COVID 19 Update
Dear Parents / Carers
I hope this message finds you all well and that you have been able to enjoy the half term break in the beautiful sunshine. The children have returned to Pear Tree very excited and happy to be back and we all look forward to the final half term of the academic year.
As you will be aware there has been an increase in the number of Covid-19 cases and outbreaks in some Lancashire education settings. Therefore, it is important to do as much as possible to continue to keep our whole school community safe and minimise the disruption to education.
We do have a small number of staff who are currently absent from school following being identified as a close contact of someone who has tested positive for Covid-19. Within school, we will continue to remain vigilant and follow our robust risk assessment, particularly focusing on good hand hygiene, ventilated rooms and twice weekly LFD testing for staff and those pupils who are eligible. The vast majority of our staff team have now received two doses of the vaccine, however, if contacted through Track and Trace, they still must self-isolate for the requested time period. I will continue to monitor the situation on a daily basis to ensure that our school remains a safe environment and ensure that the children’s needs can continue to be met.
The following advice from Dr Sakthi Karunanithi (Director of Public Health, Lancashire) applies to the whole school community:
Vaccinations
It is vital that everybody who is eligible for a vaccine books an appointment without delay. A recent study from Public Health England has shown that two doses of the vaccine offers high levels of protection against symptomatic disease and remains the most effective weapon in our fight against Covid.
Symptomatic testing
If you have one or more of the three classic Covid-19 symptoms – a high temperature; a new continuous cough or a loss or change to your sense of smell – you must isolate immediately and book a PCR test via the NHS. If the result is positive, you and everyone in your household must self-isolate from the day the symptoms started for the next 10 full days.
Close contacts testing
If you are informed you are a close contact of a person who has tested positive for Covid-19, you must stay at home and self-isolate for 10 days. People who have been identified as a close contact can now get a PCR test during their 10 day isolation period, whether or not they have symptoms. It is important to isolate for 10 days even if the PCR test is negative.
Routine asymptomatic testing
To avoid disruption to education, it is important to undertake routine testing, which plays a pivotal role in allowing for normal life to resume and to detect asymptomatic cases. If your LFT test result is positive, you and your close contacts will need to self-isolate immediately and book a confirmatory PCR test via the NHS as soon as possible.
Face coverings
Any parent or visitor who enters the school grounds is still required to wear a face covering at all times please.
All the above advice is to be reviewed ahead of 21st June, the next milestone in the Government’s roadmap.
Thank you for your continued support
Kate