On this page you will find information on:

• What we ask of students in the academy to keep everyone safe
• How students and their households can access COVID-19 testing
• What to do if you have a positive COVID-19 test result
• What the symptoms of COVID-19 are
• Our Home Learning expectations for any students self-isolating

The latest government advice is at gov.uk/coronavirus

• Use the correct entrance/exit for your Year Group bubble
• Arrive and leave at the correct time for your Year Group bubble*
• Wash/sanitise hands regularly using the facilities provided
• Maintain a 2m social distance where possible
• Bring and wear a face mask** where social distancing is not possible, including when moving around the building and in lessons
• Take regular lateral flow tests*** – we are offering three tests in school as students return and then we will provide home testing kits

*Students can wait in the Dining Hall if they have a sibling with a different start/finish time, or if they are waiting for the Y22 bus.

**Parents and carers should discuss any issues your child has with face masks with your LPSO.

***Participation in lateral flow tests is optional but will help to keep our community safe.

A full risk assessment has been carried out which is available for you to download as a PDF file.

For students:

• Where we have parental consent, we have offered all students three lateral flow tests within the academy’s Asymptomatic Test Centre. These students have been trained on the proper swabbing technique and are now being issued with home test kits.
• Students are asked to test twice a week, ideally on Wednesday Evening and again on Sunday.
• Please visit this page for full details on home testing including guides and videos

For the household:

The government has now announced that rapid lateral flow tests will be given for free to all families and households with school-aged children. You can get a twice-weekly test:

• through your employer if they offer testing to employees
• at a local test site
• by collecting a home test kit from a test site
• by ordering a home test kit online

The full government advice is available here.

Anyone with COVID-19 symptoms or a positive test result should stay at home and self-isolate immediately for 10 days. This is because you could pass the infection on to others, even if you don’t have symptoms.

If you live in the same household as someone with COVID-19: stay at home and self-isolate.

If you have received a positive lateral flow test result (e.g. from a home test kit supplied by school) you should also arrange for a confirmatory PCR test.

For home test kits supplied by the academy, we are asking for all results to be reported to us and we have made this form for that reason.

The official list of COVID symptoms can be found on the NHS website.

The main symptoms of coronavirus are:

• a high temperature – this means you feel hot to touch on your chest or back (you do not need to measure your 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 you usually have a cough, it may be worse than usual)
• a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste – this means you’ve noticed you cannot smell or taste anything, or things smell or taste different to normal

Most people with coronavirus have at least 1 of these symptoms.

If your child presents these symptoms, they should not attend school and you should follow the normal absence procedures.

Your child is expected to study at home via Google Classroom. They should follow their regular timetable – logging in to each subject area at the correct time where their teachers will be available. 

In addition, there is a ‘In Touch’ Classroom where will ask students to check in and let us know how they are doing. 

We will be monitoring your child’s Google Classrooms to support them and ensure they don’t fall behind with work. If you have any issues please contact the academy. 

A detailed help guide is available.