The Cathedral Church Of England Voluntary Aided Primary School

Latest Coronavirus Guidance

Please Complete On-line form to report if your child has had a positive test       .

The Cathedral School COVID19 Re-Opening Risk Assessment

County COVID Restricted Attendance 

Changes to contact tracing in education and childcare settings

 As you know, the Prime Minister announced on 12 July that Step 4 of the roadmap would go ahead on 19 July. 

One of the key changes that will take place from 19 July is that education and childcare settings will no longer be asked to conduct routine contact tracing. As with positive cases in any other setting, NHS Test and Trace will work with either the positive case - or in the case of children - the parents, carers or guardian of the positive case to identify close contacts. 

NHS Test and Trace already manages the contact tracing process for the rest of society - including children who have recorded a positive PCR test - and has expertise in supporting people to identify close contacts. 

This letter sets out in more detail below how that process will work and what you need to do if your child tests positive for COVID-19.

Self-isolating and taking a test

1. If your child has symptoms, they and other members of the household should self-isolate - and you should inform their education or childcare setting. You should immediately order a PCR test for them. If the PCR result is negative, they and other members of their household can stop self-isolating (unless instructed to self-isolate for other reasons). If the PCR result is positive, they, other members of their household and any close contacts identified by NHS Track and Trace must self-isolate until 10 days after the onset of symptoms.

1. If your child has a positive result from a lateral flow device (LFD) test, they and other members of the household should self-isolate - and you should inform their education or childcare setting. You should immediately order a confirmatory PCR test. If the confirmatory test is taken within two days and the result is negative, they and other members of their household can stop self-isolating (unless instructed to self-isolate for other reasons). If the confirmatory PCR test is positive (or is taken more than two days after the LFD), other members of their household and any close contacts identified by NHS Track and Trace must self-isolate until 10 days after the LFD test.
2. PCR tests can be booked online through the NHS Test & Trace website or by calling 119.
3. PCR test results will be recorded with NHS Test and Trace automatically, but you should also communicate the result to the education or childcare setting during term time or summer provision.

Contact tracing

1. If your child gets a positive PCR test result, NHS Test and Trace will contact you, using the details you registered when ordering the PCR test. You and/or your child will be asked a series of specific questions designed to identify who your child has been in close contact with. Being in an education or childcare setting with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 will not necessarily mean a person is identified as a close contact. 

1. You will be asked to provide the contact details, if you know them, of any of the individuals - or their parents or guardians - who have been identified as close contacts. NHS Test and Trace will then get in touch with these close contacts and provide appropriate instructions or advice (see below).

Self-isolation and/or testing of close contacts

1. At present, anyone identified as a close contact is legally required to self-isolate and must not attend their education or childcare setting (the only exception is if they are participating in a daily contact testing trial). Anyone identified as a  non-household close contact by NHS Track and Trace must self-isolate until 10 days after the date of their most recent contact with that person. If they live in the same household, they must self-isolate until 10 days after the date of that person developing symptoms (see point 1 above) or, if that person was asymptomatic, the date of their test (see point 2 above). NHS Test and Trace will notify you of the day on which the self-isolation period ends.
2. Close contacts are also advised to take a PCR test. If the test result is negative, they must still complete the full self-isolation period, as the test will not detect all positive cases. If the result is positive, they will need to self-isolate for a further 10 days - and NHS Test and Trace will contact them to identify any close contacts. 
3. From 16 August, if the close contact is under 18, they will not have to self-isolate (in line with the policy for fully vaccinated adults) but will be asked to take an PCR test immediately, other than for very young children identified as non-household contacts, and they will not need to self-isolate while awaiting the results of the test. If the PCR test is positive, they will be required to self-isolate for 10 days from the date of the test. NHS Test and Trace will then get in touch to identify close contacts (see points 5 and 6 above). Further guidance on these changes to self-isolation will be provided shortly.

We recognise how difficult the past 18 months have been and the sacrifices that all families, education and childcare settings have had to make. This has been an enormously challenging time for everyone and we would like to take the opportunity to thank you for everything you have done

A Quick Reference Guide for Parents - Contact Tracing Journey

Providing Remote Education Information to Parents

Guidance for Full Opening: Schools

Guidance for households with symptoms

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-stay-at-home-guidance

Updated guidance for parents and carers on the closure of educational settings

The guidance for parents and carers on the closure of educational settings has been updated with additional information on the support available for parents, online educational resources and support for vulnerable children.

The guidance can be found here:

Caring for Vulnerable children and young adults online information resources and support
We realise that during the Coronavirus pandemic, many of you will have worries and concerns for caring for vulnerable children and young adults, there are lots of online resources and organisations that provide support and information;

Carers UK - https://www.carersuk.org/help-and-advice/health/looking-after-your-health/coronavirus-covid-19
Mind - https://www.mind.org.uk/
The Samaritans - https://www.samaritans.org/
Wellchild - https://www.wellchild.org.uk/2020/03/11/covid-19-information-for-parents-and-carers/
National Autistic Society- About coronavirus (autism.org.uk)
Mencap - https://www.mencap.org.uk/advice-and-support/health/coronavirus
Place2Be – https://www.place2be.org.uk/about-us/news-and-blogs/2020/march/coronavirus-information-for-children/
Young Minds - https://youngminds.org.uk/blog/talking-to-your-child-about-coronavirus/  
Covibook – https://www.mindheart.co/descargables
Amaze - https://amazesussex.org.uk/faqs-about-the-coronavirus-for-parent-carers-of-children-with-send-brighton-hove/

Handwashing advice

The most important thing individuals can do to protect themselves is to wash their hands more often, for at least 20 seconds, with soap and water. Public Health England recommends that in addition to handwashing before eating, and after coughing and sneezing, everyone should also wash hands after using toilets and travelling on public transport.

Watch this short NHS film for guidance:

Where to find the latest information

Updates on COVID-19:

Guidance for educational settings:

Guidance for social or community care and residential settings:

Travel advice for those travelling and living overseas:

Educational resources:

Latest Department for Education information: