CV&CC Update Wednesday 31st March
CV&CC Update
Wednesday 31st March (my apologies for being a day late)
Reporting Test Results During the Holiday
- Very little changes.
- Please report positive cases urgently to the out-of-hours number 07818 212 931, and to Student Absence.
- Please report all results to TestRegister, and to NHS Track and Trace.
- The expectation is that all staff and students will continue to test twice-weekly and especially on the day before term starts.
LFT and PCR: Important
- There has been some confusion about this, but it was confirmed that as of today (31st) anyone with a positive LFT result from a home test should get a PCR test to confirm or disprove it. Until the PCR test is done the household should isolate (and so should any close contacts).
- The DfE Guidance reads as follows:
- “From tomorrow, NHS Test and Trace is reintroducing confirmatory PCR testing for positive LFD tests conducted at all assisted testing sites, including schools and colleges. This means that all staff, pupils and students who get a positive LFD test, whether at home or supervised at their school or college, should get a confirmatory PCR. The PCR test should be booked immediately either online or by calling 119 and should be undertaken within 2 days.
- Staff, students and pupils who had a positive LFD test result, and their close contacts and other members of their household, should self-isolate immediately in line with NHS Test and Trace guidance and while awaiting the PCR result. If the PCR test is negative, it overrides the LFD test and the staff member, pupil or student can return to school or college, and their close contacts can end their self-isolation.
Home Testing Kits
- We have issued sufficient kits to see you through the Easter holidays !
Home Testing Guidance
As students start to test at home, there is now step-by-step information to support the transition to home testing. Additionally, translated guidance on how to self-test is also available.
The DfE has also published the following two blogs which provide further information on testing for school staff, students and families:
Testing for secondary school and college students, their families, and staff
Covid-19 testing in schools and colleges
This clip from Durham University is helpful on how to conduct the test,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZhSPnnXyPo
Face Masks
More confusion, I’m afraid. In the government guidance issued last Friday, it clearly stated face masks would be worn “after” Easter. This was corrected by Sunday to “until” Easter, subject to review. Presumably we will know one way or the other by 20th April, when students return.
Situation Update
There have been no further positive LFT tests for staff or students.
Before Christmas 12 students tested positive for covid, as well as 31 family/household members. Over the holiday we were informed of 2 further students testing positive. Since the start of term there have been 11 students with a positive result and 19 family/household members. There were eight members of staff who tested positive in an outbreak in early February.
Please keep informing us of any positive tests ! Contact details are below.
Local Rates
I have been using the NEU Covid Map and BBC Coronavirus near me to track local rates. However, these give cases per 100,000 population, and now that cases are very small, the cases/100,000 is potentially quite misleading. So, I am now using a NHS Dashboard.
https://digital.nhs.uk/dashboards/coronavirus-in-your-area
This shows that there were fewer than 3 cases in the Broadclyst & Cranbrook area in the latest week; and fewer than 3 cases in neighbouring areas of- Pinhoe, Mincinglake and Beacon Heath, and Bradninch, Silverton & Thorverton.
Summer Exams 2021
A lot of information came out from the DfE on Friday afternoon which we, like all schools, are trying to digest. There will be separate communications about this. In brief, there is nothing new or worrying from a student perspective. There is clearer guidance about what the evidence base should be; that the external exam questions (AAMs, Additional Assessment Materials)are part of that portfolio of evidence and not the whole thing; plus a lot of technical detail about grading. We are planning two assessment weeks for GCSE students, four (with fewer assessments in each) for Sixth Form; indications of topics/topic areas to revise for these AAMs and any other assessments will be given to students before the holiday. Watch this space.
Key Points to Remember
- Please do not send your child to school if they have covid symptoms.
- Please do not send your child to school if they have had symptoms and are waiting for a test result even if they seem better.
- If any member of a household has symptoms, everyone must stay away from school or work until the test result is known. If positive, everyone must isolate for 10 days from the start of symptoms or 10 days from the test date if there were no symptoms.
- Please tell us [student absence; AtHoS; Post-16] if your child or household member has symptoms; test dates and results; dates you have been given for a return to school. This applies even if your child is not attending College.
- Please use the number below for reporting an “out-of-hours” positive test result.
- It is highly recommended that students wear masks at all times unless exempt.
Useful links
Roadmap: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-response-spring-2021
DfE press notice 22/02: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/mass-testing-for-secondary-pupils-as-all-schools-and-colleges-fully-reopenfrom8-march
Catch up press notice 24/02- New education recovery package for children and young people – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Evidence summary: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/evidence-summary-covid-19-children-young-people-and-education-settings
Contingency framework: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-contingency-framework-for-education-and-childcare-settings
Attendance statistics- Attendance in education and early years settings during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak: 23 March 2020 to 18 February 2021 – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Guidance for settings
Schools: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak
Early Years: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-early-years-and-childcare-closures
Further Education: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-maintaining-further-education-provision
Higher Education: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-reopening-buildings-and-campuses
Special schools: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-for-full-opening-special-schools-and-other-specialist-settings
Wraparound Guidance- Providers: Protective measures for holiday or after-school clubs and other out-of-school settings for children during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Selective school admissions- Coronavirus (COVID-19): assessment processes for selective school admissions – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Apprenticeships- Providing apprenticeships during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Guidance for Parents
Parents Guidance- What parents and carers need to know about early years providers, schools and colleges – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Wraparound guidance- Parents/carers: Guidance for parents and carers of children attending out-of-school settings during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)