What do I do if my child has COVID symptoms?

If your child has a high temperature, a new, continuous cough, or a loss of, or change in, sense of smell or taste this could be a sign of coronavirus.

• Do not send your child to school. NB: If you insist on your child attending school with symptoms we can refuse to accept your child if, in our reasonable judgement, it is necessary to protect other pupils and staff from possible infection with COVID-19.
• You are advised to book a PCR test.

Positive PCR Test Results

Anyone with a positive test result will need to:

• Self-isolate in line with the stay at home guidance
• Whilst awaiting the PCR result, the individual should continue to self-isolate.
• Any sibling who is still attending school should take a lateral flow test every day for seven days whilst they attend school. Testing should start from when the first person in the home tests positive as household transmission is very likely to happen.
• If at any time your child becomes symptomatic, they must stay at home and arrange for a PCR test immediately (regardless of having already had a negative PCR test result).

Increasing lateral flow testing – NEW LOCAL GUIDANCE FOR PRIMARY SCHOOLS

Lateral flow device (LFD) testing is now recommended to children under the age of 12 and should be used as a preventative measure. This means if there have been two or more cases within a class, all children within the class will be asked to take a lateral flow test as soon as it is possible to do so – and to repeat the lateral flow test 3 days later. Families should still arrange for a PCR test if there child has been identified as a close contact.

Close Contacts

If there has only been a single case within a class, and the school have identified very close contacts to the positive case (e.g. only a small number of children have been identified such as those sitting at the same table), the school should ask the very close contacts to take an LFD test as soon as it is possible to do so – and repeat the LFD test 3 days later. PCR testing for the very close contacts is also still advised.

Positive rapid lateral flow test results

If you have lateral flow tests you may choose to administer one of these before booking a PCR test. Anyone with a positive test result will need to:

• self-isolate in line with the stay at home guidance
• book a free further test (a lab-based polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test) to confirm the result

Whilst awaiting the PCR result, the child should continue to self-isolate.

If the PCR test is taken within the 2 days following the positive LFD result, and is negative, it overrides the self-test LFD test and your child can return to school, as long as they don’t have COVID-19 symptoms. However, your child must continue to self-isolate if:

• this PCR test result is positive
• you choose not to take a follow-up PCR test
• your follow-up PCR test was taken more than 2 days after the positive LFD test result

If you have any questions about the asymptomatic testing programme, please contact the school office.

What do I do if a member of the household tests positive?

If a member of the house hold tests positive children are still required to come to school.

Children who are still attending school should take a lateral flow test every day for seven days whilst they attend school. Testing should start from when the first person in the home tests positive as household transmission is very likely to happen.

If at any time your child becomes symptomatic, they must stay at home and arrange for a PCR test immediately (regardless of having already had a negative PCR test result).

If you are having difficulties bringing your child to school, and are unable to find a relative, friend or neighbour who can help you please contact the school office so we can see if we can help.

Where can I get Lateral Flow Tests from?

We encourage families to pick up lateral flow testing kits from your local pharmacy or library but we do have some lateral flow testing kits which we can provide families with if they are unable to get to a local pharmacy or library.