As you will be aware, the school underwent the first round of testing as part of the national Covid-19 study. This went well, with children participating confidently but also with impeccable attitudes which was identified and shared by the team who delivered the programme.
We know that the infection rate in Gateshead is high and that our local area is actually even higher. However, after testing approximately a third of the school, we only had one positive case. This, of course, resulted in a class closure but it ultimately meant that the wider community was protected from potential further exposure. We believe that all the measures we have implemented by following a robust Risk Assessment, in conjunction with the Local Authority and Public Health, helps minimise the spread. I would like to thank families who support us in our aims to be safe by following national and school guidance. We will ensure that we are not complacent in these matters as it is essential that we continue to work together to keep the rate of infection limited.
Please be aware that we have been told, antibody results may take up to 6 weeks before anything is available for you to see in your personal online portal.
We now have dates for Round 2 of the study which will take place on Monday 30th November – Wednesday 2nd December.
For those who have already signed up, we will send you a text to confirm that you don’t need to do anything further.
We will send a text to invite those who have not registered presently in case people would like to do so this time. Please remember that this is a voluntary study and anyone who does not want to take part can simply ignore the information.
It is important to understand that any possible positive case would inevitably lead to isolation for identified close contacts (e.g. a class) but we have ensured that the testing dates are early enough so that any isolation period would not fall over the Christmas holidays.
Thank you for your support,
Mr Malik
