COVID-19 UPDATE

Whilst the legal requirement to self-isolate following a positive test for Covid has been lifted, we ask you to follow the public health measures issued by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), formally known as Public Health England. They advise that:

  • Children and young people with COVID-19 should not attend their education setting while they are infectious. They should stay home and avoid mixing with others for 10 full days. Day 0 is the day your son developed Covid symptoms or received a positive test result if he had no symptoms.
  • On Day 5 your son can start taking daily lateral flow tests (LFTs). If your son receives a negative result on two consecutive days, for example on Day 5 and Day 6 (with tests taken 24 hours apart) then he no longer needs to stay at home and can return to school if he is well and does not have a fever.
  • If either of these tests are positive then your son should stay at home and continue daily testing until he records negative results on two consecutive days.
  • If your son is still testing positive on a LFT on Day 10 then he may leave isolation and return to school on Day 11 as it is believed he will no longer be infectious after 10 days.
  • The full advice from the UKHSA for people with Covid-19 and their contacts can be found HERE.

Covid Symptoms & PCR Tests

If your son has any of the three main symptoms of Covid-19, however mild, you are advised to keep him at home and obtain a PCR test. The main symptoms are a high temperature, a new continuous cough and a change or loss of sense of taste or smell. If your son receives a negative result he may return to school once well and he no longer has a high temperature. If your son had diarrhoea or vomiting, the UKHSA advise that your son does not attend school for 48 hours following the last episode of diarrhoea or vomiting.

Contact Tracing

The NHS Test and Trace contact tracing service has now closed. School is no longer required to inform you of positive cases in the school community, unless advised to do so by the UKHSA. We continue to monitor case numbers and will inform you if the UKHSA advises us to implement additional measures.

Lateral Flow Tests

There is no longer a recommendation to take twice-weekly lateral flow tests and school is no longer being provided with LFTs to give to boys. If you require free LFTs please order tests online, visit a local collection point or your nearest test centre.

If you have any questions please contact Lorna Walsh (Lead Nurse) by emailing matron@sjb.email.