COVID-19

If you have any questions please contact:

Living with COVID-19 plan

• ‘Living with COVID-19’. This link takes you to the government document that provides a historical position of where we have been with COVID, the impacts and also the future position in terms of how we need to adapt to living with the virus.  I recommend people read this document as it provides you with a useful understanding moving forwards.
• Separate to the government plan, at St Chris we are conscious that while we need to move forwards there are also the daily realities of school life. Therefore, we fully recognise, understand and agree that some will wish to continue wearing face coverings; we will maintain room ventilation; sanitiser stations will remain across the school site, everybody is strongly encouraged to regularly wash their hands and maintain appropriate social distancing.
• Blended Learning ceases from Monday 28 February 2022 – this ties in with the removal of the isolation requirement from Thursday, 24 February 2022.
• From 28 February 2022 we have reverted to more in-person meetings and Morning Talks. We will, where possible, include the ability to dial in as a hybrid approach.
• If the situation changes at St Chris or locally, we will review these measures for the safety of the whole St Chris community and keep you updated.

Changes to testing in education and childcare settings and children’s social care services

• From Monday 21 February 2022, the government removed the guidance for staff and students to undertake twice-weekly asymptomatic testing.  We encourage staff and students to continue testing, although we are no longer in receipt of home test kits.  Individuals are able to access test kits from their local pharmacy or online.

Changes to self-isolation and daily testing of close contacts

• From Thursday 24 February 2022, the government removed the legal requirement to self-isolate following a positive test.
• Adults and children who test positive will continue to be advised to stay at home and avoid contact with other people for at least 5 full days, and then continue to follow the guidance until they have received 2 negative test results on consecutive days.
• In addition the government has:
  • Stopped asking fully vaccinated close contacts and those aged under 18 to test daily for 7 days, and has removed the legal requirement for close contacts who are not fully vaccinated to self-isolate.
  • Ended routine contact tracing. Contacts will no longer be required to self-isolate or advised to take daily tests. Staff, children and young people should attend their education settings as usual.  This includes staff who have been in close contact within their household, unless they are able to work from home.
  • Ended the legal obligation for individuals to tell their employers when they are required to self-isolate.

From Friday 1 April 2022, the government will:

• Update guidance setting out the ongoing steps that people with COVID-19 should take to minimise contact with other people.  This will align with the changes to testing.
• No longer provide free to order universal symptomatic and asymptomatic testing for the general public in England.
• Consolidate guidance to the public and businesses, in line with public health advice.

Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advice on COVID-19 vaccination for healthy 5 to 11 year olds

• The NHS is currently offering vaccines to at-risk children and those who live with immunosuppressed people in this age group.  Parents and guardians of at risk 5 to 11 year olds should wait for the NHS to contact them, with local NHS teams already contacting those who are eligible.
• On 16 February 2022, the government accepted the advice from the independent JCVI to make a non-urgent offer of COVID-19 vaccines to all children aged 5 to 11 in England.
• The JCVI advice follows a thorough review by the UK’s independent medicines regulator, the MHRA, which approved Pfizer’s paediatric vaccine, as safe and effective for children aged 5 to 11.
• Children without underlying health conditions are at low risk of serious illness from COVID-19 and the priority remains for the NHS to offer vaccines and boosters to older age groups and vulnerable children, as well as to catch-up with other childhood immunisation programmes.
• The NHS will prepare to extend this non-urgent offer to all children during April so parents can, if they want, take up the offer to increase protection against potential future waves of COVID-19, as we learn to live with this virus.
• The updated JCVI advice for vaccinating 5 to 11 year olds, which was published on Friday 18 February by the NHS, confirms that community pharmacy-led local vaccination services and vaccination centres should be the primary delivery models for this cohort.