Swalwell Primary School
Working together, learning together
Welcome
Covid-19 Symptoms over Christmas
As we approach the end of this term, once again I’d like to thank you, and the staff, for all of your wonderful support in helping to keep our children and families safe.
Please take 5 minutes to read the content of this letter which describes what you need to do if your child develops COVID-19 symptoms during the Christmas holidays.
What happens if my child displays symptoms of COVID-19 after school on Friday 18th December, Saturday 19th December or Sunday 20th December?
As I am sure you are aware, there are three main symptoms of COVID-19 and they are;
· A high temperature (37.8degrees and above)
· 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 18th December, Saturday 19th December or Sunday 20th December it is really important that you;
- Keep your child, any siblings and household members at home and isolate
- Book a test – wherever possible arrange a test at a test site using https://www.gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test or call 119.
- Notify school immediately using our school e-mail swalwellprimaryschool@gateshead.gov.uk
What happens if my child tests NEGATIVE for COVID-19 having had symptoms on Friday 18th December, Saturday 19th December or Sunday 20th December?
As soon as you get a negative test result for your child, we ask that you contact school immediately by emailing swalwellprimaryschool@gateshead.gov.uk. Your child can return after the Christmas holidays, if they feel better and any temperature has gone.
What happens if my child tests POSITIVE for COVID-19 having had symptoms on Friday 18th December, Saturday 19th December or Sunday 20th December?
As soon as you get a positive test result for your child, we ask that you contact school IMMEDIATELY, by emailing swalwellprimaryschool@gateshead.gov.uk. Your child and the rest of the household will need to isolate for 10 days, as per government guidelines. A member of the leadership team will call you.
As soon as we are informed of a positive result, a member of the leadership team will call all families who have been in close contact with the positive case. The class will need to isolate until the date identified by school. We will have conducted a robust and prompt risk assessment with Gateshead Council’s Public Health Team.
What happens if my child displays symptoms of COVID-19 during the rest of the Christmas break?
If your child displays any of the three symptoms from Monday 21st December until Sunday 3rd January it is really important that you;
- Keep your child, any siblings and household members at home and isolate
- Book a test – wherever possible arrange a test at a test site using https://www.gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test or call 119.
- Notify school using our school e-mail swalwellpimaryschool@gateshead.gov.uk
We will not need to contact any other parents as it will have been more than 48 hours since the last close contact in school. We do ask that you notify us as soon you get a test result so staff are aware of who we will be expecting in school upon our return.
Please remember, school starts back Tuesday 4th January to pupils. Monday 3rd January is a training day.
I know this is a lot of information and I appreciate these are anxious times for families and we have asked a lot of you. You have responded brilliantly, and we really appreciate your understanding and cooperation; thank you. 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. As a school community, we have achieved great milestones this term.
Thank you in advance.
If you have any questions regarding this, I am more than happy to speak with anyone. Please contact the school office if I can help in any way.
Stay Safe.
Mrs Rachel Hocking
Headteacher
Swalwell Primary School