Happy
New Year!
We’re looking forward to welcoming you
back to Blackburn College in January 2022.
Covid-19 continues to be with us and
therefore we ask you to take the following precautions before you
return to College.
Take
a Lateral Flow Test
A Lateral Flow Test should be performed before you
attend College and before your
classes re-start from Wednesday 5th January 2022.
If you do not have a test kit they are
available to collect from College reception and entrance areas from Tuesday 4th January
2022.
You should record your results in two
places. Register your result at www.gov.uk and the Blackburn College
website.
Register your results here:
Report a COVID-19 rapid lateral flow test result - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Home Test Results | Blackburn College
You should then continue testing twice
weekly at home and to report all results using the links above.
Masks
and Face Coverings
When you return to College,
face-coverings and masks will need to be worn in classrooms as well as in
communal areas. The advice is short term only, to support students and teachers
as they return to College this term and affects all Schools and Colleges in
England. The advice on face coverings in classrooms will be in place until
Wednesday 26 January 2022.
We will have spare masks and face
coverings available for you when you attend College from Wednesday 5th January
2022 but you should try and bring your own with you and ensure you wear your
mask/face covering if you are travelling to College using public transport.
Hand-sanitiser
and Hand Washing
Washing your hands and using
hand-sanitiser helps control the virus spread. Please ensure you use
hand-sanitiser regularly and when you enter our buildings and practise regular
and thorough hand-washing.
Exams and assessments in January 2022
All
examinations in January 2022 will take place and students are required to
attend. If you have any questions or concerns please liaise directly with
your Personal Tutor.
The
main symptoms of coronavirus (Covid-19) 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
What
to do if you have symptoms
If you have any of the main symptoms of
Covid-19, even if they're mild:
- Get a PCR
test (test that is sent to a lab) to check if you have Covid-19 as soon as
possible.
- Stay at home,
do not come into College and do not have visitors (self-isolate) until you
get your test result – only leave your home to have a test.
- Let your
Personal Tutor know that you will not be attending College until you get
your results.
Information
on the changes to the self-isolation period for individuals who test positive
for Covid-19
Since the end of December, the 10
day-self-isolation period for people who record a positive test result for
Covid-19 has been reduced to 7 days in most circumstances, unless you cannot
test for any reason.
If you test positive you should take
Lateral Flow Tests on day 6 and day 7 of your self-isolation period.
If you receive two negative test
results are no longer required to complete 10 full days of self-isolation. The
first test must be taken no earlier than day 6 of the self-isolation period and
tests must be taken 24 hours apart.
If both these test results are
negative, and you do not have a high temperature, you may end your self-isolation
after the second negative test result and return to your education setting from
day 8.
If these tests remain positive you
should continue your self-isolation until day 10.
Vaccinations
As part of national guidance, 16 and 17
year olds are now being encouraged to come forward and have their second dose
of the COVID-19 vaccine. The young adults of Blackburn with Darwen are now
able to play their part in helping us return to normal life by getting their
Covid-19 vaccination.
