Coronavirus/Remote Education

Outbreak Management Plan
Kit List and Timings
Kit List and Timings
 
Dear Children and Parents,
 
 
Kit List Essentials
- Children must have a full school uniform, including shoes, when they return next week. A copy of the School Uniform expectations is available on the school website - https://st-johns-green.eschools.co.uk/website/school_uniform/288493 or in the school policies section.

Boys

Grey or black trousers.

Grey or black shorts (these must not be sports shorts).

White collared shirt or white polo shirt

Navy fleece, sweatshirt or jumper

Black shoes or black trainers. 

Girls

Grey or black trousers or skirt.

Grey or black shorts (these must not be sports/cycling shorts).

White collared shirt or white polo shirt

Navy fleece, sweatshirt, jumper or cardigan

Blue pique summer dress.

Grey pinafore.

Sensible flat black shoes or black trainers. 

PE Kit. As per the newsletter children will not be getting changed in school for PE, but rather should be coming to school on their PE days in their PE kit.
 
PE Kit is:
 
Coloured Polo shirt, (available from the school uniform suppliers), linked to the Team that children are allocated to.
Navy blue or black shorts. (A small motif is permissible)
Children must have trainers for P.E. and these must be a change of trainers should your child wear black trainers for school.
Tracksuit - either blue or black.
 
Classroom:
- Children will need their own named water bottle, which they should bring in to school each day.
 
- Stationary. The school will provide children with their own pencil, pen, ruler. If your child wants their own pencil case, with their own colouring pencils etc, then this is fine.
 
- Hand Sanitizer/Soap. The school has both soap and hand sanitizer but your child may have sensitive hands and as such would rather use their own. This is absolutely fine.
 
- Packed Lunch Box - only needed if your child has a packed lunch. Packed lunch trollies will be kept inside from now on, near to classrooms, so children do not need to exit and then re-enter the building to collect their lunch.
 
- Named waterproof coat. It is essential that children get as much fresh air as possible and this means that during their break, lunch times and PE lessons the children will be going outside - even if it is raining.
 
- Children may have one school bag, to carry in their essential items.
 
Earrings - A reminder that school staff are not allowed to remove children's earrings and they must be removed before a child does PE. PE is a statutory part of the curriculum and as such children are expected to fully participate.
 
Timings:
 
Children will be coming straight into school as soon as they enter the school site. This means that we will not have quite as much queuing for either the internal or external taps.
 
Year 2 children should use the outside taps opposite the astro surface to wash their hands. Year 3 should use the outside taps opposite the pergola. Year 4 should use the downstairs toilet area to wash their hands.
 
Year 3 and Year 4 children will come straight out and go straight to parents if they are being collected—class teachers will not be handing them directly to parents)
 
The outside sinks are available to use and staff on the playground will have hand sanitiser.
 
Parents are asked not to linger on or around the school site. Whilst I fully appreciate that there will be no end of 'gossip' to catch up on when you see each other next week, if you could have those conversations either on the 'Green' by the T site or on Abbey Fields at the AF site - that will save us moving you along...
 
Regards,
 
Simon Billings
Risk Assessment
The school's Risk Assessment for Coronavirus is available by requesting a copy in writing from the school.
Taking your Child to Primary School: What you need to know. (Sep 2021)
(September 2021) Letter to Parents from Clare Kershaw (Director of Education) and Mike Gogarty (Director of Public Health) with regards to:
 
- Protective Measures
- Self Isolation
- Testing
- Asymptomatic Testing
- Vaccinations
 
applicable from September 2021.
 
Also attached is a flow chart, which although designed for schools is quite useful for parents.
Letters to Parents
Press Release 3/11/2021 to all media from Essex County Council.
 
Covid-19 testing advised for primary school-aged children in Essex Parents and carers are being advised to regularly test primary school-aged children to manage rapidly increasing Covid-19 rates and avoid time out of school.
 
Covid-19 infection rates in primary school-age children in Essex have increased considerably over the past few weeks. Some primary schools are already seeing significant numbers of pupils infected.
 
As a result, Essex County Council is advising parents of primary school age children to test them twice a week.
 
While regular household testing has always been encouraged, twice-weekly rapid lateral flow tests for children over two years old is now being recommended.
 
While the likelihood of serious illness in children is extremely low, after 18 months of serious disruption the DfE and ECC are committed to ensuring that all children and young people in Essex have every opportunity to catch up.
 
Letters have been sent to parents and carers across the county with the new advice.
 
Although not compulsory, Dr Mike Gogarty, Essex County Council’s Director of Public Health, is encouraging regular testing for this age group providing it does not cause distress for children.
 
Dr Gogarty said: “We cannot underestimate the rapidly increasing rate of Covid-19 infections we are seeing in Essex primary schools at present and what this will inevitably mean for schools and pupils over the coming weeks.
 
“The education of children and young people is a top priority this academic year, and so we are asking parents and carers to take action now and help us to manage this so that pupils do not miss out on the important benefits of being in the classroom.
 
