Nexus COVID-19 Testing and Return to School

Lateral Flow Testing Programme at Nexus

Along with other protective measures we are taking, these tests will help our staff and students to remain in school safely.  As the current advice suggests that up to one third of people who have coronavirus experience no symptoms, regular testing of staff and students will help to stop the virus spread and keep our school open as safely as possible.  The test is voluntary, but we would encourage all students to engage in this programme.

The tests cannot be administered without parental consent.  If you have already completed the consent form then this will be used, however, if you haven’t completed the form; in order to provide consent, please complete the google form below.

Lateral Flow Device (LFD) tests have been widely and successfully used to detect COVID-19 in asymptomatic individuals. No test is perfect, but the speed and convenience of LFD tests supports detection of the virus in asymptomatic individuals who would not otherwise be tested. They are clinically approved and are crucial in the fight against the virus. As the tests are more sensitive with higher viral loads, there is a risk of returning a negative result when viral loads are low (e.g. in the early stages of infection). This is why Public Health England recommend two LFD tests 3 to 4 days apart, or regular testing, to enhance detection by picking up any cases which were not detected during the first test and to catch any new infections.

A program of testing will commence the w/b 8th March for all students returning to school. Please see the schedule below:

You will see on the schedule that students will be tested three times. On the first testing day students will arrive at an allocated time (please see below), have the test and then will leave to go home. If there are students who arrive on a school bus then they will be transported home on our mini buses after they have been tested, this is because we require a negative test prior to the students commencing school.  The students will then return to school the next day as long as their test was negative. The students will then complete two further tests in schools between 3 – 5 days after the previous test. After the third test the students will be given home testing kits to complete at home under supervision from an adult. Pupils not undergoing testing should attend school in line with the phased return details.

Tuesday 9 March – School Start Date for Years 7, 8, 9, 11, 12 and 13

• Students need to arrive by the first bell at 8.25am. The day will finish at 2.45pm. If you need to collect your child later than 2.45pm, please contact NEXUSReception@cambornescience.co.uk  to arrange for your child to remain for Supervised Study.
• Year 11 will attend the main site as usual on Tuesday.
• Students will need to wear their school uniform. They need to wear their PE kit on days when they have PE. Please see the attached uniform guidance as a reminder of our uniform expectations.
• Students need to wear a mask in their lessons and in all inside spaces. This is a government requirement.  Exemptions for this need to be carefully monitored.  If you would like to apply for an exemption, please make contact with Mrs Naomi Godolphin:   godolphinn@cambornescience.co.uk
• Regular hand sanitising will be expected. It is also possible for your child to use their own hand sanitisers.  Staff will need to ensure that hand sanitising happens on entry and exit to all classrooms.
• Face to face learning will commence on this date. Staff will have flexibility to deliver lessons at the front of the room without face masks. Staff will need to wear masks if they are circulating around the room.
• The pastoral team will be available to support your child’s return to school. If you would like to make contact with the pastoral team prior to Tuesday 9^th please do so by emailing Mrs Naomi Godolphin on:  godolphinn@cambornescience.co.uk

Wednesday 10 March – School Start Date for Year 10

Year 10 will return to school on Wednesday 10 March rather than Tuesday 9 in order to align with the main site return date for Year 10 students.  Year 10 students will have online learning provided on both Monday 8 and Tuesday 9 March.  All other arrangements for returning to school are the same as above for Year 10.

Co-curricular programme for Years 7, 8, 9 and 10

Due to the ongoing restrictions, unfortunately we are not able to offer the co-curricular programme for the remainder of this term. If you need to collect your child later than 2.45pm on Tuesdays – Thursdays, please contact NEXUSReception@cambornescience.co.uk  to arrange for your child to remain for Supervised Study.

Home Testing for Students  

Home testing kits for students will be available to take home on the third testing day at school. The students will be required to collect the home testing kit from their tutor. You need to consider where to store your kits when you get home. The test kits should be kept at a temperature of between approximately 2’C and 30’C and in a secure place to prevent authorised access.  You will be required to carry out twice weekly testing at home (3 to 4 days apart) before coming into the education setting in the morning. When testing at home, students aged 12-17 should self-test and report with adult supervision (the adult may conduct the test if necessary) and pupils aged 11 should be tested/swabbed by an adult.

If you test positive using a LFD, it is likely that you are infectious at that moment, whereas people testing positive on a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or lab-processed test could be in the less infectious early or late stages of disease. This means that by using the lateral flow test we can identify people with a high viral load who are the most likely to spread the virus further. A negative LFD result should not be read as a means to relax or ignore social distancing or other virus prevention measures intended to reduce transmission – LFD is an additional tool that contributes to reducing risk.

Once the test has been conducted you will log the test result online at the following link https://www.gov.uk/report-covid19-result and need to also, separately, inform school of the test result, this will be completed using this google form  https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeKSaDiDsmHmKYctE2a9obKSr08AYldR2KcT-Nk1yqeMiknlA/viewform

You will also receive a text/email notification of a positive or negative result from NHS Test & Trace. Tests are free of charge and will be provided by the school. If you have a positive LFD test result it is essential that you do not come into school and it is imperative that you email or call Fiona Rowles – Jane on rowles-janef@cambornescience.co.uk or 01209 712280 and further guidance will be provided.

Consent / Privacy 

Once students and parents understand the testing process if they choose to participate, they are committing to self-administer the test and provide their results. Schools should ensure that students provide their results (positive, negative or void) to NHS Test and Trace via the self-report gov.uk page. Results should also be shared with school to support local contact tracing.

Students who decline to participate can still attend school if not symptomatic.

People who decline to participate in this testing programme should follow the usual national guidelines on self-isolation and anyone should get tested if they show symptoms.

We are very much looking forward to welcoming your child back to Nexus.  Please be reassured that we will do all we can to ensure the safety and well-being of your child.  I hope your child is looking forward to returning to school and is looking forward to seeing their friends and teachers.