If you have been alerted that you have been a direct contact, please immediately cease visits. If you have visited your family in this time frame, please immediately let The Pyjama Foundation know by emailing admin@thepyjamafoundation.com.
- Prior to your visit, please check the advice from Federal and State Health Authorities on current hotspots and follow all current directives as advised.
- Then, if you feel safe and comfortable to continue visits, please make contact with your Carer prior to every visit to ensure: everyone in the house is feeling well and no one in the house has been to or has been in contact with anyone who is self-isolating, experiencing systems or has tested positive and the Carer is comfortable for you to visit.
- When visiting the home, please ensure social distancing is taking place as much as possible and a mask is worn at all times. Keep up good hand hygiene and undertake your visit in a well-ventilated area.
We are committed to keeping you as up to date as possible during this time, and as such will be sending frequent emails with further information as it comes available from government and relevant health authorities. Above all, we want to ensure you are able to continue connecting with your Pyjama Child during this time and as such will be sending new relevant activities with each email.
We are committed to maintaining our high-quality support and can be contacted via phone and email during all business hours. We wish to reiterate that our volunteers, staff and foster families have been, and always will be, our number one priority.
During lockdown periods, we encourage Pyjama Angels to:
- Send a letter in the mail with resources to stay in contact with their Pyjama child.
- If approved by the carer, we have suggested that virtual FaceTime calls can be conducted in a safe environment where the child is still in view of their carer or another responsible adult. For more information, please read our Cyber Safety Protocol.
Take a look at our report to find out how our Pyjama Angels have been adapting and thriving during these unusual circumstances:
The connection continues: Stories from our volunteers
“Despite not being able to visit C*, we had our first non-contact visit yesterday evening. I dropped off a bag with his “pen pal pack”: Notebooks, pens and pencils, envelopes and a letter from me, plus a book and a little kit to build a toy.
Having chatted to his carer, I knew he liked writing so I asked him some questions in the letter and I’ll drop by next week to pick up his letter back.
I’ve also told his carer that if he’s not keen to write something back, to let me know and we can come up with a new plan for next week but hopefully he can write me a few lines back!
It’s been great to see how many other Pyjama Angels are finding their way around no face-to-face contact at the moment.”
“I just finished my first “virtual” visit with A*. I organised a FaceTime call with C*, his carer for 8:30 this morning. A* is only two years old and I haven’t seen him in six weeks (we were away on a cruise for two weeks then self-imposed isolation before visits were cancelled. So I was worried that A* wouldn’t remember me.
How wrong was I! When C* answered the call A* was very happy to see me. We chatted for a few minutes, then the screen went black and C* said “oh that’s so cute, he’s cuddling the phone”. I got several more virtual cuddles, then C* told me he was “playing” with my hair and touching my face. I introduced him to my two dogs and chatted for a few minutes before he started to get restless.
C* had warned me that even though A* loves FaceTime, his attention span is about five minutes. Our call lasted nearly fifteen minutes!
I’m on such a high after our call, I can’t wait for our next one. “
Downloadable Resources for our Pyjama Angels and Foster Families
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