KEY INFORMATION:
Ryburn is reopening to students with a staggered start across year groups.
Years 7 & 12 return on Wednesday 8 September
Years 10, 11 & 13 return on Thursday 9 September
Years 8 & 9 return on Friday 10 September
The reopening is supported by a series of covid tests for students. The first of these will take place the day before your child returns by drop in between 8am-6pm. Please read the details below.
We hope you and your families have had a lovely Summer break. Looking ahead to the new term we are excited for the return to school, where a greater level of normality and stability is, hopefully, expected.
We will be writing to you again on Monday 6 September to confirm arrangements for returning to school, this email is regarding the lateral flow testing taking place prior to your childs’ return date.
The government requires that secondary schools offer students two rapid lateral flow tests (LFT) in school. The first test will be done prior to any return to the classroom. Following the two tests, students will be able to access home testing kits, as the majority of students did last year. These should be administered twice weekly throughout the month of September in the first instance.
In order to conduct these tests with the necessary space and staffing, Ryburn will stagger the return of students in year groups. Please check the dates and ensure you know the correct date for your child’s year group. All school buses will run from Wednesday 8 September, please ensure your child has the necessary bus pass for their return. More details are available here and a direct link to the operator is A-Z School Finder | Metro (wymetro.com).
The table below details when your child will be offered their lateral flow tests, and the date they will return to school. We need to keep year groups separate to enable the in-school testing, as a result if you have children in different year groups (outside the groups below) it is not possible to take the tests at the same time. For students in Year 7 we ask parents/carers to attend with their child, in all other year groups students can attend on their own if preferred.
TEST DATES FOR STUDENTS
| Year Groups | First LFT (drop-in 8am-6pm) | *Return to School (8:55am - 3:15pm) | Second LFT (in school) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 & 12 | Tuesday 7 September | Wednesday 8 September (Year 12 will start at 10am) | Friday 10 September |
| 10,11 & 13 | Wednesday 8 September | Thursday 9 September | Monday 13 September |
| 8 & 9 | Thursday 9 September | Friday 10 September | Tuesday 14 September |
* The Canteen and Library will be open from 8am each day
This offer of testing is completely voluntary; however, we would encourage parents to consent as it is an additional method to support in keeping transmission rates as low as possible and identifying any possible infections from over the Summer break.
If your child or any member of your family has any of the symptoms of Covid-19, you should book a test at one of the testing centres which are more accurate in identifying the virus in the early stages. Any student with symptoms should self-isolate until the PCR is returned.
Test One Arrangements
Testing will be open from 8am until 6pm on your childs’ allocated day, there is no need to book an appointment time.
Parental attendance is voluntary for students in Years 8 to 13, students in Year 7 should be accompanied by an adult.
Consent
Parents / carers of students in Year 7 and those new to Year 12 need to follow the link above to confirm consent for their child to take the tests.
If you have previously consented to lateral flow testing, you do not need to complete the form again - this consent will still be applicable. If you wish to change your preference, such as if you did not previously give consent, but now wish to do so, please complete the form with your new choice.
Any student who does not attend test one will not be given test two without additional authorisation and school will assume consent is withdrawn.
Students will take the test at school then return home immediately following the test. These tests involve students taking their own nose swabs whilst trained staff oversee the process and analyse the results. Test two will take place in school where students will be withdrawn from a lesson for a short period of time.
What happens if my child tests positive?
We will contact you if your child has a positive test result - if you do not hear from us you can assume the result was negative. Once we move to the in-school test you should also be aware that we cannot guarantee confidentiality of the result as we would need to remove your child from their lesson.
Changes to self isolation and close contact tracing
Following the changes to self isolation on 16 August, students under the age of 18 years and 6 months are no longer required to self-isolate, even if they have been identified as a close contact of a positive case. Instead, parents are advised to book a PCR test.
Students can continue to attend school until the results of this test are known unless they have any symptoms of Covid-19. However, if your child is a close contact and has symptoms then they should self isolate until the test results are returned.
What is an outbreak?
All work on identifying close contacts will initially be done by Test and Trace, and the requirement of schools to contact trace has been removed. However, although self isolation rules have changed, we may still be required to work with Public Health in terms of any outbreak identified.
An outbreak is defined as two or more linked cases in a setting. That means that it is likely someone in the setting has caught Covid-19 from someone else in the setting. When there are high rates of Covid-19 in the community, you may see a number of cases in the setting, without evidence that transmission has occurred within the setting. This is known as a cluster.
When there is an outbreak, it may be necessary to take extra steps to prevent the virus spreading further to prevent harm to the public’s health.
Current Department for Education guidance states that extra action should only be considered when either of the below thresholds is met:
5 students or staff, who are likely to have mixed closely, test positive for Covid-19 within a 10-day period
10% of students or staff who are likely to have mixed closely test positive for Covid-19 within a 10-day period
As extra testing at the beginning of term in Secondary and Post-16 settings will potentially identify large numbers of cases, DfE guidance is that escalation measures should not be enacted in the first 4 weeks of term in these settings, even if outbreak thresholds are met.
If an outbreak is identified by Public Health then please be aware that the school may need to take additional action, including potential short term year group / class closures. Our Covid-19 risk assessment and Contingency Plan will also be updated on our website prior to the return of students.
For students who are required to self-isolate our Home Learning Grid will be available. Students in Years 11 to 13 will also have access to remote lessons where appropriate.
If you have any questions regarding the testing process please contact our Deputy Headteacher, Mr I Curry.
Thank you for your continued support, we really look forward to welcoming your children back into school in September.