Covid-19

Covid guidance / advice – Nov 2021

As COVID-19 becomes a virus that we learn to live with, there is now an imperative to reduce the disruption to children and young people’s education - particularly given that the direct risks to children are extremely low, every adult has been offered the opportunity for 2 doses of the vaccine, and all children aged 12 and over are now eligible for vaccination.

The main messages from this guidance are:

nationally, education and childcare settings are open, and attendance is mandatory (for schools) and strongly encouraged (at childminders, nurseries and colleges)
there is no need for primary age pupils (those in year 6 and below) to test
children and young people aged under 18 years 6 months who usually attend school, and have been identified as a close contact are no longer required to self-isolate

Please see attached links for further advice:

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/self-isolation-and-treatment/when-to-self-isolate-and-what-to-do/

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/what-parents-and-carers-need-to-know-about-early-years-providers-schools-and-colleges-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak/step-4-update-what-parents-and-carers-need-to-know-about-early-years-providers-schools-and-colleges

Even though advice says primary pupils don’t need to do testing, if your child has covid symptoms, or has been in close contact or in the same household with someone who has tested positive for covid, or you are in anyway concerned, please do lateral flow tests with your child.

Your child should still come to school each day, unless they test positive. If they test positive with a LFT, please stay at home and confirm the result with a PCR test. If the PCR test is negative they can return to school, if they are well. If the PCR test is positive they must stay at home for 10 days.