Happy New Year! We are looking forward to welcoming pupils back to school on Wednesday 5 January 2022. All pupils should arrive at school ready and equipped for learning for our normal 8:50am start.

We are really grateful to all members of our school community for their cooperation throughout 2021 and we hope we can all continue to support and help each other in 2022. Like everyone, we wish everything could go back to as it was before the pandemic, but we have all learnt new skills, developed our resilience and are better equipped to cope with uncertainty. Hopefully we have all made resolutions to continue to be the best we can be every day!

Attendance at school is still very important:

• If there is a case of COVID in the family, children can still attend school with daily LFD testing and if they have no symptoms.
• If your child has tested positive, then they can complete LFD testing on Day 6 and Day 7 (24 hours apart) and if both test results are negative and your child does not have a high temperature, then your child can return to school.

As you will be aware from the news over the weekend, the Government has asked us to review our risk assessments and preventative measures. They have also revised their guidance for all schools.

TESTING

I confirm that we will be testing all pupils for whom we have consent on Wednesday 5 January during lessons 1 and 2. This fulfils the Government's expectation that schools will test pupils once on their return to school. However, to provide greater assurance, we will also be testing pupils again on Monday 10 January. As in November 2021, pupils will test themselves under supervision and we will monitor the results. Should we have any positive cases of COVID-19, we will isolate the pupils immediately and request parents pick them up at the earliest opportunity and arrange PCR tests. We will also identify any close contacts and, while they are no longer required to self-isolate, we will advise them to test themselves daily.

Unfortunately, we are currently unable to provide home tests kits as we are awaiting another delivery. We do have a small number of kits reserved for those pupils who need to self-test daily as a result of living in a household where there is a confirmed case of COVID.

FACE COVERINGS

In line with the Government guidance, we request that all pupils continue to wear face coverings in all indoor areas and classrooms. We appreciate that the majority of our pupils have already been doing this and we will continue to keep this measure under review.

Please make sure your child has a supply of clean face coverings for their own use in school, on the bus and in public spaces such as shops. While we received a generous donation of face coverings last term, our supply is significantly diminished as a result of handing out over a 100 face masks a day. Re-usable and washable face coverings are better for the environment.

We would be grateful if you could reinforce the importance of wearing a face covering correctly both in terms of keeping ourselves and each other safe. Those who are exempt are asked to wear their lanyards.

VACCINE

We appreciate some of our pupils missed out on the vaccine in November as a result of recently having had COVID. We are not responsible for this programme. The NHS are leading this. Consequently, we have no control or voice on the dates or how the policy is being rolled out. However, we do understand pupils will be eligible for a second dose of the vaccine 3 months after their first ones.

VENTILATION

We will continue to keep our classrooms well ventilated. Owing to the winter temperatures, we encourage pupils to wear several layers. We strongly recommend pupils wear plain t-shirts or base layers under their school uniform striped shirts, their school v-neck jumpers and our optional ¼ zip top. Our correct school uniform should be worn under any outdoor wear. Pupils will be allowed to wear their coats in some classrooms. Non -school uniform jumpers, sweatshirts and hoodies are not acceptable in school.

Ms Henson, Headteacher

Useful links:

• Gov.uk Coronavirus: How to stay safe
• NHS: Coronavirus
• Zoe Covid Study: Omicron symptoms