Education guidance

Further information is being offered for parents / carers of children under the age of 18 or dependent adults who test positive for COVID-19, to help try and reduce the spread within the household. Read more here: Advice for children letter

Latest updates

Tuesday 25 January 2022

Following the CCA announcement Tuesday 25 February 2022, Education has confirmed that it will no longer be compulsory for secondary and post-16 students and staff, and staff in primary schools, to wear face coverings in communal areas. However, in line with CCA advice it is recommended that they continue to be worn in enclosed communal spaces such as corridors.

There is no longer an expectation that parents and carers wear face coverings when attending school grounds for drop-off/collection.

Parents are asked to continue supporting guidance on the use of LFTs, as the current surveillance testing request remains in place. This will be regularly reviewed by Education and Public Health.

Monday 17 January 2022

Education has announced a planned relaxation of measures in schools, removing classroom bubbles and re-introducing extra-curricular activities among other changes.

From Monday 17 January 2022, the management of the implications of COVID-19 in education settings will include:

• Secondary and post-16 students asked to take daily LFTs before attending
• Primary students asked to take an LFT on Monday, Wednesday and Friday before attending school
• Staff in all settings asked to take daily LFTs before attending
• As an additional mitigation following the removal of the package of enhanced measures, face coverings will now be expected in classrooms and teaching spaces in secondary and post-16 settings. They remain compulsory in communal areas for all staff and for secondary and post-16 students and for staff in communal areas within primary schools.

Measures in place since the start of term that are being removed include:

• Classroom bubbles
• School-run extra-curricular clubs and activities can resume
• On-island trips from one school to another (so to take part in swimming at another school, for example) can resume

Schools will contact parents and carers to provide further information relevant to the implementation of these measures at their child’s school.

Parents and carers are also asked to continue wearing face coverings when on school grounds, and we thank everyone for the excellent take-up of this last term.

Attending education settings while in enhanced passive follow-up

Students who have been diagnosed as a positive case are able to return to school on day 7 following a negative LFT on day 6 and day 7 and as long as they are symptom-free; however they are only permitted to attend core educational provision until they are out of enhanced passive follow-up. This means that they should not attend any club, group or activity during this period of enhanced passive follow-up.

Staff are also able to attend if they are in enhanced passive follow-up provided a risk assessment has been undertaken and appropriate mitigations are in place, including the wearing of a face covering and ensuring teaching spaces are well ventilated.

Nick Hynes, Director of Education, said:

‘I would like to thank all those involved in the delivery of education – staff, students, parents and carers – for helping us with the package of measures we put in place for the new term. They were designed to get us through the first couple of weeks of term and the current signs are positive, which is why we’ve taken the decision to try and move back to what we hope and think will feel like a more normal educational experience. Removing the classroom bubbles is key to that, but as ever we need to ensure that appropriate measures are in place which is why we’re enhancing the current position around face coverings in class within a secondary or post-16 environment and asking everyone to support an enhanced lateral flow testing regime.

‘The start of term has been successful in terms of our core priority of minimising disruption to young people’s education, but we’re happy that the positive signs seen across the community with case numbers falling means these relaxations can come into effect on Monday.’

If your child is identified as a contact of a positive case, you will receive a letter from Director of Public Health Dr Nicola Brink MBE. This letter will be sent to you from the school and it will contain information and guidance on the steps we would ask you to take.

When a student or member of staff tests positive for COVID-19 having been in school, we will identify those who have come into contact with them during what is a called the ‘period of interest’ for Public Health. In most cases, this will be limited to those who have shared a classroom with the positive case during lessons.

Any student identified as a contact can continue to attend education, providing that they remain well with no symptoms of COVID-19.

The intention of Public Health is to keep students in school who have been identified as contacts of a positive case, to avoid disruption to their education, as long as they do not have COVID-19 symptoms and carry out lateral flow tests every morning before attending school for a 10-day period.

Children can still attend all in-school or outside school activities/sports/clubs/events during the 10 days in which they are taking daily lateral flow tests. Please note: young people in enhanced passive follow-up (diagnosed with covid but symptom-free and negative LFTs on Day 6 and Day 7) are able to attend school for core educational purposes between day 7 and day 10 of their isolation but cannot attend extra-curricular/outside school activities during that time.

Based on the current guidance there are no specific limitations on the running of clubs and out of school activities.

There are no limitations on young people attending out of school clubs, however we’d encourage each club to risk access their activities and put any sensible measures in place. For example this could include asking people to LFT before attending, ensuring distancing where possible, likewise face coverings, ensuring good ventilation, handwashing etc.

Please note: young people in enhanced passive follow-up (diagnosed with covid but symptom-free and negative LFTs on Day 6 and Day 7) are able to attend school for core educational purposes between day 7 and day 10 of their isolation but cannot attend extra-curricular/outside school activities during that time.

Information about organising events can be found here: Organising Events | States of Guernsey - COVID-19 (gov.gg)

It is important that everyone continues to maintain good hand hygiene. A poster showing how to wash your hands properly is available to download from this page.