COVID-19: colleges, schools and early years settings

The main symptoms for COVID-19 are:

• New and continuous cough
• Loss or change of taste and smell
• High temperature

If your child develops COVID symptoms at home they should stay at home and book a PCR test, not a lateral flow test. If your child develops COVID symptoms at school, they will be sent home and you should book them a PCR test.

Just as you'd normally inform you school if your child is off sick please let your school know if your child has tested positive for COVID-19.

Every secondary school pupil returning to school will be invited to take two LFD tests on the school site. Your school will provide you with the full information on when you need to attend. Your school will also confirm the date when your child will start school.

The tests will be provided by your school. It is hoped that all pupils who are able to do so, take the tests. After this, your child will be asked to complete 2 tests each week. Children will be provided with enough test kits to last to the end of September when it will be reviewed by central government.

Your school will advise you of how the school timetable will operate and any particular systems for your school. There is no requirement for bubbles to continue operating, however, your school will continue to promote good hygiene and other infection prevention control measures. Your school will share their risk assessment.

Your school will advise of all the measures once your child is back in school including any ventilation measures.

The government is recommending pupils aged over 11 years wear face coverings in crowded places. Public buses and school buses to school are likely to be busy so we'd encourage all our young people to wear a face covering.

Children under 18 and 6 months or double-vaccinated adults do not need to self-isolate or miss school if a member of their household has COVID. Instead they will be advised  to book a PCR test but can continue going to school so long as they have no symptoms and the test result is negative. They do not need to self-isolate while waiting for the PCR test result if not displaying Covid symptoms.

Any children testing positive will need to self-isolate for 10 days and the parent must inform the school.

The parents of the child are contacted directly by NHS Test and Trace to establish likely close contacts

Close contacts will be contacted by NHS Test and Trace and advised to book a PCR test. Children will not need to miss school or self-isolate while they wait for the results of the PCR test unless they have COVID symptoms.

The school will discuss that with our public health team at Wiltshire Council or the Health protection team at PHE as to what enhanced measures may be required:

• Re-introducing face coverings  (this is not applicable to primary or early years children)
• Adapting, limiting or postponing indoor sporting events, trips, open days and performances
• Reverting to video-link assemblies in classrooms
• Reducing the amount of classes staff work across
• Resuming twice-weekly staff lateral flow testing
• Enhanced cleaning regimes
• In extreme circumstances partial or full closure of a setting may be required

Further measures may be introduced including reducing mixing, reverting to class-based school lunches, limiting non-essential visitors to school, postponing all non-essential events and re-introducing remote learning for individual classes for 10 school days.

The government has now offered the jab to all 16 and 17 year olds. You can find out more here and find out the stories of younger patients on GOV.UK.

Children aged 12 to 15 who are at increased risk of serious COVID-19 disease are to be offered the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. It has also been recommended that children and young people aged 12 to 17 who live with an immunosuppressed person should be offered the vaccine. More information on the announcement and which under 18s will be eligible for the vaccine is available at GOV.UK: vaccination.

The government has said it wlll provide all schools with monitors so staff can quickly identify where ventilation needs to be improved. Letting fresh air into indoor spaces can help remove air that contains virus particles and is important in preventing the spread of Covid-19. Find out more at GOV.UK.

• It is a legal requirement that anyone asked to self-isolate should follow the government information on this and stay at home.  This means they must not leave the house, except to go in the garden and they are not allowed to meet anyone from another household
• No other members of the household are required to isolate unless your child develops symptoms

If your child doesn't have symptoms, other siblings can still go to school.

• The usual safety measures of social distancing and hand washing should be maintained.
• It's important the child completes the 10 day self-isolating period even if they are tested and get a negative result.
• If the child or anyone else in the household develops symptoms they will need to get tested and the whole household will then need to self-isolate.
• Information on self-isolation can be found at NHS Test and Trace.

If your child is in Year 7 or above secondary school from 8 March they will need to wear a face covering unless they are exempt.

The Department for Education guidance says where pupils and students in year 7 and above are educated, face coverings should be worn by staff, pupils and students when moving around the premises, outside of classrooms, such as in corridors and communal areas where social distancing cannot easily be maintained. Your child's school will provide specific details- these will differ slightly between schools due to the configuration of the building etc.

Face coverings do not need to be worn by pupils and students when outdoors on the premises. In addition it is recommended face coverings should be worn in classrooms and during activities unless social distancing can be maintained. This does not apply in situations where wearing a face covering would impact on the ability to take part in exercise or strenuous activity such as PE lessons.

More detail is available at GOV.UK.

• Safe wearing of face coverings requires the cleaning of hands before and after touching - including to remove or put them on
• Store face coverings safely in individual, sealable plastic bags between use.
• If a face covering becomes damp it should not be worn, and the face covering should be replaced carefully. Staff, pupils and students may consider bringing a spare face covering to wear in the event that their face covering becomes damp during the day.
• Do not touch the front of their face covering during use or when removing it.
• Dispose of temporary face coverings in a 'black bag' waste bin (not recycling bin).
• Place reusable face coverings in a plastic bag and take home.
• Wash hands again before going to the classroom.

