Dear Parents and Carers,
This letter contains important information about the start of the spring term in January. Please read it carefully as there are some changes from our initial plan described in my bulletin on the 3rd December. Students who have had a positive PCR test since the beginning of October should not take a test in January and can arrive to start school on the day their year group returns for lessons unless they are still within the ten days isolation period. Students who have not had a confirmed case of Covid since the beginning of October will be asked to take a test.
Testing
Before we welcome students back to school in January, we are required to ask them to take a lateral flow test. We will ask students to come to school to take their test, then go home and return to school for lessons, assuming the test is clear, the next day. This is the same system we followed in September which allowed us to test well over a thousand students in two days.
Students do not need to wear uniform when they come in for their test.
If you have already given consent for your child to take a test here this year, we will continue to use that. If you have given consent but wish to withdraw it, do not send your child in for testing. We would encourage everyone who can participate to do so as this testing has identified a number of asymptomatic cases: testing helps keep us all safe. If your child has joined the school since September you can consent by contacting Mrs Singleton at jsingleton@samuelward.co.uk.
Our testing plan will proceed as follows:
|
Day |
Test then returning home |
In Lessons |
|
Tuesday 4th Jan |
Year 7, Year 11, Year 12, Year 13 |
None |
|
Wednesday 5th Jan |
Year 8, Year 9, Year 10 |
Year 7, Year 11, Year 12, Year 13 |
|
Thursday 6th Jan |
No testing |
All year groups |
Each tutor group will have a specific time to come in for their first test. It would be very helpful if we could stick as closely as possible to those times. You can find your child’s tutor group in Go4schools on your child’s page. We have allowed some time on Tuesday afternoon so that, if the numbers of positive cases are unexpectedly high, we can adjust our planning before Wednesday. Testing times are as follows:
|
Date |
Year Group |
Tutor group |
Time |
|
Tues 4th Jan |
7 |
Darwin 1 |
8:40am |
|
Darwin 2 |
8:50am |
||
|
Brunel 1 |
9:00am |
||
|
Brunel 2 |
9:10am |
||
|
Cavell 1 |
9:20am |
||
|
Cavell 2 |
9:30am |
||
|
Cavell 3 |
9:40am |
||
|
11 |
Darwin 1 |
9:50am |
|
|
Darwin 2 |
10:00am |
||
|
Darwin 3 |
10:10am |
||
|
Brunel 1 |
10:20am |
||
|
Brunel 2 |
10:30am |
||
|
Brunel 3 |
10:40am |
||
|
Cavell 1 |
10:50am |
||
|
Cavell 2 |
11:00am |
||
|
12 and 13 |
Sa and Sb |
11:30am |
|
|
Sc and Sd |
11:45am |
||
|
Se and Sf |
12:00pm |
||
|
Weds 5th Jan |
8 |
Darwin 1 |
8:40am |
|
Darwin 2 |
8:50am |
||
|
Brunel 1 |
9:00am |
||
|
Brunel 2 |
9:10am |
||
|
Cavell 1 |
9:20am |
||
|
Cavell 2 |
9:30am |
||
|
Cavell 3 |
9:40am |
||
|
9 |
Darwin 1 |
9:50am |
|
|
Darwin 2 |
10:00am |
||
|
Brunel 1 |
10:10am |
||
|
Brunel 2 |
10:20am |
||
|
Brunel 3 |
10:30am |
||
|
Cavell 1 |
10:40am |
||
|
Cavell 3 |
10:50am |
||
|
Cavell 3 |
11:00am |
||
|
10 |
Darwin 1 |
11:30am |
|
|
Darwin 2 |
11:40am |
||
|
Darwin 3 |
11:50am |
||
|
Brunel 1 |
12:00pm |
||
|
Brunel 2 |
12:10pm |
||
|
Brunel 3 |
12:20pm |
||
|
Cavell 1 |
12:30pm |
||
|
Cavell 2 |
12:40pm |
||
Hopefully you will be able to arrange transport for those days when your children are coming to school for a test then going home again. If this is going to be a problem for you, please contact Dr Geall at kgeall@samuelward.co.uk and we will see if we can help.
Government guidance on coronavirus infection
You can find the latest guidance here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-stay-at-home-guidance/stay-at-home-guidance-for-households-with-possible-coronavirus-covid-19-infection This guidance was last updated 2 December and should be updated regularly. If a coronavirus case is the new omicron variant then we understand families will be alerted and should follow the advice given.
Lateral flow testing
Please continue to support your child in testing at home twice per week. The new type of tests require a swab of each nostril and do not involve a throat swab. Students can collect test kits from the B block student window. We will offer students a test kit when students come in for their test in January.
From everyone at Samuel Ward Academy I wish you a safe and enjoyable holiday period.
Yours sincerely,
Andy Hunter
Headteacher