Wednesday 06 April 2022
Education has provided updated guidance for schools on COVID-19 mitigations that will be in place after the upcoming Easter holidays.
These represent a further relaxation of some of the measures that have been in place.
When education returns after the Easter holidays, there will be no routine surveillance testing taking place across settings. Students and staff are still encouraged to take an LFT if they are symptomatic (if the first test is negative, please stay at home and repeat after 24 hours), or if they are the household contact of a positive case (please LFT for seven days). Non-household contacts do not need to test unless symptomatic. This aligns with the wider community guidance now in place.
However, all students and staff are asked to take an LFT the day before they return to schools after Easter and another on the day of return.
Further measures in place after Easter include:
- Initially, for the first week of term, it is expected that face coverings are worn by staff and students in classrooms and communal in secondary and post-16 settings. This is a precautionary measure to maintain operational delivery and will be reviewed very closely.
- Staff in primary schools are expected to wear face coverings in situations indoors where physical distancing between adults is not possible.
- Face coverings for students in Years 7 - 13 should be worn on school transport, this includes any transport offsite during the school day. Younger children who are able to wear a face covering should be supported to do so.
- Anyone receiving a positive LFT result is asked to:
- -Please notify the States of Guernsey via either the online form at https://gov.gg/covidnotification or the clinical helpline (01481 220001 or 01481 220002).
- -You will receive a confirmation email. All positive cases will be requested to stay at home for 10 days with early release if they are asymptomatic and LFT negative from day 5 and again 24 hours later. This is voluntary - we are asking the community to work together to keep everyone safe.
- -You will be asked to notify your close contacts
Education has also provided guidance on exams, as GCSE, A-Level and IB examinations will start after Easter.
Students will not be required to test prior to each exam. However, students should continue to have access to LFTs in case they become symptomatic. If a student has symptoms but feels well enough to take an exam, they should take a lateral flow test. If negative they can sit their exam but are asked to please notify a relevant teacher. Students testing positive will not be allowed to attend exams, and support will be available to arrange an alternative.
