21 January 2021
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21 January 2021
Dear Parents/Carers I hope this letter finds you and your families well during this very difficult time. As you are aware, we, upon advice and guidance from the Secretary of State began mass and serial testing at the start of term. However, we have just been advised that ‘in light of the higher prevalence and rates of transmission of the new variant, further evaluation work is required to understand the impact of daily contact testing, instead of self-isolation for those who have been in contact with a case, to make sure it is achieving its aim of breaking chains of transmission and reducing cases of the virus in the community’ In light of that assessment and advice we are now pausing daily contact testing for any groups of children or staff members who are identified as a close contact. This means that all close contacts will now have to self-isolate in line with guidance: Guidance for contacts of people with confirmed coronavirus (COVID-19) infection who do not live with the person - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) NHS Test and Trace and PHE are now conducting structured evaluation of daily contact testing as part of a wider evaluation of daily contact testing in a range of private and public settings. The Department for Education will support this evaluation so that its findings can contribute to further public health advice on daily contact testing in educational settings. It is advised that regular testing of staff is to continue at least weekly, during this time of partial closure, so alongside this advice we want to include all critical worker/vulnerable pupils currently on site in weekly testing.
If you have given consent to testing then there is nothing for you to do, if you have not consented but now would like to please complete the consent form here: If your child is currently attending school and you do not wish for your child to be tested weekly please contact school. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me.
Yours faithfully
Mrs E Breen Vice Principal |
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