Home Covid-19 testing for students at SRS
As you will obviously be aware, when the students returned to school from Monday 8th March onwards, we began our in-school lateral flow testing programme. Over the past two weeks, this has meant that we have carried out approximately 6,000 tests for students in Years 7-13. This whole process has run extremely smoothly and I want to thank you for your support.
We are now moving on to using home testing kits twice weekly. The purpose of this letter is to give you details as to how this system will operate.
Please note that should your son or daughter have tested positive for Covid-19 within the last 90 days, they do not need to re-test until this period of time has elapsed. We will, however, send home testing kits home with all students.
Students are bringing home with them home testing kits. These kits are enough to ensure your son or daughter is able to test twice weekly up until the Easter holiday. We would also like your son or daughter to continue testing twice a week, at home, throughout the Easter school holidays. We hope to be able to send home extra kits for Easter holiday before term ends. Each kit has instructions which give you all the details you need to support your son or daughter in carrying out the testing process.
Students should test every Sunday and Thursday evening and report their result straightaway via the GOV.UK website at https://www.gov.uk/report-covid19-result, even if the result is negative or void. Results can also be reported via telephone by calling 119 (free from mobiles and landlines). Lines are open every day, 7am to 11pm. You only need to inform the school if your son or daughter records a positive result and this should be done by emailing us at office@sydneyrussellschool.com. In addition, following a positive lateral flow test result, your son or daughter will need to take a PCR test at any local testing centre to confirm their result.
Up to one in three people who have COVID-19 have no symptoms and could be spreading it without knowing. Getting into a regular habit of testing twice a week will help stop the virus spreading, keeping your family and friends safer. This does not replace testing for those with symptoms. If you have symptoms, you must self-isolate immediately, book a PCR test and follow national guideline.
