Parent emails
Copy of an email sent to parents on 15.3.22:
Dear Parents/carers,
We are writing to inform you that the Addington School has 12 COVID-19 cases in Early Years, KS3, Sensory and Complex Needs and 6th Form.
The setting remains open, and your child should continue to attend as normal if they remain well. All students and staff, regardless of year group, should remain vigilant regarding COVID-19.
- If you have a secondary age child, please ensure you are continuing to test them twice weekly (Wed/Sun).
- If your child's class has more than two confirmed cases of COVID we will inform you and ask you to test your child daily for 7 days.
- Attached are the current Addington COVID measures in place.
What to do if your child develops symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) or tests positive for COVID-19
The main symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) are a new, continuous cough, or a high temperature, or a loss of, or change in, their normal sense of taste or smell (anosmia).
If your child develops symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19), they should get a PCR test via Get a free PCR test to check if you have coronavirus (COVID-19) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) or by calling 119 and remain at home at least until the result is known. If the test is positive, stay at home and follow the guidance COVID-19: people with COVID-19 and their contacts - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) and inform the school/nursery of the result.
More information on symptoms is available: Main symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) - NHS (www.nhs.uk). If you are concerned about your child’s symptoms, or they are worsening you can seek advice from NHS 111 at https://111.nhs.uk/ or by phoning 111.
If your child has a positive LFD test please report this test Report a COVID-19 rapid lateral flow test result - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). They should stay at home and follow the guidance COVID-19: people with COVID-19 and their contacts - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). A confirmatory PCR test is not required.
How to stop coronavirus (COVID-19) spreading
There are things you can do to help reduce the risk of you and anyone you live with getting ill with coronavirus (COVID-19): Coronavirus: how to stay safe and help prevent the spread - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
- Get vaccinated – everyone aged 12 and over are eligible – see Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination - NHS (www.nhs.uk) for more details and how to book.
- Wash your hands with soap and water or use hand sanitiser regularly throughout the day
- Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve (not your hands) when you cough or sneeze and put used tissues in the bin immediately and wash your hands afterwards
- Meet people outside and avoid crowded areas
- Open doors and windows to let in fresh air if meeting people inside
- Wear a face covering when it's hard to stay away from other people – particularly indoors or in crowded places
COVID-19 update – 15/3/2022
Dear Parents and Carers,
From the 24th February the legal duty to isolate if you have COVID-19 was removed However, for pupils and staff at Addington there is very little change from before half term as we follow both the UKHSA (United Kingdom Health and Security Agency) advice and DfE (Department for Education) guidance. Below I have summarised what has stayed the same and what has changed for pupils, staff and their families at Addington.
COVID-19 has not gone away, with a high number of people testing positive nationally, however we do need to begin to live with COVID-19 in a similar way to other infectious illnesses; such as Chicken Pox or Sickness and Diarrhoea
Changes
Face coverings no longer need to be worn around school or outside, it is now down to personal choice. We will ask visitors to wear face coverings where possible.
We are no longer tracing close contacts of positive cases, therefore close contacts no longer need to take part in additional 7 day testing, in most circumstances (see household cases below).
PCR tests are now needed to confirm symptoms. If possible PCR tests should also be used to confirm LFD positives.
Primary pupils no longer need to test regularly
Measures still in place
Anyone displaying one of the three main symptoms of COVID-19 must not come into school and will need to get a PCR test. Staff and pupils with symptoms will need to stay at home until they receive a negative PCR test result. (Three main symptoms are: recent onset of; a new continuous cough, a high temperature, a loss of, or change in, your normal sense of taste or smell (anosmia))
Other symptoms linked with COVID-19 include shortness of breath, fatigue, loss of appetite, muscle ache, sore throat, headache, stuffy or runny nose, diarrhoea*, nausea and vomiting*. Any of these symptoms may also have another cause other than COVID-19.
