What should I do if my child is displaying symptoms of COVID-19?
What should I do if my child is displaying symptoms of COVID-19?
Should your child display any of the symptoms listed below, they should stay at home and not come into school. Please call us as soon as you can, and tell us the symptoms that are being displayed.
The main symptoms of coronavirus are:
- a high temperature – this means you feel hot to touch on your chest or back (you do not need to measure your temperature)
- a new, continuous cough – this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours (if you usually have a cough, it may be worse than usual)
- a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste – this means you've noticed you cannot smell or taste anything, or things smell or taste different to normal.
Most people with coronavirus have at least 1 of these symptoms.
We ask that you get a test for your child immediately using the following link:
Your child (and siblings) must stay at home pending the result of the test. If the test result is negative they can return to school, provided they feel well and have not had a fever for 48 hours; if the test is positive they should isolate at home for 10 days starting from the first day of their symptoms, and the rest of the household for 14 days.
Please let school know as soon as you can regarding the outcome of the test - we can only allow children to return to school once we have had confirmation from you that the result is negative.
Can my child go to school with a cold?
Typical symptoms of a cold, such as a runny nose or a sore throat, are not considered symptoms of coronavirus, and as such, children do not need to be kept off school. I do appreciate that coughs often accompany colds, and my advice is to use the specific NHS guidance above in order to try to determine whether the cough is continuous - this guidance is the most specific that I can find, and I think it is a case of using your judgement as a parent and knowledge of your child as to whether they may meet this definition.
Should a child come to school if a member of their household is unwell?
No. If a member of the child’s household is unwell with COVID-19 symptoms then the child member should isolate for 14 days starting from the day the household member(s) became ill. If the child subsequently develops symptoms than they should isolate for at least 10 days from the date they developed symptoms. The household member(s) should be tested within 5 days of symptom onset. If all symptomatic household members test negative, the child can return to school.
