Dear Parents
Happy New Year. Welcome back. We hope you have had a lovely holiday.
What you need to know for the return to school
- In the mornings drop off will be between 8.45-9.00am at the gate. Parents do not need to come onto the school site.
- Please continue to give any messages to the member of staff on the gate, or you can call or email the school office, or use the Parent App.
- At the end of the day you will be able to come into the playground to collect your children at the usual times. (all classes). Once you have collected your children please leave straight away and avoid congregating with other parents.
- Please wear a face covering when coming onto the school site, dropping off and collecting your children from school.
- We will still continue to follow good hand hygiene procedures (regular hand washing / sanitising) and regular, thorough cleaning around school.
- Your child can come to school wearing their PE kit on PE days.
- Breakfast Club and After School Club will remain open. Please contact your school for more information.
- We are taking a blended approach to whole school events such as assemblies. Some will remain on Google Meet and some may be face to face.
- School trips will go ahead depending on the guidance and current risk assessment and you will be informed of any planned trips by letter.
- Staff will be wearing masks again in all communal areas and at the beginning and end of the day on the gate and in the playground.
- We are limiting the amount of contact classes are having with each other.
- We will only have to close classes if we experience staff shortage and cannot cover the class in some other way. We will avoid this as best we can. If classes have to close remote learning will be provided.
Current Guidance on Self-isolating and taking a test
- If your child has symptoms, they should self-isolate – and you should inform their education or childcare setting. You should immediately order a PCR test for them. If the PCR result is negative, they can stop self-isolating (unless instructed to self-isolate for other reasons). If the PCR result is positive, they must self-isolate until 10 days after the onset of symptoms.
- If you do not have COVID-19 symptoms, but have a positive PCR test result, you must stay at home and self-isolate.
- Since Wednesday 22 December, the 10 day self-isolation period for people who record a positive PCR test result for COVID-19 has been reduced to 7 days in most circumstances, unless you cannot test for any reason.
- Individuals may now take LFD tests on day 6 and day 7 of their self-isolation period. Those who receive two negative test results are no longer required to complete 10 full days of self-isolation. The first test must be taken no earlier than day 6 of the self-isolation period and tests must be taken 24 hours apart. This also applies to children under 5, with LFD testing at parental or guardian discretion. If both these test results are negative, and you do not have a high temperature, you may end your self-isolation after the second negative test result and return to your education setting from day 8.
- Anyone who is unable to take LFD tests will need to complete the full 10 day period of self-isolation. Further information is available in the stay at home: guidance for households with possible or confirmed COVID-19 infection.
- If your child has a positive result from a lateral flow device (LFD) test, they should self-isolate – and you should inform their education or childcare setting. You should immediately order a confirmatory PCR test. If the confirmatory test is taken within two days and the result is negative, they can stop self-isolating (unless instructed to self-isolate for other reasons). If the confirmatory PCR test is positive (or is taken more than two days after the LFD), other members of their household and any close contacts (not children under 18 years old or adults fully vaccinated) identified by NHS Track and Trace must self-isolate until 10 days after the LFD test.
- People who are fully vaccinated, or children and young people aged between 5 and 18 years and 6 months, identified as a close contact of someone with COVID-19, should take an LFD test every day for seven days and continue to attend their setting as normal, unless they have a positive test result or develop symptoms at any time.
- Anyone identified as a close contact who is over 18 years old and not fully vaccinated is legally required to self-isolate until 10 days after the date of their most recent contact with that person. If they live in the same household, they must self-isolate until 10 days after the date of that person developing symptoms (see point 1 above) or, if that person was asymptomatic, the date of their test (see point 2 above). NHS Test and Trace will notify you of the day on which the self-isolation period ends.
- Children under 5 are not being advised to take part in daily testing of close contacts. If a child under 5 is a contact of a confirmed case, they are not required to self-isolate and should not start daily testing. If they live in the same household as someone with COVID-19 they should limit their contact with anyone who is at higher risk of severe illness if infected with COVID-19, and arrange to take a PCR test as soon as possible. They can continue to attend an education or childcare setting while waiting for the PCR result. If the test is positive, they should follow the stay at home: guidance for households with possible or confirmed COVID-19 infection.
- PCR tests can be booked online through the NHS Test & Trace website or by calling 119.
- PCR test results will be recorded with NHS Test and Trace automatically, but you should also communicate the result to the education or childcare setting during term time or summer provision.
- LFD tests are very good at identifying people who have high levels of coronavirus and are most likely to pass on infection to others, even if you do not have symptoms.
- You may be entitled to a one-off payment of £500 through the NHS Test and Trace Support Payment schemeif you are legally required to stay at home and self-isolate or you are the parent or guardian of a child who has been told to self-isolate.
COVID-19 infection rates are very high and the Omicron variant is spreading rapidly. It is important that we all take steps to reduce the spread of COVID-19 infection in the community to save lives and protect the NHS.
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 hour (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
We urge parents to be mindful that the symptoms of Covid seem to be presenting differently in children and can include a headache, eye pain, runny nose, muscle pain, sore throat and gastrointestinal complaints. If in doubt, please get your child tested.
Anyone displaying Coronavirus symptoms in school will be sent home immediately and will need to follow the Government guidelines for self isolation. The infectious period is 48 hours before the first symptoms plus 10 days afterwards – 12 days total.
Please contact the school if you have any questions. We are here to help.
Kind regards
Kate Wooder
Executive Head