Dear Parents and Carers

It has been an absolute joy to be able to have our pupils back in school.  We continue to be vigilant and rigorously apply measures to ensure your child is as safe as they possibly can be in school.  An essential part of our and all schools approach is the action that needs to be taken if a pupil displays symptoms.  The instructions set out below are based on the government's guidance and public health legislation.

If your child displays any of the three main symptoms set out below they and any siblings must be isolated either until they have a test result or for 14 days.

The most important symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) are the recent onset of any of the following:

• 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.

There is also a wider set of symptoms that may be related to COVID 19, which are set out below.  If your child displays any of these symptoms please contact NHS 111 for advice before sending them to school.

Signs or symptoms of COVID-19 in children can include:

• Fatigue
• Headache
• Myalgia (muscle pain)
• Nasal congestion or rhinorrhea
• Sore throat
• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
• Abdominal pain
• Diarrhoea
• Nausea or vomiting
• Poor appetite or poor feeding

I appreciate how disruptive this can be for families and work.  However,  I am sure you will agree, we all have a duty to combat COVID 19 and keep our schools as safe as possible.

For further information you may wish to read the Government guidance COVID-19: guidance for households with possible coronavirus infection  https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-stay-at-home-guidance

If your child has to self-isolate the school will provide remote learning and regular contact.

Mr J Manclark

Headteacher