11^th December 2020

Dear Parent/Carer,

 It is wonderful to have had some positive news regarding COVID-19 recently, with a vaccine beginning to be rolled out for some of the most vulnerable people in our communities. Hopefully there will finally be some light at the end of the tunnel in regards to life returning to normal. However, in the meantime I still need your help in ensuring the following important reporting takes place in order that I can report any new cases to Public Health.

• For pupils who develop COVID-19 symptoms that start on the 19th or 20th December and then receive a positive test or pupils who have no symptoms but are tested and the result is positive (up to and including 25th December), please inform school immediately via the covid@moorside.calderdale.sch.uk email address.

• For pupils who develop symptoms and receive a positive test from the 21st December, close contacts will be identified by the Contact Tracing Service, rather than by school. However, please inform us of your results via the covid@moorside.calderdale.sch.uk email address and ensure that any isolation period is completed before returning to school.

• Pupils who need to continue their self-isolation into the new term should inform us of absence in the normal way (telephone call to school).

• Under no circumstances should any pupil return to school if they are exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms. Please arrange a test and inform school.

• If a member of your household develops symptoms, then the whole household needs to isolate for 14 days or until a negative result has been received.

 Please note that the covid@moorside.calderdale.sch.uk is a new email address that we are asking you to use during the dates that we have stated above. Voicemails will not be picked up during the Christmas period.

 You may have seen in the media that the Department for Education have advised that schools can opt to move a teacher training day to the last day of this term. We have decided not to do this as we do not feel that such short notice for an early closure is fair for our families who have faced so much disruption to their education and also with childcare issues this year and especially at a time with severely limited childcare options. We are continuing to work hard to catch all our children up after so much lost education, not only for academic reasons but also for pupil’s personal mental health and wellbeing. To clarify, we will be open as planned, on Friday 18^th December and will break up for Christmas at the end of the school day.

Once again, thank you for all the tremendous support and understanding you have shown school during this term. It has certainly not been easy but by working together it has been successful.

I really hope you all manage to have a restful holiday and are able to have some quality time with your families given the current restrictions that we are all subject to.

My very best wishes to you all and continue to stay safe.

Yours faithfully,

Mrs.  Higgs

Headteacher