Dear Parent/Carer,
The Welsh Government has recently announced that a free and voluntary programme of asymptomatic COVID-19 testing will be available in education and childcare settings across Wales. This offer is available to all staff and pupils in years 7-13.
Along with the primary infection control measures we have implemented, such as social distancing, ventilation, contact groups and good hand hygiene, testing will allow us to provide some additional reassurance to the wider school community.
Up to one in three people who have COVID-19 have the virus without symptoms so could be transmitting the virus unknowingly. Part of controlling the spread of the virus requires identifying those infectious individuals who aren’t showing and symptoms and asking them to self-isolate. Lateral Flow Device (LFD) tests have been widely and successfully used to detect COVID-19 in asymptomatic individuals. 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 it is recommended that two LFD tests are taken 3 days apart, on a Sunday and a Wednesday evening after 6pm, to enhance detection by picking up any cases which were not detected during the first test and to catch any new infections.
If you test positive using a LFD, it is likely that you are infectious and you must self-isolate immediately and book and take a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test within 24 hours of your positive LFD test result. Contact tracing will be triggered following a positive LFD and your close contacts will be required to self-isolate until you receive your PCR test result, if the PCR test result is positive you and your close contacts will have to self-isolate.
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.
How the tests work
If you agree to take part, an online consent form will need to be completed, your child will then be able to collect a pack of LFD test kits from school this week which will enable self-testing from home. Tests should be taken 3 to 4 days apart and ideally the tests should be taken as close to coming into school as possible. The LFDs supplied do not require laboratory processing and can provide a quick result in around 30 minutes. Comprehensive guidance on self-testing is contained in the ‘Instructions for Use’ leaflet which comes with the test kit.
Once the test has been conducted each test result must be logged online at www.gov.uk/report-covid19-result and any Positive result reported on a Google Form sent via your child’s school email account. The reason for two reports is to inform the school of the result as we do not have access to the NHS database and require rapid notice of a positive case.
Purpose of testing
It is important to highlight that the purposes of the testing policy in education and childcare in Wales is to complement the primary control measures (such as social distancing, ventilation, contact groups and face coverings) that have already been put in place to enable face to face learning / care to continue and to:
- Rapidly identify those who are regularly on site during school hours, who are unknowingly carrying the virus and ask them to self-isolate to reduce disruption to face to face education.
- Complement symptomatic results data with asymptomatic results data to provide a picture of infection rates as marker for the effectiveness, and implementation of, primary control measures and to assist in the early identification of clusters. In addition to a range of other data and public health advice this information can be used to inform national policy decisions.
The testing policy for education and childcare should not be viewed as a ‘test to enable’ or ‘test to return’ to face to face learning i.e. it is not a condition of coming on to the site or accessing learning/care. Additionally, this testing offer is entirely voluntary.
Consent / Privacy
All individuals wishing to take part should familiarise themselves with the testing process and privacy notice, if you choose to participate, you are committing to self-administer the test and provide results for all tests (negative or positive).
With our primary protective measures and testing, we will help to reduce the spread of the virus. I am therefore strongly encouraging all staff and learners to take the tests. However, anyone who chooses not to participate should still attend school if they are not displaying symptoms.
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.
Next steps:
- Please read the linked testing process, FAQ's and privacy notice
- Discuss participation in the testing programme with your child
- Complete the Google Form sent to your child’s school email account to let us know your decision
- Pupils who have registered to opt in will be issued with a test kit from school later this week to be used for the first time on Sunday 25 April after 6pm.
Yours faithfully,
Mr C Bown
Deputy Headteacher
