Dear Parents/Carers,

On Saturday 27 November, the Prime Minister announced new temporary measures following the emergence of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 in the UK. Schools have now received updated guidance from the Department for Education.

Key messages:

• From Tuesday 30 November, all pupils, students, and staff will be expected to wear a face covering when in the building, except when in classrooms. This includes when moving between lessons, going into the toilets, and when in break/lunchtime indoor spaces. Please make sure that your child brings a face covering to school each day.
• Pupils and students should continue to wear face coverings on public and dedicated school transport.
• Pupils and students should continue to test twice weekly using lateral flow device (LFD) tests.
• The current guidance on general contact tracing and isolation remains the same. However, any suspected or confirmed close contacts of the Omicron variant will be asked to isolate for 10 days regardless of vaccination status or age. They will be contacted directly by NHS Test and Trace.

These measures are being introduced as a precaution to slow down the spread of the variant whilst more information is gathered. They will be kept under review as the situation develops.

Please ensure that your child self-isolates straight away, and gets a PCR test as soon as possible, if they have any of these 3 symptoms of COVID-19, even if they are mild:

• A high temperature.
• A new, continuous cough.
• A loss or change to their sense of smell or taste.

If you have any questions, please get in touch with the school in the usual way.

Kind regards,

Mark Stow

Vice Principal