Trust Delivers Hundreds of Free Flu Jabs in Time for Winter

By Sam Kail-Dyke – Wessex Learning Trust

With COVID still lingering, and the winter months rolling in, the Wessex Learning Trust is very proud that this term it has been able to offer free, in-school flu vaccinations to all its staff within the Trust.

Although the Trust has always offered staff free flu jabs as a benefit of working for the organisation, this is the first year we’ve been able to have a pharmacist deliver them on site, during the school day which we believe has made it much easier and more hassle free for staff to receive their vaccination. In a carefully choreographed piece of logistics this saw a pharmacist traveling to thirteen schools over four days, delivering more than three-hundred jabs to members of staff across our schools.

We believe this opportunity will be hugely beneficial for our staff, and something which will help keep them safe and well as we enter the winter months, protecting not only our staff and learners, but also the vulnerable members of our community who are most at risk of the seasonal flu.

Chief Executive of the Trust, Gavin Ball, commented:

“As an organisation, we value all our staff and the incredible work they do for our learners. As such, I am incredibly pleased that we have been able to organise this mass vaccination programme which will help keep everyone fit and healthy this winter. We all know how busy the run up to Christmas is – both in and out of school – so anything we can do to support our staff and help them avoid being laid low by flu is hugely positive”.

Chief Executive, Gavin Ball

The vaccines were received well across our schools, with staff expressing how easy and convenient it was to get their jabs in this manner. One school leader commented:

“The flu jabs have all been a success and I’ve had brilliant feedback from staff saying how easy and smooth it went”.

A huge thank you must go to Suman from Axbridge Pharmacy who delivered the jabs and helped with organising the whole process, as well as the staff in schools who assisted with the logistics of such a major operation. Although we all know that winter bugs are somewhat inevitable, the Trust is incredibly pleased that it has done its bit to reduce pressure on healthcare services and help staff stay well this winter.