As of 17th January, the new guidance for Close Contacts recommends that you carry out daily lateral flow tests on your child for 7 days, if they have been in school, to ensure that they have not contracted COVID. As long as your child has a negative result each day, they are able to attend school.

The recommendation to have a PCR is no longer relevant unless your child displays symptoms. If they do, this is when a PCR should be immediately booked and your child kept off school until the results are received.

Should your child receive a positive result at any point, either via an LFT or PCR, this needs to be registered on the NHS website (if it is a PCR test this will be done automatically). If a positive result is received, please inform the school as soon as possible by sending an e-mail to enquiries@putteridgeprimaryschool.org.uk and in the subject line please put URGENT POSITIVE COVID CASE.

Your child would then need to isolate, with follow up LFT's being taken 24 hours apart on day 5 and day 6 of their isolation period. If the tests on both day 5 and day 6 provide negative results, then the isolation period is able to end. If they are showing as positive on either day 5 and/or day 6, your child will need to continue to isolate until they have 2 consecutive days of negative LFTs (taken 24 hours apart) or they reach the end of the 10-day isolation period.

The same process applies for any contact with a COVID case, whether inside or outside of school.

The flow chart below shows an illustrated guide of how this works.