Swalwell Primary School
Working together, learning together
Welcome
COVID-19 Procedures & Protocols during the Half Term Holiday
Dear Parent/ Carers,
Thank you
As we approach half term, I’d like to thank you for all your vital support in helping to ensure that Swalwell Primary School has reopened to all safely. Your co-operation at the start and end of the school day continues to be greatly appreciated and we are delighted at how well the children have settled back into routines; I wish them a very restful and safe half term break.
COVID-19 Procedures & Protocols during the Half Term Holiday
Unfortunately, the virus is still prevalent in the community and there remains the possibility that members of our school community will catch COVID-19 or display symptoms of COVID-19 during the holiday. I am writing to explain the procedures we will follow and the protocols we expect you to follow in any such cases.
What happens if my child displays symptoms of COVID-19 after school on Friday 28th May, Saturday 29th May or Sunday 30th May?
As I am sure you are aware, there are three main symptoms of COVID-19 and they are;
- A high temperature
- A new and persistent cough
- A loss of taste or sense of smell
If your child displays any of these three symptoms on the evening of Friday 28th May, Saturday 29th May or Sunday 30th May it is really important that you;
- Keep your child and any siblings at home
- Book a test immediately using this Online Form or ring 119
- Notify school immediately using this dedicated e-mail swalwellcovidsupport@gatedu.org
Within this short timeframe, as soon as we are informed about any child with symptoms who is waiting to be tested, we will send a text message to all families in that child’s class. This will explain that ‘a child’ has symptoms and that we are awaiting the results of a test. It will explain that if the test is positive the class bubble will need to isolate for 10 days from the last contact. This will apply to all children in the class bubble even though it is the half term holiday.
What happens if my child tests negative for COVID-19 having had symptoms on Friday 28th May, Saturday 29th May or Sunday 30th May?
As soon as you get a negative test result for your child, we ask that you contact school immediately. Your child can return after the holidays, if they feel better and any temperature has gone.
As soon as we are informed of a negative result, we will inform all families in your child’s class that ‘the child’ who was awaiting a test result has tested negative and that their own children will not be required to isolate over the May Half Term holiday.
What happens if my child tests positive for COVID-19 having had symptoms on Friday 28th May, Saturday 29th May or Sunday 30th May?
As soon as you get a positive test result for your child, we ask that you contact school immediately. Your child will need to isolate for a further 10 days from the result of the test.
As soon as we are informed of a positive result in this time period, we will inform all families in your child’s class that ‘the child’ who was awaiting a test result has tested positive and that the children in the class who are deemed to have been in close contact with the child will need to isolate for 10 days from the last contact. We will have conducted a robust and prompt Risk Assessment with Gateshead Council’s Public Health Team to identify which children in the class bubble are deemed to have been in close contact with the child.
What happens if my child displays symptoms of COVID-19 during the rest of the May Half Term Holiday?
If your child displays any of the three symptoms from Monday 31st May it is still really important that you;
- Keep your child and any siblings at home
- Book a test immediately using this Online Form or ring 119
- Notify school immediately using this dedicated e-mail swalwellcovidsupport@gatedu.org
We will not need to notify any other parents as it will have been 48 hours since the last close contact. We ask that you notify us and we will contact you on Monday 7th June to advise you when your child can return to school.
I know this is a lot of information so have attached a flow chart to clarify the key points Half Term Covid 19 Protocols May 2021. We do know these are anxious times for families and we have asked a lot of you. You have responded brilliantly thus far, and we really appreciate your understanding and cooperation; thank you. These continues to be an important time in our combined fight against COVID-19 and your part in keeping everybody safe cannot be underestimated. Working together, we hope to minimise the transmission of this virus and protect everyone in our school, and the wider community, as much as we can.
Thank you in advance and enjoy the half term break; when it comes.
Take Care, Stay Safe.
Rachel Hocking
Headteacher