Letter from The Head Teacher

Dear Parents and Carers

I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a relaxing and healthy summer holiday.

As the Headteacher of WSAPC the most important thing for me is to see your children happy, safe and thriving in our school.  In particular, I am very pleased that our attendance is continuing to rise despite the challenges of the last year and a half.   This is down to not only your child and their teachers, but also down to you as parents / carers in working with us to ensure your child attends ready to learn.

Before we know it, the summer holidays will be over and we’ll be back in school in September.  And I would like to take this opportunity to inform you a few important things for noting.

Start of term

Pupils are due back on Monday 6th September.

Free School Meals

Pupils eligible for Free School Meals will be issued with vouchers either by post or by e-mail on Monday 26th July.  Any queries or issues with your vouchers should be directed to Kellie McGovern our Office Manager who can be contacted at hcentral@wsapc.co.uk.

Covid Safety measures

The School testing programme has been temporarily paused for the summer period.  Normal bi-weekly testing for pupils will recommence on Monday 6th September.   I have set out below for you the process to follow in the event that your child or a member of your family develop symptoms.

Self-isolating and taking a test

  1. If your child has symptoms, they and other members of the household should self-isolate.   You should immediately order a PCR test for them. If the PCR result is negative, they and other members of their household can stop self-isolating (unless instructed to self-isolate for other reasons). If the PCR result is positive, they, other members of their household and any close contacts identified by NHS Track and Trace must self-isolate until 10 days after the onset of symptoms.
  2. If your child has a positive result from a lateral flow device (LFD) test, they and other members of the household should self-isolate.   You should immediately order a confirmatory PCR test. If the confirmatory test is taken within two days and the result is negative, they and other members of their household can stop self-isolating (unless instructed to self-isolate for other reasons). If the confirmatory PCR test is positive (or is taken more than two days after the LFD), other members of their household and any close contacts identified by NHS Track and Trace must self-isolate until 10 days after the LFD test.
  3. PCR tests can be booked online through the NHS Test & Trace website or by calling 119.
  4. PCR test results will be recorded with NHS Test and Trace automatically, but you should also communicate the result to the education or childcare setting during term time or summer provision.
  5. If your child gets a positive PCR test result, NHS Test and Trace will contact you, using the details you registered when ordering the PCR test. You and/or your child will be asked a series of specific questions designed to identify who your child has been in close contact with. Being in an education or childcare setting with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 will not necessarily mean a person is identified as a close contact.
  6. You will be asked to provide the contact details, if you know them, of any of the individuals – or their parents or guardians – who have been identified as close contacts. NHS Test and Trace will then get in touch with these close contacts and provide appropriate instructions or advice (see below). Self-isolation and/or testing of close contacts
  7. At present, anyone identified as a close contact is legally required to self-isolate and must not attend their education or childcare setting (the only exception is if they are participating in a daily contact testing trial). Anyone identified as a non-household close contact by NHS Track and Trace must self-isolate until 10 days after the date of their most recent contact with that person. If they live in the same household, they must self-isolate until 10 days after the date of that person developing symptoms (see point 1 above) or, if that person was asymptomatic, the date of their test (see point 2 above). NHS Test and Trace will notify you of the day on which the self-isolation period ends.
  8. Close contacts are also advised to take a PCR test. If the test result is negative, they must still complete the full self-isolation period, as the test will not detect all positive cases. If the result is positive, they will need to self-isolate for a further 10 days – and NHS Test and Trace will contact them to identify any close contacts.
  9. From 16 August, if the close contact is under 18, they will not have to self-isolate (in line with the policy for fully vaccinated adults) but will be asked to take an PCR test immediately, other than for very young children identified as non-household contacts, and they will not need to self-isolate while awaiting the results of the test. If the PCR test is positive, they will be required to self-isolate for 10 days from the date of the test. NHS Test and Trace will then get in touch to identify close contacts (see points 5 and 6 above). Further guidance on these changes to self-isolation will be provided shortly.

Wishing you and your families a sunny, warm and healthy summer!

Yours

Doug Thomas

Head Teacher