Parent Update 04/01/22
Dear Parents and Carers
I hope you have all had a good Christmas and were able to enjoy some time with your friends and families. As you will know, the Omicron variant is now prevalent across the country, and infection rates are at their highest since the start of the pandemic. Although this variant appears to be less severe, it is clearly much more infectious and spreads much more easily. This will be a big issue for schools as we return after the Christmas break. We are therefore, in line with government guidance, asking for your support in keeping school as safe as we can for all of our community.
Testing
Your child will have been given a timeslot for in school testing this week. The schedule for each year group is in the table below, but if you are unsure of your child’s appointment time please email Mr Earles (earlesd@trinityhigh.net) and he will confirm your slot.
| Year Groups | Testing Day | First Day of lessons |
| 11, 12, 13 | Weds 5th Jan | Thurs 6th Jan |
| 10 | Thurs 6th Jan | Fri 7th Jan |
| 9 | Fri 7th Jan | Mon 10th Jan |
We are also asking that ALL students continue to test at home, at least twice each week. School should be notified of any positive cases, and a confirmatory PCR test should then be taken.
Along with all schools we have been told to prepare for high numbers of staff absence due to this variant. I would ask for your understanding and patience while we manage this potentially difficult situation, and students may have cover staff taking some lessons. In the worse case scenario we may need to ask some year groups to work at home but we are doing everything we can to avoid this situation.
Face Coverings
You will also be aware that the government have issued new guidance on face coverings in school. This states that all students should wear face coverings in lessons, as well as in crowded indoor spaces such as corridors. All students will therefore be required to wear a face covering in lessons, unless they have a medical exemption. If they have a medical exemption, please contact Mrs Green (greenl@trinityhigh.net), who will then discuss this with you. Any students with an exemption will need to wear a lanyard which school will supply (similar to the exemption lanyards you see people wearing in supermarkets).
Students MUST bring their own face covering to school. We have a very small stock of spare masks which we will make available for students who forget to bring one, but we will be contacting parents if this happens on a regular basis.
The guidance on wearing of face coverings in school will be reviewed by the government on 26th January. I will update you as to any changes when I receive them.
Rules on Self-Isolation
The guidance an the 10 day isolation period have also changed in the past few days. I have copied the guidance we have received on this below.
Information on the changes to the self-isolation period for individuals who test positive for COVID-19
Since Wednesday 22 December, the 10 day self-isolation period for people who record a positive PCR test result for COVID-19 has been reduced to 7 days in most circumstances, unless you cannot test for any reason.
Individuals may now take LFD tests on day 6 and day 7 of their self-isolation period. Those who receive two negative test results are no longer required to complete 10 full days of self-isolation. The first test must be taken no earlier than day 6 of the self-isolation period and tests must be taken 24 hours apart. This also applies to children under 5, with LFD testing at parental or guardian discretion. If both these test results are negative, and you do not have a high temperature, you may end your self-isolation after the second negative test result and return to your education setting from day 8.
Health and social care workers, including those working in education settings, should follow guidance for their sector on taking LFD tests on day 8, 9 and 10. For more information, visit COVID-19: management of staff and exposed patients or residents in health and social care settings.
Anyone who is unable to take LFD tests will need to complete the full 10 day period of self-isolation. Further information is available in the stay at home: guidance for households with possible or confirmed COVID-19 infection.
Public Examinations and mock exams
Examinations (both external and mocks) will continue as planned in January. If a student is absent due to covid, school should be aware. For mock exams, these we will rescheduled where necessary. For external exams, we will inform the exam board who are likely to ask that the exam is sat at the next opportunity, which will be in the summer.
Thank you for your continued support, and I will update you with any changes if and when these are sent to schools.
Best wishes
Adrian Ward
