CLIFTONVILLE PRIMARY & PRE-SCHOOL
Northumberland Avenue, Margate, Kent, CT9 3LY
Telephone: 01843 227575

Head Teacher: Ms Claire Whichcord

9^th December, 2020

Dear Parents, carers,

You may have heard recently about lots of speculation regarding schools closing early for the Christmas Holiday. Yesterday afternoon the government announced that schools can move a staff development day and close a day early on Thursday 17^th December.

The reason for this change is……to allow six days after the end of term for schools to conduct contact tracing- should any member the school community  (staff member or child) test positive for coronavirus, having developed symptoms within 48 hours of being in school.

The Department for Education has asked schools…to assist in identifying close contacts and advising  of self-isolation, as an individual may have been infectious whilst in school.

DfE 08.12.20

I can confirm that the school will be closed on Friday 18th December so that we can conclude this very challenging year safely and start the holiday season with our loved ones as safely as we can.  This means that the final school day this term is Thursday 17^th December. I apologise for the late notice but we have only just been informed by the Government.

I have made this decision with the best interests of the whole community in mind, including the impact that it may have on those who are working and would have to arrange child care at such short notice.

Can I stress that we have all worked incredibly hard so far this year to keep everyone as safe as possible and that as Thanet is in Tier 3: Very High Alert and one of the highest areas of the UK we need to continue to work together as a community; we need to follow government and PHE guidance to ensure that no one has to isolate over Christmas.

We have rearranged our plan for staff training so that the children will not be disadvantaged in their learning time.

At the heart of the government’s decision is the need for schools to continue contact tracing for 6 days after the school has closed. This means that the school will be available to support PHE and NHS Test and Trace up to and including 23^rd December.

When you should not contact the school

Where a pupil or staff member tests positive for coronavirus (COVID-19), having developed symptoms more than 48 hours since being in school, the school should not be contacted. Parents and carers should follow contact tracing instructions provided by NHS Test and Trace.

This means if your child has developed symptoms after Saturday 19th December or more than 48 hours after they were last in school. In this instance, please contact NHS Test & Trace. If your child has a positive test result which returns after Wednesday 23rd December. In this instance, please contact NHS Test & Trace.

When you need to contact the school

For the first 6 days after teaching ends, if a pupil or staff member tests positive for coronavirus (COVID-19), having developed symptoms within 48 hours of being in school, the school is asked to assist in identifying close contacts and advising self-isolation, as the individual may have been infectious whilst in school.

This means if your child has symptoms either on Friday 18th or Saturday 19th then tests positive for COVID-19 on or before Wednesday 23rd December, please contact the school on the attendance phone: MOB: 07540686882  or headteacher@cliftonvilleprimary.co.uk

When you make contact please be sure to tell us your child’s name, Year group, when they first developed symptoms and the date you received confirmation. This will be checked once a day and with any notification of positive cases advice will be given to close contacts to self-isolate (this will be done by text or email). The Department for Education coronavirus (COVID-19) helpline and PHE advice service are available to support with any queries you have about positive cases in your school.

School staff are not asked to remain on-call or conduct any contact tracing more than 6 days after the final day of teaching. Where a school’s last teaching day is on Thursday 17th December, there should be no pupil contact tracing asks beyond Wednesday 23 December.

Where pupils are required to self-isolate due to contact with a positive case after the first 6 days following the end of term, schools do not need to be informed about their absence until the first day of the new term.

Once again, I would like to thank you all for your continued support of the school. It has been, without a doubt, the most challenging of times for us all and as I have always said, the strength of our response is us all working together as a community.

I wish you all the very best over the Christmas period and hope that we all stay safe and well.

Yours sincerely

Claire Whichcord