9th December 2020

Dear Parents/Carers,

You may have seen on the news or social media that the Government have given Headteachers the right to close school a day earlier than scheduled. The reason they have done this is outlined here…

‘Education providers are asked to remain contactable so they can assist with contact tracing where necessary. This will allow enough time for positive coronavirus (COVID-19) cases to be identified and confirmed by a test and for relevant contacts in the education setting to be traced. We are clear that beyond 6 days after the final day of teaching, school and further education staff are not asked to play a role in any contact tracing. It is also likely that the need to support the tracing process will reduce dramatically over the course of the 6 days as the majority of cases should be identified earlier in the week.’

We have made the decision that we will NOT be closing a day early. We already had our systems in place before this announcement and we really do want to prioritise the time children spend in school catching up on missed learning. We also factored in the disruption this would cause to working parents at such short notice. As ever, we are continuing to do all we possibly can to minimise risk in school and we continue to need your help with this at home. Most importantly, by not sending in your child if they are unwell. Please air on the side of caution.

Please note these important messages concerning the holiday period –

1. If your child tests positive for coronavirus (COVID-19), having developed symptoms more than 48 hours since being in school (Monday 21^st December onwards), the school should not be contacted. Parents and carers should follow contact tracing instructions provided by NHS Test and Trace.
2. For the first 6 days after teaching ends, if a pupil tests positive for coronavirus (COVID-19), having developed symptoms within 48 hours of being in school (Saturday 19^th December and Sunday 20^th December), the school is asked to assist in identifying close contacts and advising self-isolation, as the individual may have been infectious whilst in school.

If you have a situation linked to point 2, here is what you must do immediately please –

Call the main school contact number of 01952 387720 and email  newdale.primary@taw.org.uk and leave a message with the following details, name of child, class teacher and best contact number. 

This number will be manned throughout the Christmas period (up to the 24th December).

We would then contact you for more details and then contact school staff to discover ‘direct contacts’. Following this all ‘direct contacts’ would be notified to self-isolate immediately.

Clearly, we are so hopeful this does not happen, as we want all of our families to have a fantastic Christmas without the restrictions of self-isolating.

Again, we thank you for your support in this important matter.

Miss Cook

Headteacher