More details are available at GOV.UK.

In primary schools, DfE recommends that face coverings should be worn by staff and adult visitors in situations where social distancing between adults is not possible. Children in primary school do not need to wear a face covering.

Around one in three people with COVID-19 do not have symptoms but can still pass it on to others. Regular testing of people without symptoms (asymptomatic testing) is important to help stop the virus spreading.

The lateral flow tests will be for students at secondary school and college. Your school or college will send you the timetable for taking these tests. The first three tests will be taken over a period of days at school under supervision.

Students will carry out the fourth test themselves using a home kit. Pupils will then continue taking twice-weekly tests using a home test kit provided by the school and we will provide information on reporting test results.

If anyone tests positive or gets coronavirus symptoms, they should tell the school and:

• self-isolate immediately
• get a PCR test to confirm the result if the LFD test is taken at home
• follow the stay at home guidance for households with a possible coronavirus infection

A negative result means the test did not find signs of coronavirus.But this does not guarantee you do not have coronavirus, so you should keep following all Coronavirus advice including:

• regular handwashing
• social distancing
• wearing a face covering where recommended

Anyone who has previously received a positive lateral flow test or COVID-19 PCR test result should not be re-tested within 90 days of that test, unless they develop any new symptoms of COVID-19.

More information is available at GOV.UK.

If you're a member of a household, childcare bubble or support bubble of staff or a pupil you can get a twice-weekly test:

• through your employer if they offer testing to employees
• at a local test site
• by collecting a home test kit from a test site
• by ordering a home test kit online

More information is available at GOV.UK.

There are a number of online resources that provide ideas on how to talk through concerns with your child. Please have a look at the links below for ideas.

• Triple P UK has a parenting area with information, tips, tools and strategies for parents and carers of children and young people as well as a Facebook page.
• Care for the Family has specific information for parents and carers of children with additional needs as well as generic parenting information as well as a Facebook page.

For support on other issues you can access On Your Mind website which provides free, safe and anonymous online support for young people. There is also an advice page for Wiltshire parents and carers which includes practical strategies to support children with their mental health and wellbeing  and also Oxford Health for further support on child mental health.

Schools remain open for vulnerable children and this includes children and young people who:

• have a child in need plan, a child protection plan or who are a looked-after child
• have an education, health and care (EHC) plan

Or have been identified as otherwise vulnerable by educational providers or local authorities (including children's social care services), and who could therefore benefit from continued full-time attendance, this might include:

• children and young people on the edge of receiving support from children's social care services or in the process of being referred to children's services
• adopted children or children on a special guardianship order
• those at risk of becoming NEET ('not in employment, education or training')
• those living in temporary accommodation
• those who are young carers
• those who may have difficulty engaging with remote education at home (for example due to a lack of devices or quiet space to study)
• care leavers
• others at the provider and local authority's discretion including pupils and students who need to attend to receive support or manage risks to their mental health

The majority of our vulnerable children have attended on site during the current lockdown period, and we are now looking forward to schools re-opening for all children from 8 March, when attendance becomes mandatory.

The regular testing of people without symptoms (asymptomatic testing) is important to help stop the virus spreading. Some people in England will now have access to regular rapid lateral flow testing, made available to them as schools reopen. This includes pupil at secondary schools. Secondary and college students and all school staff for both primary and secondary schools will be regularly tested.

Also if you live with a student attending school or college From 1 March 2021, you can get a twice-weekly test if you live with, or are in a support or childcare bubble with, a school pupil or school staff. You can get a twice-weekly lateral flow test. Find out more at GOV.UK.

Where a child is living in the household of a parent, carer or adult who is clinically extremely vulnerable, the child should continue to attend school. Please speak to your school if you have concerns regarding travel arrangements for your child to attend school.

The child and other family members should continue to follow stringent social distancing measures while at school/work.

This may not be possible for very young children and older children without the capacity to adhere to the instructions on social distancing.

From 8 March it will be mandatory for all children to attend school. Contact your school if you have any concerns and they will be able to provide information on all precautionary measures to ensure your child's safe return to school.

In the first instance, you should contact your school who will be happy to answer your questions and support you with school attendance. The Education Welfare Service is also available to help and can be contacted by emailing EWS@wiltshire.gov.uk.

If your child has a social worker, please talk with them about school attendance too.

 Yes. Current guidance states that anyone using public transport must wear a face covering.

Government guidance is pupils on dedicated school transport must wear a face covering if they are aged 11 and over. Children aged under 11 do not need to wear a face covering.

We are supporting schools as they encourage pupils to walk or cycle to school where possible. We will be working with primary schools to introduce the Bikeability Scheme which encourages confidence and knowledge of how to cycle safely. Your school will advise you of any measures directly.

