Year 3 ONLY - Positive COVID Case

15^th December 2020

 

 

FOR PARENTS OF CLOSE CONTACTS OF COVID 19 at Wrotham Road Primary School  

 

Advice for Child to Self-Isolate for 10 Days  - Year 3 ONLY

 

Dear parent or carer,  

 

We have been made aware that we have a confirmed positive case of coronavirus (COVID-19) at Wrotham Road Primary School.

 

We have followed the national guidance and, following a risk assessment with Public Health England (PHE) advisers, have identified that your child has been in close contact with the individual who has had a positive test result for coronavirus (COVID-19). In line with the national guidance, your child must stay at home and self-isolates until 24^th December (10 days after contact). 

 

If your child is well at the end of the 10-day period of self-isolation, then they can return to their usual activities.

 

Other members of your household can continue normal activities, provided your child does not develop symptoms within the 10-day self-isolation period.  

 

For more information, please see the guidance for contacts of people with confirmed coronavirus (COVID-19) infection who do not live with the person: 

 

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-for-contacts-of-people-with-possible-or-confirmed-coronavirus-covid-19-infection-who-do-not-live-with-the-person  

 

What to do if your child develops symptoms of coronavirus (COVID 19)  

 

Having been identified as a close contact, if your child then develops symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19), they should remain at home for at least 10 days from the date when their symptoms appeared. 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).  Anyone with symptoms will be eligible for testing and this can be arranged via https://www.nhs.uk/ask-for-a-coronavirus-test or by calling 119.   

 

People who do not have symptoms should not request a test unless this has been specifically requested by Public Health England or the local authority. 

 

All other household members who remain well must stay at home and not leave the house for 10 days. This includes anyone in your ‘Support Bubble’. 

 

The 10-day isolation period starts from the day when the first person in the house became ill. 

 

Household members should not go to work, school or public areas, and exercise should be taken within the home. If you require help with buying groceries, other shopping or picking up 

 

medication, or walking a dog, you should ask friends or family. Alternatively, you can order your shopping online and medication by phone or online. 

 

Household members staying at home for 10 days will greatly reduce the overall amount of infection the household could pass on to others in the community. 

 

If you are able, move any vulnerable individuals (such as the elderly and those with underlying health conditions) out of your home, to stay with friends or family for the duration of the home isolation period. If that is not possible, anyone with symptoms should try and stay as far away as possible from vulnerable members of your household. 

 

For more information, please read PHE’s ‘Stay at Home’ guidance: 

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-stay-at-home-guidance/stay-at-home-guidance-for-households-with-possible-coronavirus-covid-19-infection 

 

 

For most people, coronavirus (COVID-19) will be a mild illness. 

 

If your child does develop symptoms, you can seek advice from the nhs.uk website at https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/check-if-you-have-coronavirus-symptoms/. 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. 

 

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): 

 

·     wash your hands with soap and water often – do this for at least 20 seconds  

·     use hand sanitiser gel if soap and water are not available 

·     wash your hands as soon as you get home 

·     cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve (not your hands) when you cough or sneeze 

·     put used tissues in the bin immediately and wash your hands afterwards 

 

Further Information 

 

Further information is available at  

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/  

 

Mrs Jack

Headteacher 

 

 

Last Day- Friday 18th December

 We will finish early (please collect from the usual playground)

Nursery Am– 11.30am Nursery PM– 2pm 

1pm - Year R, Year 3, Year 6

1.15pm- Year 2 and Year 5

1.30pm-  Year 1 and Year 4 

Christmas Jumper Day!

COVID-19 Track and Trace

Dear Parents/Carers, 

 

You may have seen in the media that the Department for Education have given schools the opportunity to take a training day on Friday 18^thDecember and end term on Thursday 17^th December. 

 

The trust has decided that we will NOT be doing this. Our last day remains Friday 18^th December. Children will still leave early from their normal gate. 

 

11.30am - Nursery AM

1pm - Year R, Year 3, Year 6

1.15pm - Year 2 and Year 5

1.30pm - Year 1 and Year 4 

2pm - Nursery PM

 

We return on Tuesday 5^th January (closed on Monday 4^th - INSET Day)

 

I will also be your Point of Contact for Track and Trace up to and including Christmas Eve. 

The guidance for contacting me from Saturday 19^th December – Thursday 24^th December are as follows:

·  Where a pupil or staff member tests positive for coronavirus (COVID-19), having developed symptoms more than 48 hours since being in school, the school should not be contacted. Parents and carers should follow contact tracing instructions provided by NHS Test and Trace.

·  For the first 6 days after teaching ends, if a pupil or staff member tests positive for coronavirus (COVID-19), having developed symptoms within 48 hours of being in school, the school is asked to assist in identifying close contacts and advising self-isolation, as the individual may have been infectious whilst in school.

