- January 4, 2022
Dear Parents and Carers,
Wishing you all a very Happy New Year. You may have seen in the national news on 2nd January that the government has put in place new guidelines for schools. From Tuesday 4th January, face coverings should be worn by all students in communal areas and in classrooms. This measure will be reviewed on Wednesday 26th January. Please ensure that your child brings a face covering each day and explain to them the importance of wearing them at the appropriate times. Previous exemptions from wearing face coverings will still apply. If you believe your child should be exempt, please contact your child’s head of year to discuss how they will be able to obtain an exemption pass.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-59840634
As we return to school, we will need to monitor the Covid situation very carefully amongst staff and students. We will do our very best to minimise disruption to student learning in school. Please play your part in helping us to keep school open by supporting all our Covid measures which include regular home- testing, self-isolation of positive cases and encouraging the wearing of face coverings (unless exempt). For your reference, I also include below a link to my letter sent at the end of last term, this contains the details of the staggered start times on Tuesday 4th January. Can I also take this opportunity to remind all students that they should have taken/be taking a home test today and to report a positive result to covid@flhs.wigan.sch.uk. Positive cases will need to isolate and take a confirmatory PCR test.
Changes to self-isolation guidance for positive cases
If you are not already aware of this, the following information from the DFE explains the latest guidance for the self-isolation of positive cases:
Since Wednesday 22 December, the 10-day self-isolation period for people who record a positive PCR test result for COVID-19 has been reduced to 7 days in most circumstances, unless you cannot test for any reason.
Individuals may now take LFD tests on day 6 and day 7 of their self-isolation period. Those who receive two negative test results are no longer required to complete 10 full days of self-isolation. The first test must be taken no earlier than day 6 of the self-isolation period and tests must be taken 24 hours apart. If both these test results are negative, and you do not have a high temperature, you may end your self-isolation after the second negative test result and return to your education setting from day 8.
January Examinations
For students in Year 10 and Year 11 who are sitting exams in January, these examinations are scheduled to still go ahead as planned
https://flhs.org.uk/end-of-term-letter-and-arrangements-for-january/
Yours sincerely
Mr P Davies
Headteacher