If you choose not to send your child to school on the transport arranged by Wiltshire Council, you will have to make your own arrangements. However, it is important that you follow government guidelines and do not gather at the school gates.

Yes. There may be some extenuating circumstances to this, but you will be notified as soon as possible should that be the case.

 We will endeavour to provide the usual Passenger Assistant, where we can, but we cannot guarantee you will get your normal driver/PA (taxi) as they may be self-isolating themselves or looking after someone who is.

Government advice to avoid public transport wherever possible is to help maintain social distancing for those people who have to travel. We are working closely with the bus companies to try to provide sufficient capacity at school times and are asking people to stagger their journeys to work and avoid school times if they can.

Children should wash their hands for 20 seconds before leaving home (as they would for any activity away from home) and, if possible, sanitise their hands before boarding school transport. Similarly, if possible, children should sanitise their hands once they have left the bus, and in any case should wash their hands thoroughly when they re-enter their homes. It is good practice for children not to touch their faces, to cough and sneeze into a tissue or their elbow and should be encouraged at all times, including on school transport to do so. Routine testing of an individual's temperature is not a reliable method for identifying Coronavirus.

If you are unhappy about a decision which has been made regarding transport for your child, you can pursue your request further. You should submit, in writing, the circumstances to be considered to the education transport entitlement manager. Email educationtransport@wiltshire.gov.uk, if your child is attending a mainstream school and PTUTransport-requests@wiltshire.gov.uk if your child is attending a special school. If your concern is not managed to your satisfaction by operational staff, it will be escalated to the Head of Service.

This year teachers have been asked to assess students so they can progress to the next stage of their career. The Department for Education has said they want to ensure all young people have the confidence that despite exams going ahead they will still receive a grade that reflects their ability.

More information is available at GOV.UK.

Students studying vocational and technical qualifications (VTQs) that are similar to, and taken alongside, or instead of, GCSEs and A levels will also receive grades assessed by teachers rather than sitting exams. The arrangements will be similar to those for GCSEs and A levels. This will be the case, for example, for many BTECs, Cambridge Nationals and Technicals, Tech Levels, Technical Awards and Technical Certificates. These arrangements will also apply to T Level core assessments.

A level students will have their results on 10 August while GCSE results will be out on 12 August. This allows time for appeals.

The national curriculum assessments due to be held in summer 2021, including tests, teacher assessments and the phonics screening check, have been cancelled.

More information is available at GOV.UK.

If you are studying for a qualification that is similar to, or taken alongside GCSEs or A levels, then you will be eligible for a teacher assessed grade.

More information is available at GOV.UK.

The Wiltshire Parent Carer Council website home page (WPCC) has dedicated Coronavirus pages on its website with lots of SEND specific information, advice, guidance, resources and home learning ideas that is being updated daily. You can call them on 01225 764647 or email admin@wiltspcc.co.uk.

Early years settings can remain open and provide childcare during this lockdown. Please contact your setting directly for any additional information.

• It is a legal requirement that anyone asked to self-isolate should follow the government information on this and stay at home.  This means they must not leave the house, except to go in the garden and they are not allowed to meet anyone from another household.
• No other members of the household are required to isolate unless your child develops symptoms. If your child doesn't have symptoms, other siblings can still go to school or a setting.
• The usual safety measures of social distancing and hand washing should be maintained.
• It's important the child completes the 14 day self-isolating period even if they are tested and get a negative result.
• If the child or anyone else in the household develops symptoms they will need to get tested and the whole household will then need to self-isolate.

NHS: What to do if you've been in close contact with someone with coronavirus (COVID-19)

If your child does not have symptoms of COVID-19 but has other cold-like symptoms, such as a runny nose - they do not need to be tested and they or members of their household do not need to self-isolate.

Your child can attend their setting if fit to do so.

Please download the PDF poster within the 'downloads' area of this page for more details.

All settings have the latest guidance and will follow that closely should there be a suspected case at the setting.

It is greatly beneficial for children to attend a setting as they have the opportunity to learn in a social environment with and from their peers, develop socially and emotionally and make friends.

Settings are adhering strictly to COVID-19 guidance to keep settings clean and to reduce the risk of transmission between children and staff.

If you are worried you could call and speak to the setting about their arrangements and discuss your specific concerns.

If the childcare setting is open and offering a service that you have registered to attend they are within their rights to charge you for child's place.

If a childcare setting has been advised to close, or left with no option but to close, due to public health reasons, the Early Years Entitlement will be paid as usual.
 
Valid public health reasons:

• Closed due to an outbreak or suspected outbreak of COVID-19
• Closed due to outbreaks of flu like illness or other illnesses
• It is also advisable to close if you don't have any running water/heating
• Not able to be COVID-19 compliant due to size of hallways, exits and entrances, availability of running water

Early years staff are classed as critical key workers and so their children are eligible for a school and early years place.