As you know, the Prime Minister announced on 12 July that Step 4 of the roadmap would go ahead
on 19 July.

Contact Tracing Journey

Contact Tracing for Step 4 Onwards FAQ

One of the key changes that will take place from 19 July is that education and childcare settings will
no longer be asked to conduct routine contact tracing. As with positive cases in any other setting,
NHS Test and Trace will work with either the positive case – or in the case of children – the parents,
carers or guardian of the positive case to identify close contacts.
NHS Test and Trace already manages the contact tracing process for the rest of society – including
children who have recorded a positive PCR test – and has expertise in supporting people to identify
close contacts.

This sets out in more detail below how that process will work and what you need to do if your
child tests positive for COVID-19.

Self-isolating and taking a test
1. If your child has symptoms, they and other members of the household should self-isolate –
and you should inform their education or childcare setting. You should immediately order a
PCR test for them. If the PCR result is negative, they and other members of their household
can stop self-isolating (unless instructed to self-isolate for other reasons). If the PCR result
is positive, they, other members of their household and any close contacts identified by NHS
Track and Trace must self-isolate until 10 days after the onset of symptoms.

2. If your child has a positive result from a lateral flow device (LFD) test, they and other
members of the household should self-isolate – and you should inform their education or childcare
setting. You should immediately order a confirmatory PCR test. If the confirmatory test is taken
within two days and the result is negative, they and other members of their household can stop
self-isolating (unless instructed to self-isolate for other reasons). If the confirmatory PCR test is
positive (or is taken more than two days after the LFD), other members of their household and any
close contacts identified by NHS Track and Trace must self-isolate until 10 days after the LFD test.

3. PCR tests can be booked online through the NHS Test & Trace website or by calling 119.

4. PCR test results will be recorded with NHS Test and Trace automatically, but you should also
communicate the result to the education or childcare setting during term time or summer
provision.

Contact tracing
5. If your child gets a positive PCR test result, NHS Test and Trace will contact you, using the
details you registered when ordering the PCR test. You and/or your child will be asked a series of
specific questions designed to identify who your child has been in close contact with. Being in an
education or childcare setting with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 will not
necessarily mean a person is identified as a close contact.

6. You will be asked to provide the contact details, if you know them, of any of the individuals
– or their parents or guardians – who have been identified as close contacts. NHS Test and Trace
will then get in touch with these close contacts and provide appropriate instructions or advice (see
below).

Self-isolation and/or testing of close contacts

7. At present, anyone identified as a close contact is legally required to self-isolate and must
not attend their education or childcare setting (the only exception is if they are participating in a
daily contact testing trial). Anyone identified as a non-household close contact by NHS Track and
Trace must self-isolate until 10 days after the date of their most recent contact with that person. If
they live in the same household, they must self-isolate until 10 days after the date of that person
developing symptoms (see point 1 above) or, if that person was asymptomatic, the date of their
test (see point 2 above). NHS Test and Trace will notify you of the day on which the self-isolation
period ends.

8. Close contacts are also advised to take a PCR test. If the test result is negative, they must
still complete the full self-isolation period, as the test will not detect all positive cases. If the result
is positive, they will need to self-isolate for a further 10 days – and NHS Test and Trace will contact
them to identify any close contacts.

9. From 16 August, if the close contact is under 18, they will not have to self-isolate (in line
with the policy for fully vaccinated adults) but will be asked to take an PCR test immediately, other

than for very young children identified as non-household contacts, and they will not need to self-
isolate while awaiting the results of the test. If the PCR test is positive, they will be required to self-
isolate for 10 days from the date of the test. NHS Test and Trace will then get in touch to identify

close contacts (see points 5 and 6 above). Further guidance on these changes to self-isolation will
be provided shortly.

We recognise how difficult the past 18 months have been and the sacrifices that all families,
education and childcare settings have had to make. This has been an enormously challenging time
for everyone and we would like to take the opportunity to thank you for everything you have done.