COVID-19 Arrangements for the Christmas Holidays

The Christmas holidays for schools across Tayside begin on Wednesday 23 December 2020 until Thursday 7 January 2021.

Please ensure that your child’s school has up-to-date mobile telephone contacts for all parents/carers in the household by Friday 18 December 2020 at the latest.

What to do if Your Child Becomes Unwell

If your child(ren) develops symptoms of COVID-19 during the school holidays, the sources of advice and support, as well as the requirement to self-isolate and routes to COVID-19 testing remain unchanged.

If your child becomes unwell at any time with:

• A new, continuous cough
• A fever
• A change in or loss of sense of smell or taste

the whole household should self-isolate and anyone else in the household with symptoms listed above should also be tested.

Further information on self-isolation and how to book a test can be found on the NHS Inform website on this link: NHS Inform Covid-19 

Contact Tracing

The process for contact tracing for staff/children who test positive for a COVID-19 result over the Christmas holiday period will be slightly different to term time. You will be contacted directly by Test and Protect rather than by the school, and they will look to identify all close contacts of your child from the time your child became infectious.

If they are able to do so, your child will be asked to provide details of any contacts they may have had in school. You will be asked to provide this information on behalf of your child, if they are unable to do so themselves. The information you may be asked for will include:

• Class name/year group
• Dates of attendance at school
• Names of contacts in class and at break/lunchtime for the final week of term (older primary and secondary)
• Subjects attended (secondary only)
• If your child uses school transport, and if so, details of the transport operator (if known).

You will not be required to provide contact details for close contacts of your child, unless these are easily obtained. As schools will be closed, your local authority ‘on-call’ teams will assist NHS Tayside’s Test and Protect Team and provide this information separately.

If your child is identified as a Close Contact

If your child is identified as a close contact of a positive COVID-19 case, you will receive a telephone call from NHS Tayside’s Test and Protect Team to inform you that your child is required to self-isolate and for how long.  Unfortunately, this may also mean that you may have to alter plans for Christmas in order to keep other family members safe.

Sources of Advice and Support

NHS Tayside’s Test and Protect Team operates from 8am until 8pm seven days a week but will be operating reduced hours (9am until 5pm) over the Festive period. The contact number for the Tayside Contact Tracing Team is 01382 424061.

If you require further advice during the festive period, please contact the National COVID-19 Helpline (0800 028 2816).

If you require support in order to self-isolate, you can find details of assistance available in your local authority area on www.TaysideCares.co.uk or from Perth & Kinross Council’s website www.pkc.gov.uk

I wish you and your family a safe Christmas and a Happy New Year and look forward to welcoming our pupils back to school in January.