Coronavirus Update
As you will be aware we are devastated to have had to close 3 class bubbles over the past few days due to 3 confirmed positive cases of coronavirus.
This has saddened us all tremendously.
It is something which has made all of us very anxious, but is obviously something we must take very seriously and ensure that we are following guidance and keeping ourselves and others safe. It is incredibly frustrating, especially when we were expecting restrictions to be lifted and also when we see crowds of people at sporting events such as Euro 2021 and Wimbledon!
I have had a letter from Dr Arif Rajpura - our Director of Public Health for Blackpool who has written to all families reminding us all to remain alert and rigidly stick to the guidance in light of the rapidly spreading Delta variant in the North West.
Read his letter HERE
As you can see, Dr Rajpura is asking us all to keep to the guidance, keeping our distance from others when collecting and dropping off children, wearing masks and continuing our strict handwashing practices.
This variant is spreading extremely rapidly which means our R rate is higher than the rest of England:
Latest R number range for England -
Range for England 1.2 - 1.4
Range for the North West 1.3 - 1.5
Last updated on Friday 18 June 2021
Current symptoms - Delta Variant
As more and more people are contracting the virus due to this new variant - we in schools are being asked to take notice of children who are exhibiting slightly different symptoms from the 3 which we are used to (Persistent cough / high temperature / loss or change in taste or smell) and now included for children are “…cough and loss of smell or taste as less common symptoms for people who have contracted the coronavirus Delta variant. Meanwhile, sore throat, runny nose, fever, upset stomach and headaches are more common among young patients.”
I have already texted parents with children currently in school to be on your guard for these, or any strange symptoms in your child. As you will be aware, children are strictly in bubbles within school, so, if any child is presenting with any symptoms above, we are contacting parents and urging you to book your child for a PCR (lab) test.
A few parents have expressed that they are regularly undertaking the rapid lateral flow tests with the family (LFT test) While this is useful if showing no symptoms - if symptomatic, the PCR test should be undertaken. There may also be problems accessing a PCR test. if this is the case and you have been asked by school to undertake a lab test, please let us know and we can forward you information to take to the test centre to identify that we have sent you for this.
The NHS website identifies this:
Getting a PCR test if you have no symptoms
You can also use this service if:
you’ve been in contact with someone who’s tested positive
you’ve been asked to get a test by a local council or someone from NHS Test and Trace
a GP or other professional has asked you to get a test
you’re taking part in a government pilot project
you’ve been asked to get a test to confirm a positive result
you’ve received an unclear result and were told to get a second test
you need to get a test for someone you live with who has symptoms
So please let us know if you have any difficulty in booking a test.
Have Faith….
As I said at the beginning of this blog - I completely understand how frustrated parents must be at being unable to join in with the usual lovely events at the end of a year. Believe me when I say, no-one feels more upset that your child’s class teachers. They are working so, so hard both in school to keep your child’s learning planned and delivered and not to let your child miss out on any of their usual school activities; and also at home, where they are trying to ensure they are isolating, not visiting busy places - sometimes not even seeing their own families, mindful that they HAVE to keep themselves as safe as possible to come into school to teach their class bubble each day. Our teachers love your children very much and they are trying their very best to keep them happy, safe and sheltered from so much that is happening in our community.
At this frightening time, have faith in our teachers: They are doing their very, very best; many times at personal expense! Have faith in each other: We are all doing what we can to stop the spread of this awful virus and of course… as the Gospel told us this weekend, have faith in Christ: No matter how much we worry, falter, and make mistakes; He is always there loving us.
What more can we ask for?
