St John Plessington Catholic College

24-Sep-21 Letter from the Headteacher

Dear Families

I hope that you are all well. I am pleased to say that your children have settled well back into school routines and expectations, they have been a credit to themselves and their families. I would like to draw your attention to a number of updates:

Extra-Curricular Clubs

We are so pleased to be able to confirm that our extra-curricular clubs are up and running. Please encourage your son/daughter to take advantage of these wonderful enrichment opportunities and experience something new as well as developing friendships outside of their usual classes. Please help us in encouraging students to sign up. Please see our website for our Extra-curricular timetable.

Vaccinations

You will have received notification about e-consent for the flu vaccination and COVID 19 vaccination. In terms of the vaccination programme, this is a national programme and not one that any school has control over. The link to government guidance for parents is here.

Anti-vax Campaigners

I have previously informed you that like many schools across the country, we had a small number of anti-vaccination campaigners outside of school distributing leaflets to our students.

Please be assured that as soon as we were made aware, SJP staff had a presence around the school perimeter. I spoke directly to the two campaigners, I asked them to move on and to desist from distributing their leaflets, which they eventually did.

Punctuality

I have noticed a number of students who are arriving late to school. It is vital that all students are in school and ready to learn on time each day. Students who are persistently late will be required to make this time up in school to catch up on missing work.

Uniform

I would like to remind parents of our uniform policy. All students should be in full school uniform with the required school shoes. Trainers are not permitted. In addition, for health and safety reasons students should not have earrings or nose piercings on in school.

Transport to and from school

Please remind children that if they are riding to school, bikes need to be locked up and inside the school grounds. If your child cycles to school can you please ensure that you discuss the importance of cycling safely to and from school with them?

Could I please ask parents and carers to be mindful of parking when dropping or picking up students from school?

School Production

Auditions for our school production of Little House of Horrors are taking place - please encourage your son/daughter to sign up. It is going to be fantastic!

Current Covid Measures

Whilst we have returned to more normal operations, we are maintaining a number of important measures to reduce the spread of Covid 19. Moreover, we are constantly monitoring the number of cases in school and, should it be necessary, we will take additional precautionary measures in line with Public Health England and Wirral LA.

What should I do if my child develops COVID-19 symptoms?

The main symptoms of COVID-19 are:

  • new continuous cough and/or
  • fever (temperature of 37.8°C or higher)
  • loss of or change in, normal sense of taste or smell (anosmia)

If your child develops any of these symptoms, you must arrange for them to have a PCR test as soon as possible. A PCR test can be arranged via NHS UK (www.nhs.uk) or by contacting NHS 119 via telephone if you do not have internet access.

Your child should self-isolate immediately and they should not attend school.

Please contact the school by phone to inform us your child has COVID-19 symptoms and you are awaiting a COVID-19 test.

What should I do if my child has COVID-19 confirmed by PCR test?

Anyone with COVID-19 confirmed by PCR test should self-isolate until the latest of:

  • 10 days after the onset of their symptoms, or
  • 10 days after their test day if they are asymptomatic

Self-isolation means your child should not go to school, attend any out of school activities or visit a friend’s house. They should not visit any public places, use public transport or go out to exercise. You should not have visitors into the home except for those providing essential care.

Please contact the school by phone and inform us your child has COVID-19 confirmed by PCR test. It is really important you let us know if your child has confirmed COVID-19 so we can monitor the number of children with COVID-19 across the school.

What should I do if my child is a contact of someone with COVID-19 confirmed by PCR test?

If your child is aged under 18 years and 6 months and does not have any symptoms of COVID-19 (high temperature, new continuous cough, loss of or change in, normal sense of taste or smell) they do not have to self-isolate as a contact of COVID-19.

They are advised to have a PCR test unless they have had a positive PCR test in the last 90 days.

Children aged 5 and under are not advised to take a PCR test unless the confirmed case is someone in their own household.

What should I do if my child has a positive result on a lateral flow device test?

If your child has a positive result on a lateral flow device test, they should self-isolate immediately and you should arrange a PCR test as soon as possible.

Other members of the household do not need to self-isolate whilst you await the PCR test result if they do not have symptoms and are aged under 18 years and 6 months or are fully vaccinated.

What should I do if my child is unwell with signs of an infection but does not have symptoms of COVID-19

Your child should not attend school if they are unwell. If concerned you should seek advice from your GP or Pharmacist, they will be able to advise you how long your child should stay off school. Otherwise we would recommend exclusion for 48 hours or until the child is symptom free, whichever is longer. We are not currently advising that preschool children get a PCR test if they do not have the three main symptoms of COVID-19.

Yours sincerely

Ms Maria Sharratt

Headteacher