With the government’s “Living with Covid” approach that came into effect from April 1st I thought it useful to update you with the new regulations we are expected to follow in school.

I have attempted to summarise the details here:

  1. Students who live with someone who has a positive Covid19 test result but are not positive themselves or have symptoms should continue to attend school as normal.
  2. If the child has symptoms (high temperature, unwell) then they are ill and should not attend school until they no longer have a high temperature.
  3. If they test positive for Covid19 they should not attend school for a minimum of 3 days from the positive test. If they no longer have a temperature or feel unwell on day 4 they can attend school. There is no requirement to confirm with a negative test.
  4. If they still have a high temperature and feel unwell on Day 4 they should continue to not attend school until the high temperature has gone. To a maximum of 10 days from the positive test.
  5. The school is no longer able to provide home testing kits.
  6. There is no requirement or expectation to test twice a week for Covid19.

On the return to school after the Easter break we will initially maintain the use of face coverings in communal areas and lesson changeovers only for at least the first week. This measure is based on mitigating the impact of the increased positive cases we have experienced immediately after holiday periods this academic year.

As a school we are still experiencing significant staffing issues caused by Covid19 and the lack of available supply staff to cover absences. So far we have avoided the need to move to remote learning but, as I mentioned in a previous letter, if the number of staff being affected means we have insufficient staff to cover requirements in the school, we may need to consider the introduction of remote learning for specific year groups.

Please stay safe and well, if you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact us.