We are delighted to be able to confirm that school will reopen to all staff and students as normal and we will operate a normal five lesson day commencing at 8:40am.
We continue to monitor the local and national picture in relation to the Covid pandemic and as always, we review our plans every two weeks or at critical points when major announcements are made.
Over the past half term the weekly number of positive cases recorded in school have been the highest since the pandemic began. The weekly figures for the past six weeks are 45, 25, 31, 27, 23 and 14. However, our surveillance suggests that the vast majority, if not all of the spread of infection, has been community based and that some local primary schools have been hardest hit. The number of days lost to students having to isolate have been dramatically cut which has helped tremendously as we have worked to give our students the best possible school experience. We have also successfully managed to maintain good staffing levels and run all classes and a normal timetable.
Thank you to everyone for your continued support and for staying with us as we have gone beyond the minimum requirements set by the government. Keeping our whole school community safe continues to be a priority as we take the next steps together and move to a new post pandemic normal.
The following features will be in place for the next half term commencing Monday 28th February 2022. We will continue to monitor the situation closely, observing the emerging guidance and advice from the NHS and Public Health teams. We reserve the right to reintroduce some Covid safety measures should the number of weekly cases in school rise above 40 per week in two consecutive weeks.
Key safety features in place for the next half term
If your child is unwell
If your child is unwell in any way, they must not come to school. If you need to discuss any symptoms that your child or other household member may be experiencing please contact us on Nocv19@hccs.info and we will respond appropriately.
If a child becomes unwell during the school day, we will initially look after them in the usual way and parents will be contacted to pick them up ASAP. Whilst waiting to be picked up they will be isolated from other children.
Lateral Flow Testing (LFT) for students and staff
We will continue to promote and support the use of self testing as part of our return to normal. During the next half term, as we loosen some of the Covid safety restrictions, self testing will be increasingly important. We would ask that all students and staff self test before coming back to school on Monday 28th February.
Face coverings
Face coverings will no longer be compulsory inside of school buildings. We remain convinced that the use of face coverings has played an important part in keeping our school community safe up to this point. However, the use of face coverings for students and staff will be down to individual choice. They will not be compulsory but they will be permitted.
Self isolation in positive cases.
Any student or staff member who tests positive for Covid must stay away from school. We will now move to implement the up to date guidance and expect students and staff to stay away from school until they have obtained two negative test results, no less than 24 hours apart, from day 5. If self testing is not an option, then we will ask students to stay away from school for 7 days.
Covid-19 vaccination for children aged 12 to 15 years of age
All students from the age of 12 upwards now have the option to have a Covid-19 vaccination and we know that around 60% of our students have taken up this offer. We continue to ask all students and parents to carefully consider taking part in the vaccination programme.
Track and Trace
The NHS Test and Trace service are now responsible for following up all positive cases.
Useful Contacts
COVID-19 including advice and information: Nocv19@hccs.info
For year groups 7 and 8: Lowerschool@hccs.info
For year groups 9,10 and 11: Upperschool@hccs.info
For Sixth Form: Sixthform@hccs.info
For all general enquiries: office@hccs.info