Facemask Update 27/1/22
27th January 2022
Dear Parents/Carers
I am writing to you to update you on the current guidance we have received from Doncaster Public Health in line with recent changes to government guidance in regards to Covid 19.
The removal of Plan B measures and the return to Plan A will be welcomed by some and may cause concern for others and we understand the spectrum of views from families in our school community. Cases will continue to be monitored by Public Health Doncaster and we will continue to monitor the situation in our Academy.
The national guidance is changing regularly so please do keep up to date and check the latest via www.gov.uk/coronavirus. The current guidance issued is as follows:
Face coverings
Face coverings for students, staff and visitors are no longer required in classrooms and communal settings from Thursday 27th January 2022. Staff and students should continue to follow wider advice on face coverings outside of school, including on transport to and from school.
Testing and self isolation
Cases: Any student or staff member with new Covid-19 symptoms should arrange PCR testing and should not attend the school site.
Anyone who DOES NOT have any symptoms of Covid-19 but tests positive on an LFD test does not need to get a follow-up PCR test. They must register their LFD test on the Government website and self-isolate immediately.
Self-isolation advice for people who have tested positive for Covid-19 has changed. It is now possible to end self-isolation after 5 days, following 2 negative LFD tests taken 24 hours apart. Those who have 2 consecutive negative tests on day 5 and 6 can return to work or school as long as they do not have a temperature. If LFD tests are still positive on day 10, the person should continue to isolate and take a daily LFD test, if a negative test is received on days 11, 12, 13 or 14, the person can return to school. If your LFD test is still positive on day 14, you can stop isolating the following day. This will be reviewed as we understand how likely people are to remain infectious beyond 10 days.
Close contacts: for close contacts, including household contacts of someone who has tested positive:
Vaccinated persons and children – Any persons aged under 18 years and 6 months and those fully vaccinated are strongly advised to take an LFD test every day for 7 days and continue to attend their setting as normal, unless they have a positive test result. This daily test should be completed before the person leaves the household for the first time that day. If any of these test results are positive, the person should self-isolate. Our local advice is that if you are a close contact and cannot get hold of an LFD test to test daily please isolate.
People who are not fully vaccinated – Any adults who not fully vaccinated and living in the same household as someone with Covid-19 are legally required to stay at home and self-isolate. Fully vaccinated is defined as 14 days after having received 2 doses of an approved vaccine. This applies only to people ages 18 years and 6 months or above. Information about local support for self-isolation is available here, including a phone number for people who need additional support in self-isolation.
Prevention measures
A number of measures remain in place including twice weekly LFD testing, hand hygiene, ventilation and cleaning regimes. Schools are not expected to operate a bubble system or complete contact tracing in most situations. Effective ventilation continues to be key in preventing and reducing the impact of an outbreak of COVID-19.
I would like to stress how important twice weekly LFD testing of secondary school students is and the importance of reporting all LFD results online. This enables us to effectively monitor and track case rates and situations within school settings and the wider community.
Yours sincerely
A Callaghan
Mrs A Callaghan
Vice Principal