COVID-19 guidance reminder

Face coverings

All staff and students must wear a face mask in the following locations: • Entering the school building • When moving around social areas in school, eg on corridors / colonnades / stairways / dining halls • Face coverings must also be worn on school buses and public transport.

Students and staff are permitted to remove their face mask: • In the dining room on both sites and areas designated for eating and drinking; the face mask must be replaced before leaving these areas • When outside the building • When taking part in PE lessons or any other physical activity Students must remove their face mask in classrooms (unless they have medical reason not to do so).

We are aware that some students and staff might not be able to wear a face covering or mask and the reasons may not be visible to others. We must all be respectful of these students and staff. With reference to the Department of Health and Social Care, this includes:

1. Those who cannot put on, wear or remove a face covering because of a physical or mental illness or impairment, or disability. 2. Those who would be severely distressed by putting on, wearing or removing a face covering or mask. 3. To avoid harm or injury or the risk of harm or injury, to yourself or others – including if it would negatively impact on your ability to exercise or participate in a strenuous activity

Where students are exempt from wearing a facemask Mrs Leverton should be contacted by parents/carers and we will provide an exemption lanyard if students do not already have one (lleverton@highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk).

Safety measures in school

Students on both school sites should follow the one way system strictly, adhering to the directional arrows for guidance.

At Lumsdale students should walk up the school colonnade inside and down to the front of school using the outside areas. At Starkholmes students go up the stairs at the start of lessons and down them at the end of lessons.

Students should ensure hands are washed regularly, particularly on entering the building and before/after eating.

It is crucial students protect others in school and families at this time by sticking to identified year zones in social times and cleaning desks at the end of lessons.

COVID-19 symptoms or positive test result

If your child has symptoms of COVID-19 (even if they are mild) they MUST take a PCR test, rather than using lateral flow tests that we send home for routine testing/detecting

non-symptomatic cases. This is because many people experience mild symptoms from COVID-19, but may still pass on the virus to others.

The most important symptoms of COVID-19 are recent onset of any of the following:  a new continuous cough  a high temperature  a loss of, or change in, your normal sense of taste or smell

PCR tests can be arranged online (https://www.gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test) or by phone by calling 119. Stay at home while you are waiting for a home test kit, a test site appointment or a test result.

Anyone with COVID-19 symptoms or a positive test result should stay at home and selfisolate immediately and follow the advice from NHS Test and Trace.

Full details can be found on the gov.uk website, the link is below. Coronavirus: how to stay safe and help prevent the spread - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Self-isolation period

Your isolation period starts immediately from when your symptoms started, or, if you do not have any symptoms, from when your test was taken. Your isolation period includes the day your symptoms started (or the day your test was taken if you do not have symptoms), and the next 10 full days. This means that if, for example, your symptoms started at any time on the 15th of the month (or if you did not have symptoms but your first positive COVID-19 test was taken on the 15th), your isolation period ends at 23:59hrs on the 25th.

Daily testing for contacts of COVID-19

From Tuesday 14 December, a new national approach to daily testing for contacts of COVID-19 is being introduced (including until the end of this term). All adults who are fully vaccinated and

children aged 5 to 18 years and 6 months, identified as a contact of someone with COVID19 (whether Omicron or not) should take a lateral flow device (LFD) test every day for 7 days instead of self-isolating.

Daily testing by close contacts will help to slow the spread of COVID-19 and help protect school settings by reducing transmission and will also help keep students in face-to-face education.

Once notified by NHS Test and Trace as a close contact a lateral flow test should be taken each day for 7 days and the results reported through the online reporting system on the government website (https://www.gov.uk/report-covid19-result) and to school. If the test is negative, staff/students can continue to attend school.

This approach should also be adopted over the winter break and on return in January.

Anyone testing positive should self-isolate and arrange for a PCR test to confirm the result. If the PCR is positive, they must self-isolate for 10 days. If the PCR test is negative, they no longer need to self-isolate but should continue to carry out the remainder of the daily tests, and only need to isolate if it is positive.

Anyone over the age of 18 years and 6 months who is not vaccinated, must isolate in line with government guidelines if they are a close contact of a positive case.

Please ensure you continue regular twice weekly at-home testing.