Following consultation with Public Health this morning -  

the school will now be closed for deep clean: 

Friday 29th and Monday 1st February

An appeal

Please, please, please, stick to the rules for identifying symptoms and isolation.  

The impact of individuals not following the guidance for symptoms and isolation can be significant.  The rules are well known and shared repeatedly; there is no reason or excuse to flout them.

Immediate actions

If your child or any other member of the household displays any of the symptoms for Covid 19, guidance is very clear – isolated the household and test those symptomatic immediately.  Do not allow your child to attend school.

IF IT’S A COUGH, THEY SHOULD BE OFF – isolate and test

It is not appropriate to ‘wait and see if it goes away’ or to have the view that ‘it may not be Covid’, and carry on to see if it gets worse and act later.  

Danger!

There is a widely held view that children do not get Covid and that the NHS will not test them.  Parents have told me this in person.  THIS IS SIMPLY NOT TRUE and this widely held belief is causing people to ignore the rules and put others at risk.  

The impact and some context

A single child sent to school with symptoms and then later found to be positive will place into isolation, and run the risk of higher transmission to:

1. All children in their bubble (currently around 15 critical key worker children each year grouping) 
2. The class teacher
3. The class teaching assistant (or more than one if the bubble has multiple support for the likes of Special Educational Needs or if staff are job share)
4. The mid day supervisor caring for the group at lunchtime
5. Admin staff who cared for the child whilst awaiting collection

On average, 20 families would have to manage isolation (more depending on level of support staff in the class and numbers of children attending on that day) and may now have transmitted the infection to others .

Importantly, if the child has a younger or older brother or sister in school who also tests positive (highly likely as they are in close proximity in the home) the impact extends to another bubble.

Finally:  whilst our priority is always the children, the staff isolations owing to pupils attending wiith symptoms impacts on the wider operational capacity of the school.  If I do not have staff available, I cannot open the school for others.

Please do not flout the rules of isolation and testing.  Act promptly.