Reducing ‘close contacts’ in schools

Sent to all heads today

Dear Colleagues,

We have had communication from Public Health South East regarding the high number of children across the Thames Valley and South East being sent home as a ‘close contact’ of a confirmed case of COVID-19 and missing weeks of school as a result. Public Health South East guidance states that:

A contact is a person who has had close contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19 during their infectious period (48 hours before to 10 days after onset of symptoms, or test if asymptomatic). This includes:
• a person who has had face-to-face contact (within 1 metre) with someone who has tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19), including:
o being coughed on, or
o having a face-to-face conversation, or
o having skin-to-skin physical contact, or
o any contact within one metre for one minute or longer without face-to-face contact
• a person who has been within 2 metres of someone who has tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19) for more than 15 minutes
• a person who has travelled in a small vehicle with someone who has tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19) or in a large vehicle near someone who has tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19)
• people who spend significant time in the same household as a person who has tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19)
Identification of contacts in an educational setting will depend on the arrangements the setting has in place to minimise mixing. In a primary school, this is likely to include the class teacher and other students in the bubble/class. Identifying contacts in a secondary school setting may be more complicated, given any necessary wider group mixing to allow for a full curriculum. If social distancing is in place this will reduce the number of contacts identified.

Public Health South East are requesting that schools aim to further reduce mixing of staff and pupils, to limit the number of pupils who fit the above ‘close contact’ criteria. To this end, Buckinghamshire Public Health team recommend that all schools:
• establish a consistent seating plan for all lessons (as much as possible in older secondary school classes, even with movement between classes)
• review mixing of pupils at lunchtime; consider pupils eating lunch at their set desk places or having set tables for classes bubbles in the dining hall with sufficient safe spacing between bubble groups
• allocate class bubbles different areas of the playground
• reiterate the importance of social distancing to teachers and support staff
• limit as much as possible the movement of TAs and how TAs mix with pupils, and record details of movement and mixing

We appreciate this is further work for schools and thank you for all you are doing already to ensure the safety of your pupils and staff.

Kind regards,
The Equalities and School Improvement Team