Hello! I hope you’ve all had a great, if not slightly different, Christmas and have enjoyed the little bit of snow too!

I know it’s New Year’s Eve, and probably not the most perfect of times to be sending things out, but I’m sure you all saw the news yesterday and I wanted to take the opportunity to let you know how things will be from our point of view.

As you know, the government have put Dudley into Tier 4, which hasn’t come as a huge surprise.

If you live in a Tier 4 area, you must follow the rules below. This means that you cannot leave or be outside of the place you are living unless you have a reasonable excuse. You cannot meet other people indoors, including over the Christmas and New Year period, unless you live with them, or they are part of your support bubble. Outdoors, you can only meet one person from another household.

Tier 4: Stay at Home – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

This doesn’t have direct implications for us at school – we will be opening in the same way as we were before Christmas. There are some local authorities in the south of England who have been told to close primary schools (around 15% of the total local authorities in the country). This list is being added to all the time and should Dudley become one of those authorities we will obviously inform you as soon as possible.

Unlike Secondary schools, there are no plans for primary schools to be used for any Covid testing, either of children or staff.

All the previous procedures and timings will stay the same when we return. The first two days of next week are INSET, so children return to school on Wednesday 6th January 2021.

I hope you enjoy any New Year celebrations that you may have planned and here’s to hoping 2021 is better than 2020!

Take Care & Stay Safe

Mr Dunn

Please ensure that you let us know as soon as you suspect someone in your household is showing symptoms, or have gone for a test. Your child(ren) should be kept of school should this be the case, the same as previously. Below are the full details:

COVID-19 Parent/Carer Information Sheet for Children Attending School

What to do if your child develops symptoms

A child that develops any of the following symptoms (no matter how mild) should immediately self-isolate and continue to do so until a test is taken and a negative result is received – even if symptoms subside:

• a new, continuous cough – this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours (if you usually have a cough, it may be worse than usual)

• a high temperature – feel hot to touch on your chest or back (temperature of 37.8°C or higher if able to measure this)

• a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste – this means you’ve noticed you cannot smell or taste anything, or things smell or taste different to normal

They should not attend school and parent/carers should follow the steps below:

Stay at Home.

Your child must self-isolate for 10 full days starting from the first day of their symptoms and the rest of the household must also self-isolate for 10 full days, following the Stay at Home Guidance.

www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-stay-at-home-guidance

Notify the School

If your school is unaware that your child has developed symptoms, notify them as soon as possible.

Arrange a Test

Anyone with Covid-19 symptoms, including children, should have a test as soon as possible. Do not wait. The test must be done within 8 days of symptoms starting.

A test can be arranged via NHS UK www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/testing-and-tracing/ or by calling 119 if you do not have internet access.

You must notify your school when you receive the test result. You may be contacted by the school nurseteam if you have difficulty in accessing a test or fail to arrange testing.

A Negative Result

If your child tests negative for Covid-19, they can return to school and the rest of the household can end their isolation as long as:

• everyone they live with who has symptoms tests negative
• everyone in their support bubble who has symptoms tests negative
• they were not told to self-isolate for 10 days by NHS Test and Trace
• they feel well – if they feel unwell they should stay at home until they are feeling better

A Positive Result

If your child tests positive for Covid-19 they must continue to self-isolate for 10 full days, from the first day of their symptoms and the rest of the household must also self-isolate for 10 full days. If any other member of the household starts to show symptoms, they should arrange a test within 8 days of the symptoms starting.

You will be contacted by the NHS Test and Trace Service to discuss where your child has been recently and who they’ve been in close contact with. This will help the NHS contact anyone who may have caught the virus from them. You’ll be contacted by email, text or phone. Text messages will come from ‘NHStracing’. Calls will come from 0300 013 5000. In preparation for this, it is recommended you start making a list of places your child has visited recently and people they’ve had close contact with as soon as their symptoms appear.

For more information about the Test and Trace Service visit www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/testing-and-tracing/nhs-test-and-trace-if-youre-contacted-after-testing-positive-for-coronavirus/

After 10 days from the start of their symptoms your child can return to school if they have not had a fever (temperature of 37.8°C or higher) within the last 48 hours.

Covid-19 in Children

Children can get Covid-19 but they seem to get it less often than adults and it’s usually less serious. Further advice about Covid-19 in children can be found at www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/symptoms/coronavirus-in-children/ or by calling 111.