Dear parent/carer,
On Thursday of last week, we were informed that the rollout of vaccinations for 12-15-year-olds would commence imminently. We are now aware that the School Age Immunisation Service (SAIS) will visit school on Thursday 7 October to deliver the vaccine to those students for whom they have received notification of consent from their parents/carers. Please be aware that the vaccination is only for children aged between 12 and 15 on the day of the school visit. As of 27 September, any child who is 16 or over can book a vaccination on the NHS website, via this link.
In order to assist you to make an informed decision as to whether you wish to consent to the vaccination for your child, the NHS and UK Health Security Agency have produced some guidance for parents. A link to this can be found here.
In my letters dated 14 and 17 September, I explained that my aim is to ensure that we do all we can as a school to support the highest levels of attendance and minimise disruption to learning. Given that the vaccination has been suggested as a further strategy to reduce transmission, I would like to ask for your support as parents in carefully considering whether you would agree for your child to receive the vaccination next week. However, I do understand that there are a wide range of views and where consent is not provided a vaccination will not be given by the SAIS. Please be aware, however, that all forms should be returned, even where consent is not being provided.
Paper copies of the consent form will be given to all eligible students in school on Wednesday morning, even for those children where consent has not been given by parents in the past. However, if you would like a copy of this document in advance, a copy can be found here. This needs to be completed and returned to form tutors no later than 12.00 noon on Monday 4 October. Where consent is given, this must be accompanied by the pre-screen questions (‘checklist for children aged 12 to 15 year being vaccinated in schools’). Again, a paper copy of this will be issued to students on Wednesday but these questions are also available at the bottom of this letter.
In order to prepare for the vaccinations, we are liaising with relevant health professionals regarding the specific arrangements for next Thursday. We know that if we have all eligible students consenting for a vaccination, it is likely that we would need a further day for the SAIS to administer those vaccines. It is therefore vital that all parents return the consent form as soon as possible to allow us to plan accordingly.
I would like to publicly thank students, staff and parents for your collective efforts in relation to the effective management of transmission in school. The measures introduced over the past fortnight, including the reintroduction of face coverings, have halved the number of cases seen within school and have been effective in reducing transmission between year groups. As anticipated, the PCRs taken by year 10 students and teachers last weekend identified a higher rate of cases and made sure that those who tested positive stayed at home and prevented further transmission. I recognise that this request put pressure on families to organise the booking and completion of these tests and I am extremely grateful for your efforts to support the school. We will continue to monitor cases on a daily basis and engage with Public Health England and Lancashire as appropriate.
Best wishes,
Russell Clarke, Headteacher
Checklist for children aged 12 to 15 years old being vaccinated in schools: Pfizer BioNTech Covid-19 Vaccine
FOR REFERENCE ONLY: your child will bring a copy of this form home Weds 29/09/21
Please complete the following checklist for your child. If you tick yes to any of the answers below, we may contact you for further information. Please let the school know if anything changes prior to the date of your child’s Covid immunisation session.
Name and signature of person completing this form:
Contact no:
Name of child:
Date form completed: