Latest Guidance

March 22

URGENT UPDATE 07.03.22 Bexley

The UKHSA guidance is for children and young people. Ie:

“Children and young people with COVID-19 should not attend their education setting while they are infectious. They should take an LFD test from 5 days after their symptoms started (or the day their test was taken if they did not have symptoms) followed by another one the next day. If both these tests results are negative, they should return to their educational setting if they normally attend one, as long as they feel well enough to do so and do not have a temperature. They should follow the guidance for their educational setting.”

“Children and young people who usually attend an education or childcare setting and who live with someone who has COVID-19 should continue to attend the setting as normal.”

The new guidance for people including school staff having close contacts is:

Those who live in the same household as a positive case, or have had an overnight stay with the positive case (from 2 days before their symptoms) are identified as at highest risk of becoming infected because they are most likely to have prolonged close contact. These close contacts are advised to take additional precautions to limit contact with others, especially those at higher risk of severe illness. Staff are advised that they SHOULD self-isolate for ten days as a close contact. Children and young people who usually attend an education or early years setting who live with someone who has COVID-19 should continue to attend their setting as normal.

From 1 April, the Government will update guidance setting out the ongoing steps that people with COVID-19 should take to minimise contact with other people.

The Government has now removed the remaining domestic restrictions in England. See pages 21 and points 38 https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1056229/COVID-19_Response_-_Living_with_COVID-19.pdf

January 22

Following the return to Plan A on Thursday 27th January the Government has explained the following;

• The government is no longer asking people to work from home if they can.

• Face coverings are no longer advised for staff and pupils in secondary school and college classrooms.

• Face coverings are no longer advised for staff and pupils in communal areas of secondary schools, nor for staff in communal areas of primaries.

• There is no longer a legal requirement to wear a face covering. The government suggests that you continue to wear a face covering in crowded and enclosed spaces where you may come into contact with other people you do not normally meet.

• Venues and events are no longer required by law to check visitors’ NHS COVID Pass. The NHS COVID Pass can still be used on a voluntary basis.

However, controls to reduce the risk of transmission of coronavirus (COVID-19) remain paramount in our school as COVID-19 becomes a virus that we learn to live with. It is now an imperative to reduce the disruption to children and young people’s education. On a regular basis, our Control Measures document is reviewed by our Senior Leadership Team to ensure our control measures are proportionate. Any amendments are signed off by the Chair of Governors.

We continue to follow Government guidance and local best practice as advised by the Director of Public Health for the London Borough of Bexley.

Anyone with COVID-19 symptoms or a positive test result should stay at home and self-isolate immediately. If you have symptoms of COVID-19, you should arrange to take a PCR test as soon as possible, even if you’ve had one or more doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.

If you develop COVID-19 symptoms, self-isolate immediately and get a PCR test, even if your symptoms are mild. This is because many people experience mild symptoms from COVID-19, but may still pass on the virus to others.

Symptoms

The main symptoms of COVID-19 are recent onset of any of the following:

a new continuous cough

a high temperature

a loss of, or change in, your normal sense of taste or smell

You should self-isolate at home while you get a PCR test and wait for the results. You must self-isolate from the day your symptoms started, or from the day you receive a positive test result if you do not have any symptoms. You can end your self-isolation on the sixth day of self-isolation following 5 full days isolating and 2 negative rapid lateral flow test tests taken on consecutive days.

The first rapid lateral flow test should not be taken before the fifth day. The self-isolation period remains 10 full days for those without negative results from 2 rapid lateral flow tests taken a day apart. This is the law, regardless of whether you have been vaccinated. Self-isolating is important because you could pass the infection on to others, even if you do not have symptoms. You must self-isolate for the full amount of time you are told to, because this is the period when the virus is most likely to be passed on to others.

If you have received a positive rapid lateral flow test result but do not have any of the main symptoms of COVID-19, you should report your result and self-isolate.