Wednesday 9^th March 2022

Dear parents and carers,

RE: COVID-19 Update – 09 03 2022

You may have seen the Government’s announcement relating to how we are now responding to Covid-19. I am writing to clarify the situation here in school. We are following the updated guidance and therefore we ask that you continue to not send your children in to school if they have symptoms that may be Covid-19. If your child has symptoms then we ask that they take a test, either a lateral flow test or by booking a PCR.

If your child tests negative then they can return to school once they are well enough. Whilst regular attendance remains extremely important and your child should always come into school if they are well enough to do so, we would rather not have coughs, colds and temperatures in the school, even if they are not Covid-19. That is because viruses spread and we do not want other children catching colds and then having to take time off.

If your child tests positive for Covid-19 then the Government guidance remains that anyone who tests positive should stay away from school for at least 5 full days after developing symptoms. They should then test negative on two consecutive days, with the earliest test being on Day 5, before returning to school. If, however, you are unable to access tests via the usual routes then we ask that children who have tested positive do not return to school until Day 6 at the earliest and only after symptoms have ceased. If your child still has symptoms after Day 10 they can return to school as long as they no longer have a fever.

The Government’s guidance to schools is clear. We can ask pupils to stay at home if they have a confirmed or suspected case of Covid-19 and in the school’s judgement that will protect other pupils and staff from possible infection with Covid-19.

The safety of our staff and pupils remains paramount and we are also conscious that some of our staff and pupils are either medically vulnerable themselves or live with household members who are medically vulnerable.

It is by maintaining these measures and reducing the risk of children who are ill attending school, that we are able to return to children in different year groups working collaboratively and having phase and not year group assemblies.

Thank you in advance for your understanding and ongoing support.