COVID Restrictions Update

Dear Parents/Carers,

Re: COVID Restrictions

As you will be aware, on Monday 21st February 2022 the Government announced that the domestic legal restrictions implemented in response to COVID-19 are coming to an end.

I am therefore writing to update you on what this will mean for your child and the measures we have had in place at the academy to help limit transmission of the virus within our school and the wider community.

Regular asymptotic testing

  • The Government has removed guidance for staff and students in most education and childcare settings to undertake twice-weekly asymptomatic testing. Of course, if you have access to test kits and would like to continue testing then you are welcome to, but this is no longer an expectation.
  • If there needs to be a return to more regular lateral flow testing, for example because of an outbreak in school or high community transmission, we will be advised when to do so by our local public health teams.

Self-isolation and contact-tracing

  • From Thursday 24th February, the Government will remove the legal requirement to self-isolate following a positive test. However, adults and children who test positive are still advised to stay at home (and therefore not attend school) and avoid contact with other people for at least five full days. They should then continue to follow the guidance until they have received 2 negative test results on consecutive days.
  • The Government will no longer ask close contacts of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 who are fully vaccinated or aged under 18 to test daily for 7 days. Routine contact tracing will also end.
  • From April, the Government will update the guidance to outline the ongoing steps that people with COVID-19 should take to be careful and considerate to others. This is likely to be similar to advice on other infectious diseases.

A number of precautionary measures will still remain in place at the academy, including ensuring that classrooms and communal areas have sufficient ventilation, and that there continues to be regular hygiene and cleaning processes in place.

We very much recognise and appreciate the support and cooperation that everyone has shown to the range of safety measures we have implemented at the academy over the last two years, all of which have been in line with Government and Public Health guidance. It has helped us to ensure the health and safety of our students, staff and school community, whilst limiting disruption to learning as much as possible.

There may be some uncertainty around the new changes, but I assure you that we will continue to closely follow all guidance from the Government, Public Health England and our local health protection teams to ensure all decisions are made in the best interests of our students and staff.

As such, whilst we sincerely hope that we can continue to operate with minimal restrictions and minimal or no disruption to learning, it may be the case that some safety measures need to be temporarily reinstated depending on school or local community circumstances, and we would ask for your cooperation and understanding should that be needed.

As always, if you have any questions or would like to discuss any of this further, please do not hesitate to get in touch and thank you again for all your support.

Yours sincerely,

Mr W R Hughes

Principal