Covid-19 Update – Testing on Return to College in September Years 8-11
Since March students whose parents/carers have given consent to take lateral flow device 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 I would like to 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 at the start of the new academic year. There are three options for you to consider:
Option 1: testing at home before the new term starts
If your child has had no issues taking the home tests and you have had no issues logging the results, we ask you to ensure your child takes a test on the evening of Thursday, 02.09.21 prior to returning to College on Friday, 03.09.21. 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 summer from a pharmacy or alternatively order them online. On your child’s first day back in College on
Friday, 03.09.21 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 September. 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 twice on-site in college on their return in September. If you would like your child to have their first two tests in September done on-site in college, let us know by
completing this Google Form by 3pm on Tuesday, 20.07.21 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 these two tests are done your child will be issued with a home test kit so they can be involved in home testing throughout September as
described above.
Option 3: new to testing
If your child has not previously taken part in-home testing but you would now like your child to participate, the option for them to take two tests on-site in college on their return in September is also open to them. After the first two tests, they will be issued a test kit for involvement in-home testing throughout September. If you would like for your child to have their first two tests in September 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 Tuesday, 20.07.21.
The initial testing in school is an important strategy to stop the virus from spreading again in September. Whilst many of the COVID rules will be relaxed over the summer, it is still a highly contagious disease and it is important that positive cases can be identified to break the chain of transmission.
We have had a very high uptake and I would like to 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 at the start of the new academic year. There are three options for you to consider: