Covid Parent Questions and Answers - September 2021
National Guidance States: People who have been fully vaccinated, those that cannot be vaccinated due to a medical condition and those under 18 years and 6 months of age no longer need to self-isolate if they are a contact of a positive case.
However, at Anthony Bek, we are asking Parents to support us with these additional measures after conducting our own risk assessments. We therefore ask for the following covid guidance to be followed, some of which goes further than the national guidance to protect our pupils, staff, families of both and the wider community.
We hope to avoid any outbreaks and ask families to support us in the approaches. Please read this guide carefully.
If my child has symptoms, can they come to school?
No. They should remain at home. The child with symptoms should get a PCR test. (Please ensure this is a PCR test- not an LFT test as the LFT tests are not as sensitive and therefore could show negative even when a child is positive).
If positive, they will need to self-isolate for a full 10 days which starts the day after the test or symptoms. If negative and they are well, they can then return to school.
If someone else in the household has symptoms can my child come to school?
Legally- yes BUT we are asking parents to support the school in the following way:
Keep your child at home until the household member gets their result. We will code this absence as authorised COVID so it won’t affect your child’s attendance. If the test is negative, they can return straight to school, even if the result is received in the middle of the day. If the household member tests positive, see below.
Please note: This is an enhanced measure based on the school risk assessment to protect pupils, staff and their wider families.
If someone in the household tests positive, can my child come to school?
Legally- yes BUT we are asking parents to support the school in the following way:
Keep your child at home and arrange for them to be tested (Track and Trace will also recommend all close contacts are tested). Please ensure this is a PCR test- not an LFT test as the LFT tests are not as sensitive and therefore could show negative even when a child is positive. We will code this absence as authorised COVID so it won’t affect your child’s attendance. If the test is negative, they can return straight to school, even if the result is received in the middle of the day.
Please note: This is an enhanced measure based on the school risk assessment to protect pupils, staff and their wider families.
If my child is identified as a close contact from the community/through track and trace (not a household member), can they come to school?
Yes, if they do not have symptoms. The child should still get a PCR test straight away (this will be advised by Track and Trace). The child can continue coming to school, although parents may prefer to keep the child off until the PCR result comes back. Again, we will code this as authorised COVID absence so it won’t affect your child’s overall attendance.
If someone in the class has symptoms what happens?
The child will be sent home and must get a PCR test and self-isolate while waiting for the results. The other children in the class will continue to attend school.
If someone in the class tests positive what happens?
That child will self isolate for 10 days starting the day after symptoms or the test and the family should receive a call from NHS test and trace to identify close contacts.
At Anthony Bek Community Primary, we are adding the following enhanced measure:
Staff will identify ‘high risk contacts’; these are children who have had very close or prolonged close contact with the child who has tested positive. This is likely to be children who the positive case sits next to on a daily basis or in the case of younger pupils, those they always choose to play with. We will ask these parents to organise a PCR test (not LFT) and again we would ask for them to remain off school while waiting for the result.
All other children in the class can continue to attend school. Parents will be informed that there is a positive case in the class and should remain vigilant to any developing symptoms for their child.
Please note: This is an enhanced measure based on the school risk assessment to protect pupils, staff and their wider families.
Does my child need to take regular lateral flow tests?
No, this is not a requirement for Primary schools, however, if those over 12 years would like to do this then that is fine. We would encourage all adults to take regular (twice a week) lateral flow device tests to help identify early onset of COVID.
What happens if lots of children at school tests positive?
If this happens, we will involve our local health protection team and they will advise us if any additional action is required, such as implementing elements of our outbreak management plan. This may include wider testing or targeted closures of certain groups or classes.
What happens if a staff member tests positive?
The staff member will self-isolate for the full 10 days . They children will either be taught by a cover member of staff or supply teacher; If the teacher is well enough, they may be able to teach some activities remotely into the classroom but their main focus will be on rest and recovery.
If my child is self-isolating, will they get work?
No, not in all cases. If the child has tested positive they will be recovering from Covid and as such should be looked after and they should not be worrying about work. However, if a child has tested positive but with having no impact from the virus, Parents will be able to use our website for activities to engage their child. Details of the topics being taught in the school are also published on the website. If Parents need help, they will be able to contact their child’s teacher.
Will children be in bubbles?
Although no longer a requirement, we are keeping children in class bubbles for most of the for the first two weeks at least. Our plan will be to mix bubbles outside after this period (starting with 2 classes) because the risk of transmission is greatly reduced. We will then build on this throughout the term, depending on the number of COVID cases.
Will school let us know if there is a positive case?
We will aim to keep parents informed if the positive case has been in school 48hrs prior to testing positive and therefore could be a potential risk. We will directly contact any parent of a child which we would identify as a HIGH risk contact as described above.
If a parent has been a close contact and is not required to self isolate (double vaccinated) can they still bring children to school?
Yes, but be we would ask that you take some additional precautions.
As well as getting a PCR test, we ask that you:
NHS suggest:
This advice applies while the person who tested positive with COVID-19 is self-isolating.