What this means is if your child displays symptoms before Monday 21^st December AND subsequently tests positive for COVID-19 you MUST contact the school via email on:-

 

finance @wrotham-road.kent.sch.uk   (in the subject line write “COVID-19 Positive”)

 

This will allow us to identify close contacts and inform the children who will need to isolate for 14 days from last known date of exposure. 

 

Thank you once again for your ongoing support and on behalf of everyone here at Wrotham Road Primary School, I wish you a very Merry Christmas and hopefully a very much-improved 2021!

 

Yours thankfully,

Mrs Sarah Jack 

December Letter

Dear Parent/Carer,

 

I would once again like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you for your continued commitment, support and understanding with the strict Covid-19 safety measures we have put in place in school. These are strange and difficult times but we continue to try and make school as ‘normal’ and as welcoming as possible for our children, while maintaining strict Covid protocols. 

 

I am sure that you understand that every decision and action we take has a multitude of different factors and considerations behind them. I appreciate that some of these measures can be challenging to comply with but they have been very carefully planned to ensure the school follows government guidelines to remain Covid secure. 

 

There have been, over the last few weeks, many reports of Covid outbreaks in the local and wider community.  This is a timely reminder for us to stay vigilant and to strictly maintain our Covid safety measures to help our community remain safe and well and our school open. Again, thank you for your commitment and support with this. 

 

Parent consultations:

This week marks the end of four weeks of parents’ evenings. Thank you to all the parents and carers involved in the phone consultations. It was certainly different and the teachers have all commented on how much they enjoyed the chance to speak to you about your children’s progress. 

 

Warm clothing:

Government guidance remains that a well-ventilated room, with free-flowing air, minimises the spread of the Covid virus. Therefore, schools are advised that doors and windows should remain open to allow fresh air in. With this in mind, we would recommend that children wear an extra layer of clothing under their uniforms or bring a body warmer during these cold months. 

 

Filming: 

We are staging a promotional filming event next term - date to be confirmed. A virtual tour of the school will be created, along with photographs of the children and aerial of the school site. We will then release the video and images on our website. As you know, we have a policy in place regarding the taking, making and use of images and you will have previously signed a consent form stating whether your child could be photographed. If you have any concerns regarding this, please contact the school office.

Walk to School:

As part of our efforts to improve our children’s fitness and to also help the environment, we would like to encourage all our pupils to walk to school as much as they can. We understand that some people do have to drive due to the distance they live from school but we request that you park up away from the school gates and walk the final part of the journey. 

 

School drop off and pick up:

Now that the systems for dropping your children at school are working more smoothly and are more familiar to you, here are some reminders to make sure we are all playing our part in keeping everyone safe and the school open.  

·       Please use the correct gate (according to the Year group of your child) when entering the school grounds.

·       If there is a queue when you arrive, please give way to others to ensure social distancing is maintained. 

·       Wear a mask when on the school site or queuing, if you are able to do so. 

 

The vast majority of you are doing these things and we thank you. If you are not dropping or collecting your child, please inform the person responsible about the one-way system and the expectations above. 

 

School dinners: 

May we respectfully remind all parents that you should never accumulate arrears in your school dinner payment balance. School meals are charged at £2.30 per child per day. All payments should be made via our online portal www.parentpay.com

 

If you need any assistance with your account or your circumstances have changed recently and you feel you are eligible for Free School Meals, please email or call the school office.  Please do talk to us so that we can arrange an affordable payment plan. 

 

January return:

The school will be closed on Monday 4th January for an INSET day (staff training).  

Children will return on Tuesday 5th January.

 

Wishing you all a safe and relaxing Christmas break.

 

Mrs Sarah Jack

Headteacher  

Christmas Jumper Day this Friday

 

Donate £1 to Save The Children

 

Year 2 Phonics Screening Test

This week we have started the Phonics Screening Check with the children in Year 2. This is an assessment that the children usually take in the Summer Term of Year 1, but as they were not all in school, the government delayed it until this term. The results of the screening will be available for parents, as part of their school report. Well done to all of the children who have all their done their very best.

Adverse Weather

If we do experience severe snow / ice resulting in hazardous conditions, we may have to take the decision to close the school.

You can find the information you need from the following sources:

• Text received from the school office to your phone 

• Kent Radio 

• Kent Closure Website

Please do not telephone the school, as the phone lines may be needed.

Even if the school is open, you may decide at the start of the day that the journey

into school is not safe for your daughter / son. 

Please can you report your child absent via the school website link  Click here .

The school will always remain open whenever possible. We will only close on

health and safety grounds, e.g. no heating, no running water, insufficient staff to

supervise the students or if the site is not safe.

https://www.kentclosures.co.uk