Covid-19 Update – Testing on Return to College in January
Since March, students whose parents/carers have given consent for them to take lateral flow tests have been doing so twice a week at home to detect asymptomatic cases of COVID-19 with parents/carers reporting the results and logging them on the NHS Website and College’s Logging Site. We have had a very high uptake and we thank you for your response.
As part of the next stage of the response to the pandemic, schools have been asked to offer COVID-19 tests to students on return after the Christmas break. There are three options for you to consider:
Option 1: testing at home before the new term starts
If your child has been taking part in home testing with no issues and you have had no issues logging the results, we ask you to ensure your child takes a test on the evening of Tuesday, 04.01.22 prior to returning to College on Wednesday, 05.01.22. To do this you will either need to save a test from a pack your child has already been issued, collect additional tests over the Christmas break from a pharmacy or alternatively order them online. In your child’s second week back in College we will then issue them a further home test kit and ask that you follow Government guidance by continuing home testing for the month of January. We continue to recommend students take their tests, either on a Sunday evening or a Monday morning and either on a Wednesday evening or a Thursday morning.
Option 2: support with testing in school as the new term starts
If your child has been taking part in home testing but you have experienced issues, either with them taking the tests or with logging the test results, we would like to offer the option for them to test once on-site in college on their return in January.
If you would like your child to have their first test in January done on-site in college, let us know by completing this Google Form by 3pm on Thursday, 16.12.21 Students will be asked to self-swab and process the test in a designated area. A trained staff member will then monitor the test result as it develops, allowing the student to return to class. The staff member will read and report the result on the students’ behalf. After this test is done your child will be issued with a home test kit so they can be involved in home testing throughout January as described above.
Option 3: new to testing
If your child has not previously taken part in home testing but you would now like them to participate, the option for them to take a test on-site in college on their return in January is also open to them. After the test they will be issued a test kit for involvement in home testing throughout January.
If you would like for your child to have a test in January done on-site in college, please read the attached COVID-19 testing privacy statement detailing the data we will need to collect from you and how it will be treated. If after reading this document you wish to give your consent for your child to take part in the testing programme then please complete the Consent form for Student COVID-19 testing at Denton Community College by 3pm on Thursday, 16.01.21.
The initial testing in school is an important strategy to stop the virus spreading again in January.
Denton Community College COVID-19 Testing Privacy Statement (2)