We strongly encourage staff and pupils to take daily LFD tests if they have these symptoms. They can continue to come into school as long as the LFD tests remain negative and as long as other guidelines do not already exist, such as 48hrs following the last bout of sickness or diarrhoea.
Temperature checks will continue on all pupils at the start of the school day
Regular Asymptomatic Testing - As advised by the Department of Education for special schools, we require all secondary pupils (where possible) and staff to continue to complete LFD tests twice weekly, on Wednesday and Sunday Evenings. This advice is different for any siblings in mainstream schools.
If you test positive please follow the diagram below which clarifies when to return to school.
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Household Close Contacts
When someone in your household tests positive you are at a much higher risk of developing COVID-19 yourself due to the sustained and regular contact. Please do the following:
- Minimise contact with the person who has COVID-19 (if possible)
- Avoid contact with anyone you know who is at higher risk of becoming severely unwellif they are infected with COVID-19
- Wear a face covering where possible at school (Secondary pupils and staff)
- Pay close attention to the main symptoms of COVID-19.
- Complete 7 days of LFD testing (Secondary pupils and staff)
Classes with two or more confirmed cases (added 15.3.2022)
- Wear a face covering where possible at school (Secondary pupils and staff)
- Pay close attention to the main symptoms of COVID-19
- Complete 7 days of LFD testing (Secondary pupils and staff)
Visitors to school
We still advise all visitors to school to complete a negative LFD test before entering school. We also still advise visitors to wear face coverings where possible.
Follow this Key Link for the latest guidance from the UK Health and Security Agency
We expect these measures to stay in place for the whole of this term, until Easter. During this time if there is a local outbreak in our local or school community, measures such as mask wearing and additional testing may need to be implanted.
Copy of an email sent to parents on 3.3.22:
COVID-19 update – 3/3/2022
Dear Parents and Carers,
From the 24th February the legal duty to isolate if you have COVID-19 has been removed However, for pupils and staff at Addington there is very little change from before half term as we follow both the UKHSA (United Kingdom Health and Security Agency) advice and DfE (Department for Education) guidance. Below I have summarised what has stayed the same and what has changed for pupils, staff and their families at Addington.
COVID-19 has not gone away, with a high number of people testing positive nationally, however we do need to begin to live with COVID-19 in a similar way to other infectious illnesses; such as Chicken Pox or Sickness and Diarrhoea
Changes
Face coverings no longer need to be worn around school or outside, it is now down to personal choice. We will ask visitors to wear face coverings where possible.
We are no longer tracing close contacts of positive cases, therefore close contacts no longer need to take part in additional 7 day testing, in most circumstances (see household cases below).
PCR tests are now needed to confirm symptoms. If possible PCR tests should also be used to confirm LFD positives.
Primary pupils no longer need to test regularly
Measures still in place
Anyone displaying one of the three main symptoms of COVID-19 must not come into school and will need to get a PCR test. Staff and pupils with symptoms will need to stay at home until they receive a negative PCR test result. (Three main symptoms are: recent onset of; a new continuous cough, a high temperature, a loss of, or change in, your normal sense of taste or smell (anosmia))
Other symptoms linked with COVID-19 include shortness of breath, fatigue, loss of appetite, muscle ache, sore throat, headache, stuffy or runny nose, diarrhoea, nausea and vomiting. Any of these symptoms may also have another cause other than COVID-19.
We strongly encourage staff and pupils to take daily LFD tests if they have these symptoms. They can continue to come into school as long as the LFD tests remain negative.
Temperature checks will continue on all pupils at the start of the school day
Regular Asymptomatic Testing - As advised by the Department of Education for special schools, we require all secondary pupils (where possible) and staff to continue to complete LFD tests twice weekly, on Wednesday and Sunday Evenings. This advice is different for any siblings in mainstream schools.
If you test positive please follow the diagram below which clarifies when to return to school.
|
Household Close Contacts
When someone in your household tests positive you are at a much higher risk of developing COVID-19 yourself due to the sustained and regular contact. Please do the following:
- Minimisecontact with the person who has COVID-19 (if possible)
- Avoid contact with anyone you know who is at higher risk of becoming severely unwellif they are infected with COVID-19
- Wear a face covering where possible at school (Secondary pupils and staff)
- Pay close attention to the main symptoms of COVID-19.
