So…. our numbers are not high, but still ticking along and many staff getting covid for the second time seem to be affected by fatigue much more second time around. When this happens, we need to support staff to return to work in a phased way (i.e. working half days for the first week and building up from here).
We still need to ration places at Northern Counties, but this has reduced from nearly 70 days of student home learning per week, to 44 in the coming week. We aim to continue to reduce this on a week by week basis, as long as it is safe to do so. I am meeting with our commissioners from around the region regularly and we do our very best to respond to changing home circumstances. If your child has a regular day off and you need to make a change to this, please do get in touch as we have been able to make changes in response to most requests from parents and carers.
As recorded in the risk assessment shared with you on this blog, we have reopened the school dining room and staff rooms and it has been lovely to see some of our children socialising and eating together again. We are slowly building up the numbers of students who are transitioning over to the dining room for their lunch.
Our next step will be to take off face masks and coverings in some parts of school. We will only be able to do this in consultation with our local public health department as we have pupils in school who are still considered to be clinically extremely vulnerable.
Please remember that we cannot accept poorly students or staff into school. If a student becomes poorly in the day, someone from the staff team will contact you to collect your child. Anyone who displays covid-19 symptoms should get a PCR test and are strongly advised to self-isolate for up to 10 days (coming out of isolation if they get two consecutive LFD tests, 24 hours apart, from day 5 of their self-isolation). In order to protect the students and staff, please do not come to school or transport your child to school if you have tested positive for covid-19.
Staff at school are still advised to test twice weekly using LFD tests and we have a supply of tests for students if they have been identified as a close contact of a positive case. LFD test are still for asymptomatic testing only: anyone with covid-19 symptoms should get a PCR test and are advised to self-isolate until they get their results.
If you have any covid queries or if you are reporting positive tests, please contact the covid mailbox: covid.ncs@percyhedley.org.uk
Many thanks – Jo