“We appreciate that the changes in Covid-19 guidance can cause anxiety for some, but it is vital that we prevent the spread of the virus within the wider community, especially over the winter months.”
 
Parents and carers can also help to limit an increase in infections by;
 
• testing primary school-aged children twice a week
• looking out for Covid-19 symptoms in their child (high temperature, new continuous cough, loss of sense of smell or taste), and;
• encouraging hand hygiene with their child.
 
Rapid lateral flow test kits ensure that as much asymptomatic infection as possible is picked up and will help schools to continue to operate at full capacity.
 
Test kits can be collected from pharmacies using one of the new collect codes which can be downloaded. They can also be collected from Essex Library or ordered online.
 
If a child tests positive, they will need have a PCR test and isolate for 10 days. If the PCR is negative, they can return to school if they are well enough. 
 
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/testing/regular-rapid-coronavirus-tests-if-you-do-not-have-symptoms/

Tuesday 18 January 2022 – Primary / Secondary

Update from Essex CC

 

Dear Parents and Carers,

 

I am writing to advise you of the changes to Government guidance which come into place from Monday 17th January.

 

Students and staff can end self-isolation period after 5 full days

 

Under the new rules, students who are self-isolating with COVID-19 can now end their isolation period after 5 full days.

 

To do so they must test negative using Lateral Flow Device (LFD) tests on both day 5 and day 6. The first test must be taken no earlier than day 5 and the second must be taken the following day. In order to return to school, your child must also not have a temperature.

 

Those who are still positive on their LFD tests must stay in isolation until they have had 2 consecutive negative tests taken on separate days or until they have completed 10 full days of self-isolation, whichever is earliest.

 

All LFD test results should be reported online at: Report a COVID-19 rapid lateral flow test result - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

 

Confirmatory PCR tests temporarily suspended

 

The Government guidance for those who have a positive LFD test result has also changed. If your child receives a positive LFD test result, they are no longer required to take a confirmatory PCR test. They must still self-isolate at home.

 

This is a temporary measure while COVID-19 rates remain high across the UK.

You should also report positive LFD test results for your online.

 

Close contacts of confirmed cases of Coronavirus

 

Recently the Government changed the rules regarding anyone identified as a close contact of a confirmed, positive Coronavirus case. These rules apply to close contacts of both the Delta and Omicron variants.

 

Any child (aged between five and 18 years and six months) who is identified by NHS Test and Trace as a close contact of a COVID-19 case does not need to self-isolate.

 

Instead, they should continue to attend their school, but are strongly encouraged to take daily LFD tests for seven days. If your child tests positive on an LFD test, they should isolate immediately.

 

Children under 5 years are exempt from self-isolation and do not need to take part in daily testing of close contacts.

 

Children with Coronavirus symptoms

 

If your child has COVID-19 symptoms it remains the case that they should stay at home and self-isolate immediately. They should take a PCR test as soon as possible. If this PCR test result is positive, they must continue to self-isolate. You can book a PCR test for your child online: PCR Test Booking.

 

Asymptomatic testing of children

 

There is no change to the approach to asymptomatic testing. We continue to strongly encourage all staff, students (primary, secondary and further education students) and all households to take part in regular testing if they are not showing symptoms. This will help to reduce the risk of the virus unknowingly entering the school community. Your school has been supporting your child to participate in twice weekly testing and we continue to encourage this approach and to support schools with their communication to you about this process.

 

LFD test kits are available from schools. You can also access free LFD tests in a number of ways, including at the local LFD site in your district, by collecting a home LFD kit from a test site, or by ordering online. More information can be found here: Regular Rapid Lateral Flow Coronavirus (Covid-19) Tests.

 

We appreciate that the changes in guidance can cause anxiety for some but it is important that the education of our children is prioritised this academic year. The likelihood of serious illness in children is extremely low and after many months of serious disruption, the DfE and the Local Authority continue to be committed to ensuring that all children and young people in Essex have every opportunity to thrive.

 

Thank you for all for the support that you continue to provide for your child’s school at this challenging time.

 

With best wishes

A guide for parents of children aged 5-11 - Covid-19 Vaccination Information

Health experts have advised that parents of all children aged 5 to 11 years should be offered the chance to have their child vaccinated.

 

The NHS will contact parents to explain how to make an appointment

 

In the meantime more information can be found in the leaflet below

Resources

BRAND NEW FOR YOU: COVID-19 PANDEMIC RESOURCE HUB

 

To support you and your family through the COVID-19 pandemic, Essex Child and Family Wellbeing Service has created a brand new resource hub. We understand this is an extremely challenging time for families, children and young people because everyone’s daily lives and routines have significantly changed. The closure of schools, social distancing and workplace changes is likely to have created new challenges for families.

 

The COVID-19 Pandemic Resource Hub includes guidance and information on:

 

  • Talking with your children about COVID-19
  • Emotional and physical wellbeing – keeping positive
  • Support for young people
  • Home schooling
  • Relationships at home
  • Safeguarding yourself and others
  • Dealing with a very young baby
  • Home safety tips
  • Families with children with SEND
  • Financial welfare