COVID-19 SYMPTOMS AND TESTING

Coronavirus Symptom Testing Information for parents and carers.

September 2020

The advice and guidance below is based on the DfE document ‘Guidance for full opening of schools’ (updated 7 August 2020).  NHS England lists the main symptoms of coronavirus (COVID 19) as a high temperature, a new continuous cough, loss or change to sense of taste or smell.

What should I do if my child develops symptoms of coronavirus when not in school?

Any child who develops symptoms of coronavirus must stay at home and not attend school.  Absence should be reported as soon as possible on the usual school office number, 

 and the child must be tested for coronavirus.  Parents/carers are responsible for arranging a test and informing us of the outcome as detailed below.  Tests must be undertaken within the first 5 days of developing symptoms and if the result is positive your child will need to self-isolate for at least 10 days and the rest of the household will need to self-isolate for 14 days.

If any member of your household develops symptoms of coronavirus your child must stay at home and not attend school.  The household member should obtain a test.  Your child can return to school only if the result of the test is negative.  If it is positive they must self-isolate for 14 days from the onset of the household member’s symptoms.  Your child’s absence should be reported to the school office number 

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What happens if a child develops symptoms of coronavirus at school?

When a child develops symptoms compatible with coronavirus, they will be sent home and advised to self-isolate for 10 days.  Their fellow household members should self-isolate for 14 days.  The child will be separated from their group and asked to wait in a private ventilated room whilst a parent/carer is contacted to collect them.  They will be supervised from a safe social distance until they are collected.

All children must be tested if they display symptoms of coronavirus.  Parents are responsible for arranging child-testing, within the first 5 days of developing symptoms and parents must inform school of the result as soon as it is received by telephone to the school office on 

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What should I do to request a test?

To request a test please visit: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/ and follow the steps.  This site also contains additional information regarding Coronavirus symptoms, Self-isolating and information on the NHS Test and Trace Service and is updated on a regular basis.  If you do not have access to the internet you can order a test by telephone via NHS 119. 

What should I do when I receive the results of the test?

You are asked to contact school on 

 and inform us of the outcome as soon as possible. If the result is negative your child does not need to self-isolate as long as everybody else they live with who has symptoms tests negative, everybody in their bubble with symptoms tests negative, they have not been told by NHS Test and Trace to self-isolate for 14 days and they feel well and no longer have a temperature.

If the result is positive, your child will need to self-isolate for 10 days and the rest of the household will need to self-isolate for 14 days.  Children can return to school, after the end of their 10 day self-isolation, only if they do not have symptoms other than a cough or loss of smell/taste.  If they still have a high temperature they should stay at home until this returns to normal. 

In accordance with Government and Public Health England advice, we will be required to ask anybody in your child’s class to self-isolate for 14 days, however we will endeavour to treat the information provided in the strictest of confidence.  You will also be contacted by the NHS Test and Trace Service, further information regarding this can be found on the link above.

What happens if there is a confirmed case of coronavirus (COVID-19) in my child’s school?

Where we are informed of a positive result, the school will contact the local Health Protection Team who will instruct us on the appropriate steps to take.  We will assess who has been in close contact with the person who has tested positive and ensure they are asked to self-isolate for 14 days.

School will send home anybody who has been in close contact with a person who tests positive and parents and carers will be contacted. The other household members of that wider class/group do not need to self-isolate unless your child subsequently develops symptoms. 

As part of the national test and trace programme, if other cases are detected within the child’s cohort or in the wider education or childcare setting, Public Health England’s local Health Protection Teams will conduct a rapid investigation and will advise schools on the most appropriate action to take.  In some cases, a larger number of other children may be asked to self-isolate at home as a precautionary measure – perhaps the whole class, site or year group.  Where schools are observing guidance on infection prevention and control, which will reduce risk of transmission, closure of the whole school will not generally be necessary.

If there is a confirmed case of coronavirus in school, parents/carers will be contacted by school and notified as soon as possible.  Please be reassured that whilst in school, all public health advice and Department for Education guidance is being followed and there are additional control measures in place e.g. staggered start and finish times for each group, year groups are not mixing within the building and additional hygiene and cleaning procedures are in operation across the school.

What arrangements are in place for my child’s education if they are self-isolating?

Similar to the arrangements in place during the school closure, we have established systems for continuing education remotely which are in place on our website under the tab remote learning.

If you or your child test positive then you will be contacted by contact tracers, who will establish who else you might have passed on the infection to.