Headteacher's Letter - September 2021
Dear Parent/Guardian
I am writing to you to confirm the procedures around attendance and testing for Covid-19 following the end of Asymptomatic Mass Testing at St Paul’s Catholic College.
You must not send your child to school if they have coronavirus symptoms. The main symptoms are:
· high temperature – this means you feel hot to touch on your chest or back (you do not need to
measure your temperature).
· new, continuous cough – this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or 3 or more
coughing episodes in 24 hours (if you usually have a cough, it may be worse than usual).
· loss or change to your sense of smell or taste – this means you have noticed you cannot smell or
taste anything, or things smell or taste different to normal.
If your child is symptomatic please isolate at home and book a PCR test. Your child must continue to follow the rules and guidance on self-isolating straight away for 10 days, unless you get a negative PCR result. Your isolation period includes the day your symptoms started and the next 10 full days.
On August 16th the rules of isolation changed for those who are fully vaccinated or aged under 18 years and 6 months. They will not be required to self-isolate if they are a contact of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19. School children under the age of 18 years and 6 months should continue to come to school if they are identified as a close contact. It is advised that you book a PCR test for your child if this is the case, but your child can continue to come to school in the meantime.
The Government is however recommending the following precautions for those who are close contacts and not isolating in order to reduce spread:
· limiting close contact with other people outside your household, especially in enclosed spaces.
· wearing a face covering in enclosed spaces and where you are unable to maintain social distancing.
· limiting contact with anyone who is clinically extremely vulnerable.
· taking part in twice weekly LFD testing.
We ask parents to follow this guidance to reduce the impact of isolation on our school community.
Lateral Flow tests for asymptomatic twice weekly testing will be issued to students early next week. The test kits are the same kits that students were using prior to the summer holidays. They require both a throat swab and a nasal swab. Students should test twice weekly on a Sunday night/Monday morning and on a Wednesday night/Thursday morning. Please continue to log these results on https://www.gov.uk/report-covid19-result. You can also get lateral flow tests for the rest of the family from your local pharmacist.
Please remember that the Lateral Flow Tests are for people without symptoms only. People with symptoms should book a PCR test as these tests are more reliable.
Yours sincerely,
James Mc Nulty
Headteacher
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