An important control in safely attending school is of course obstructing transmission of coronavirus. A range of measures assist this, including social distancing, ventilation of spaces, hand washing, isolation and testing of anyone with symptoms, and isolation for 10 days of anyone who has been in close contact with others confirmed positive for the virus.

But, with around one-third of people who are infected with coronavirus being asymptomatic, this presents an additional, unseen danger of infecting others. This becomes much safer if asymptomatic cases are made visible, which is why regular rapid ‘lateral flow’ testing of students and staff is becoming available.

The rapid test stations we will be using have been established at Swiss Cottage School NW3 and The Crowndale Centre NW1 and involves swabbing of the nose and throat, with swabs then being processed, which takes about 30 minutes in total. Parents are informed of any positive result, and if at any point your child tests positive he/she would isolate. 

The overall benefits of students participating, with parents’ consent, in this testing are great- especially in the smaller settings we work in. We strongly urge parents to please then to provide this using our consent/registration form here. Young people over 16 can complete this form themselves. 

We have attached some further information and FAQs below