Due to an increase in local case numbers, Calderdale Public Health are asking students, staff and family members at local secondary schools to participate in extra surge testing for Covid-19. Please read this information carefully for how this will work at Ryburn next week.
We would like to thank all students, parents, carers and the local community for your support since the return from the half term break. Students have shown hard work and commitment and a real resilience as we head towards the last few weeks of the academic year. Throughout the pandemic we have worked closely with Calderdale Public Health for guidance and support and to ensure all decisions are made with the safety of our students and staff in mind.
The local picture in terms of cases of the new “delta” variant is seeing a rapid increase in cases in Calderdale and surrounding boroughs, particularly within school aged children. As a result we have been contacted by Calderdale Public Health to run a programme of PCR surge testing. This has already been started in several of the local secondary schools.
Deborah Harkins, Director of Public Health, has written a letter to parents and carers explaining some of the rationale behind the use of PCR surge testing in secondary schools.
HOW WILL THE SURGE TESTING WORK?
The surge testing of all Ryburn students, families and staff will work as follows:
On Tuesday, students will be provided with four PCR tests to take home and complete on Tuesday evening. You need to register each test online here. See the instructions below.
The completed tests must be returned to school on Wednesday for collection by the Public Health Team.
The test is the standard PCR test so will require both a nose and throat swab.
This is completely voluntary and any families who do not wish to participate do not need to do so.
If either of these apply to you, please let us know via the form linked below:
if you DO NOT wish for your family to participate in the programme. If you do not complete the form, we will assume that you wish to participate.
if you need more than four PCR tests for your household, then please indicate on this form. If there are less than 4 members of your household (or you have multiple children in school) then you may keep any surplus tests for future use, they do not need to be returned to school.
Students and parents are not required to self-isolate whilst they are waiting for their test results so students can still attend school as normal unless they have any Covid-19 symptoms.
Please note that you should NOT complete a PCR test if you have already tested positive within the last 6 months.
All students who are participating in the regular Lateral Flow testing should still complete the Sunday afternoon one as usual. The PCR surge test will replace Wednesday evening’s test next week.
Registering your tests
You will need to register each of your tests separately, using the link and instructions below. As this is being done using postal kits there are some anomalies on the website so please follow these instructions very carefully. In particular, the kits do not have a postal number so some sections of the form should be disregarded.
If you have difficulty completing the registration online then please contact Mr Thorley who will be able to assist you.
How to register your tests
View these instructions as a PDF.
If you have any questions regarding the PCR surge testing programme please contact Calderdale Public Health.
Test results
All test results will be returned directly to yourselves, not via the school. If you or a family member tests positive then you will need to start the process of self isolation with all your identified close contacts.
If you receive a positive notification for your child during the school day then please contact the school by telephone as soon as possible. We can then immediately start the process of contact tracing using the school procedure as directed by Public Health England. If a positive result is recorded at an evening or weekend please report it on our website.
Please be aware that during the period of testing the school may need to close classes or possibly whole year groups - if this is required then we will move to our remote learning schedule (including live lessons and/or the home learning grid).
We thank you for your continued support.