Learner Guidance, January 2022

Attending college

Lateral Flow testing

The Welsh Government is advising and recommending that all staff and learners in education undertake a lateral flow test three times a week and we would strongly encourage you to do this on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday prior to attending college.

When not to attend college

Please do not attend college if:

• You feel unwell, have any of the identified Covid-19 symptoms (a new continuous cough, a high temperature or loss of taste or smell) – if this is the case, you must self-isolate immediately and book a COVID-19 test;
• Have tested positive for COVID-19 through either a lateral flow or PCR test
• Have been asked to self-isolate by the NHS Wales Test, Trace, Protect service

If you develop any of the symptoms of COVID-19 you should stay at home and self-isolate and make arrangements to be tested.

Testing and Self-isolation rules and guidance

The Welsh Government has now revised the self-isolation rules.

Receiving a positive lateral flow test

If you have had a positive Lateral Flow Device (LFD) test, you should not attend college and should self-isolate immediately.

If you have had a positive lateral flow test and have symptoms of COVID, you need to arrange for a confirmatory PCR test.

If you have had a positive lateral flow test and have no symptoms of COVID, you do not need to arrange for a confirmatory PCR test and must isolate from the day of your positive test, as outlined below. Please inform us of your positive test result using the link here: https://bit.ly/32Oes8N

Developing symptoms of Covid-19

If you have symptoms of COVID-19, you should self-isolate and take a PCR test as soon as possible.

If your PCR test result is positive

If you receive a positive PCR test you must self-isolate from the day your symptoms started and for at least 7 full days. Please inform us of your positive test result using the link here: https://bit.ly/32Oes8N

If you test positive, your self-isolation period includes the day your symptoms started (or the day you had the test, if you do not have symptoms) and the next 7 full days. If you get symptoms while you're self-isolating, the 7 days restarts from the day after your symptoms started.

The NHS Wales Test, Trace, Protect service will contact you to give you advice on self-isolation

Self-isolation period

You can leave self-isolation after 7 full days (on day 8 of your self-isolation period).

You should take a lateral flow test (LFT) on day 6 of your self-isolation period and another lateral flow test 24 hours later. This is to check if you remain infectious and could pass COVID-19 on to others.

You should not take a LFT before the sixth day of your self-isolation period because the risks of remaining infectious and the chances of passing it on to others before this period is significantly higher.

If either of the LFTs taken on day 6 or day 7 is positive, you should remain in self-isolation until 2 negative LFTs or day 10 whichever is sooner. A positive result indicates that you are likely to still be infectious and the risk of you passing on coronavirus to others is high. If the result of the LFT test you take on day 6 is positive, wait 24 hours before you take the next test.

If you still have a high temperature after 7 full days, even if the LFT is negative, you should continue to self-isolate until your temperature has returned to normal.

You do not need to continue self-isolating for more than 7 days if you only have a cough or loss of sense of smell or taste. These symptoms can last for several weeks following a COVID-19 infection.

What if I am identified as a close contact?

If you are a close contact of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, self-isolation and what tests you should take will depend on:

• Your vaccination status
• Your age
• Your occupation

Fully vaccinated in this context means:

• you have been vaccinated with a Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) approved COVID-19 vaccine and received your vaccine in the UK
• at least 14 days have passed since you received the recommended doses of the vaccine
• you have participated in, or are participating in, a clinical trial of a vaccine for vaccination against COVID-19 carried out in the United Kingdom in accordance with the requirements of the Medicines for Human Use (Clinical Trials) Regulations 2004(2).

You do not need to have received a booster vaccination to be considered fully vaccinated for the purpose of self-isolation rules.

Unvaccinated adults

If you are 18 and over, and not fully vaccinated, you must self-isolate from the day you were last in contact with the person who tested positive for COVID-19 and for the next 10 days.

You should also take a PCR test on day 2 and day 8. It is important that you take the tests even if you feel well as you may have COVID-19 even if you do not have symptoms.

Even if these tests are negative, you should complete the isolation period. This is because if you have been infected, it can take time for symptoms to develop or to become infectious to others.

If you are not able to be vaccinated for a clinical reason, you must self-isolate for 10 days, even if you get a negative PCR or lateral flow test result.

Fully vaccinated adults and young people aged between 5 and 17

If you are a fully vaccinated adult or aged between 5 and 17 you do not need to self-isolate if identified as a close contact but you are strongly advised to:

• take a LFT every day for 7 days or until 10 days since your last contact with the person who tested positive for COVID-19 if this is earlier
• take this daily test before you leave the house for the first time that day
• upload all tests results on GOV.UK even if negative or void. This helps improve our understanding of infection rates across the UK and helps inform how we manage the pandemic to keep people safe whilst keeping life as normal as possible

The tests are free and are available to collect from the college reception or from a local pharmacy.

 Ensuring your safety at college

Face Coverings

All learners (unless exempt) are required to wear face coverings at all times in the college, including in classrooms, IT rooms, exam rooms and workshops and on all college transport

Social Distancing

Physical distancing is still highly effective to mitigate the risk of exposure to COVID-19. In line with this, all staff and learners are encouraged to maintain social distancing from each other whenever possible in order to minimise contact and hence help limit transmission. To support with this, green ticks have been placed on the atrium stairs, in the library and open access areas to direct where you are able to sit.  The rule of 6 per table will also apply in the college canteen and atrium café.

One-way systems

• The college has re-introduced one-way systems on the stairs and through all central circulation/corridor areas, with clear arrows and floor markings around the college

• Please adhere to this one-way system and keep to the direction within which you must walk

Ensuring good hand and respiratory hygiene 

• All learners are required, upon arrival at college, to sanitise their hands with the hand sanitiser gel available at the front entrance and thereafter continue to wash your hands frequently with soap and water for 20 seconds or sanitise your hands with the hand sanitisers available whenever you change rooms, visit the toilet, move between training rooms/workshops and communal areas, before and after eating and after putting on or removing face coverings.

• Please use a tissue or elbow to cough or sneeze and use the specified bins provided for tissue waste – ‘Catch it, bin it, kill it’

Ventilation and room temperature 

To ensure that you are in the safest environment possible, all of the college’s classrooms, exam and assessment rooms will be well ventilated. All learners are therefore advised to wear warm clothing to ensure that you are as comfortable as possible during your lessons, exams/assessments.