- Complete 7 days of LFD testing (Secondary pupils and staff)
Visitors to school
We still advise all visitors to school to complete a negative LFD test before entering school. We also still advise visitors to wear face coverings where possible.
Follow this Key Link for the latest guidance from the UK Health and Security Agency
We expect these measures to stay in place for the whole of this term, until Easter. During this time if there is a local outbreak in our local or school community, measures such as mask wearing and additional testing may need to be implanted.
Yours faithfully,
David Maycock
Deputy Head Teacher
Copy of an email sent to parents on 28.2.22:
Dear Parents/Carers,
There is an extremely high number of cases in Wokingham, particularly focused on the school age population. This is having a huge impact on the numbers of teachers and support staff having to isolate due to testing positive or to look after a child testing positive. Due to these high numbers, two of the large Secondary Schools in the authority have had to move to Rolling Provision, whereby pupils are not able to be in school every day.
At Addington we are facing an extremely high level of staff absence alongside high numbers of positive COVID infections, due to transmission from both the community and cases within the school. This is already having an impact on the full breadth of curriculum that we are normally able to deliver.
We have taken advice from Wokingham Public Health and The UK Health and Security Agency (Previously Public Health England) about how to control transmission within our setting.
In order to try and avoid having to make the difficult decision to close classes due to unsafe staffing levels, we need to maintain and, in some cases, enhance the risk reduction measures in place.
Please could you:
- Continue to wear masks at drop off and pick up
- Complete LFD tests on your child 5 evenings a week (Sunday – Thursday)
o If you are unable to LFD test your child, we have been advised to ask other members of the household, who are able to test, to test on those 5 evenings instead.
- Continue to follow close contact guidance within emails sent from Sue Tod if your child is a close contact, especially the LFD testing requirements.
- Continue to follow National guidance if a household member tests positive or displays symptoms
o The whole household needs to LFD test daily for 7 days from the positive test or start of symptoms.
Free LFD tests can be ordered online or through local pharmacies. School has a small number of LFD test kits that we can send home for pupils if necessary.
I hope you can support us to keep our school as safe as possible by following the measures above
Yours sincerely
David
David Maycock
Deputy Head
Addington School
01189669073
Copy of an email sent to parents on 18.1.22:
Dear Parents and Carers,
I am writing to alert you to the possibility of class closures over the next fortnight. Locally over the last 7 days, Covid rates in Wokingham primary schools have doubled and at Addington we have seen a surge in cases in both staff and pupils (over the last 4 days totalling 28 to date).
Yesterday, there were 707 cases reported in Wokingham schools, up from 200 cases the Monday before. This is by far the highest daily number that Wokingham schools have reported since the pandemic began. 50 of those cases were staff.
Therefore, each day we are having to risk assess whether classes have enough staff to stay safe, whilst balancing public health advice of not moving staff around from classes where there have been cases.
We are doing everything we can to prevent class closures but as the number of staff needing to isolate increases each day, please be prepared for this eventuality.
In order to keep the spread of Omicron to the lowest rate possible at Addington, I urge you to do the following:
- Test your child with an LFD test every day this week
- Keep your child at home if they have any symptoms (see attached flyer from Wokingham)
- Encourage your secondary age child to wear a mask to school
Thank you for your support to help us keep classes open and to keep everyone as safe as possible.
Sara
Headteacher
Copy of an email sent to parents of students in year 7 and above on 6.1.22:
Many of our pupils are exempt from this and it is not in their best interest to wear a face mask, for many reasons.
However, if you wish your secondary aged child to wear a face mask in class and they can tolerate this, then you are free to send masks in with your child and staff will try to ensure they wear it.
Thank you for your support.
Kind regards,
Parent Information
Addington School
Copy of an email sent to parents on 3.1.22:
