Dear Parents/Carers,

 

Firstly we’d like to welcome you all back to the second half of the Autumn term and thank you for your continued support and help in trying to reduce coronavirus infections in our community.

 

The first half of the autumn term presented many challenges to parents, school staff and wider support staff, as we all adjusted to new rules and arrangements and worked hard together to keep children safe in school and engaging with their learning.

 

We are writing to you to remind you of important steps we can all take to reduce the risk of infection both in schools as well as in the community:

 

‘Rule of six’

Please take note of the local alert level in your area and follow the rules. The ‘rule of six’ is particularly relevant to children and young people who may be continuing to meet together. It also applies to groups of parents/ carers and children and young people meeting outside of school gates before and after school.

 

Your school arrangements

You’ll be aware of any particular arrangements your school has in place to reduce risks – such as staggered start and finish times, or one-way systems. Please respect these arrangements in order to keep the number of people coming in and out of school, at any one time, to a minimum.

 

Face coverings in school

We request that face coverings are worn by parents and carers (excluding those exempt due to underlying health conditions) at school pick up and drop off in Leicestershire. If you have decided not to wear a face covering, please stand at least 2 meters away from other adults and children when on site, as this will protect others.

 

Self-isolating

Please take note of the guidance around self-isolating.

 

If your child is in a bubble where there has been a positive test, your child will be sent home and will have to self-isolate. This also includes if a family member within the household tests positive.

 

Self-isolation means your child must remain at home both during the school week and during weekends. They shouldn’t be taking part in any activities such as sport during this self-isolation period or coming into contact with anyone outside of their home. Your child should also remain at home while taking other children within the household to school.

 

Note: although the whole family doesn’t have to self-isolate unless your child themselves develops symptoms, you may wish to take extra care during this period, especially to minimize contact you have with older relatives.

 

Your child must stay at home for 14 days. This is because it can take several days before an individual develops symptoms, or the virus can be detected. If a child has been identified as a contact, a negative test result does not mean they can return to school earlier.

 

If your child or anyone within the household develops any of these three COVID-19 symptoms, please do not send them into school:

 

• a high temperature – this means they feel hot to touch on your chest or back (you do not need to measure their temperature)
   
• a new, continuous cough – this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours (if they usually have a cough, it may be worse than usual)
   
• a loss or change to their sense of smell or taste – this may mean that they cannot smell or taste anything, or that things smell or taste different to normal.

 

 

If your child develops symptoms, you should follow the national guidance and seek a test. They must stay at home for 10 days from when the symptoms began, unless their test result is negative. If your child is awaiting a test result, please do not send them into school. This can contribute to the spread of COVID-19.

 

The NHS has produced guidance to help parents understand when their child can and cannot attend school which you may find useful:

 

https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-body/is-my-child-too-ill-for-school/

 

www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-stay-at-home-guidance

 

 

We would like to take this opportunity to recognise the hard work that schools are undertaking to manage this pandemic and keep our children safe and to thank you for supporting these arrangements.

 

It is vital for children’s learning, wellbeing and future opportunities that they can return to school. Therefore, it is really important that we all work together and do our bit to make this possible.

 

Thank you for your support in reducing the spread of this virus.

 

Kind regards

 

 

 

 

Jane Moore                                                                 Mike Sandys

Director of Children and Family Services                   Director of Public Health

Leicestershire County Council                                    Leicestershire County Cou