The New Normal - Covid-19 update

The New Normal

With news of the Omicron variant spreading throughout Europe and additional safety measures are being reintroduced in various countries, I thought it was a good time to talk about what our position here at IH Bristol is with regard to CoVid-19 and vaccination.

Our primary concern is protecting our staff and our students to the best of our ability. To do so, we continue to provide disposable masks, hand-sanitiser dispensers and increased ventilation in our classrooms. We ask everybody using our buildings to wear a mask in the corridors and communal areas unless they are actively eating or drinking. In class, staff and students have the option to remove their masks, as long as they are double vaccinated (adults). In the few cases of CoVid-19 we have experienced in school, we are pleased to report there was minimal spread to others – so we know our measures are working well.

Restrictions have been lifted but are currently being reviewed and reintroduced in many countries around the world - we know the pandemic is not over. So, what does the future hold?

We will definitely need to continue with our mask policy for the foreseeable future. This is particularly important during the winter months when we are less able to make use of our gardens and students will spend more time indoors in general.

We have also decided that from January 2022, we will ask all potential students on adult courses to provide evidence of double vaccination, where this is available in their country, or single vaccination if that is all they are currently eligible for or in the case of Moderna vaccinations. For international arrivals into England, the UK government are only recognising specific vaccines administered in specific countries in terms of self-isolation requirements (see the list of approved vaccine programmes here); to join our courses in person, we will accept all vaccines wherever you have received them.

For students on adult courses who choose not to be vaccinated, we will insist that they wear a mask and/or a visor at all times in the school, that they remain socially distanced from other members of the class, and we will provide a designated classroom for them to attend classes in hybrid format. (Unfortunately, we are unable to offer a hybrid solution for our part-time Foreign Language classes)

For junior students, where vaccination is possible for your age group in your country we expect you to be vaccinated. Any unvaccinated junior students (whether by choice, due to a medical exemption or because you come from a country where vaccination is either not required for under 18s or not available to under 18s) will be accepted but will be required to wear masks and visor at all times in school, including in their classes and on social activities.

We also ask that all unvaccinated individuals take a pre-departure lateral flow test the day before they travel, and every 4 days while studying at IH Bristol.

The CoVid-19 vaccine rollout in the UK has been largely successful, and the vast majority of our eligible host families have been vaccinated. After a quiet 2020-21 they are very much looking forward to welcoming students back into their homes, and to minimise risk to their own families are generally only accepting fully vaccinated students. Please be aware that if you are not vaccinated, it may be difficult to allocate a host family and therefore we cannot guarantee availability.

At the onset of the pandemic, we revised our booking terms & conditions to allow greater flexibility where students may need to change their plans due to illness or travel restrictions. We would like to add further peace of mind to students that if they become ill and must miss classes due to CoVid-19, and are fully vaccinated, we will offer a voucher for the classes missed (whereas standard terms do not allow for any reimbursement of missed classes for any reason).

We are aware that in some countries - Switzerland, for example - if you catch CoVid-19 you are not required to be vaccinated. However, previous infection is not the same as vaccination; as we are certainly aware you can catch CoVid-19 more than once (it has unfortunately happened to members of IHB staff!), and if you can catch it, you can pass it on to others.

While we cannot stop virus transmission 100%, we can do everything in our power to mitigate risks to our school community, and this policy is part of that. We thank all of our students, hosts and partners who have stuck with us throughout the pandemic and continue to choose IH Bristol, and we look forward to seeing much more of you in 2022 and beyond.

- Val Hennessy, IH Bristol Owner/Director

Current guidance for arrival to the UK (correct from 6^th December 2021)

There have been a few changes to the rules for travelling to the UK recently and you may be unsure about what you do or don't need to do - here's everything you need to know:

• From Tuesday 7th December ALL arrivals must have proof of a negative covid test (lateral flow or PCR). This must be taken within 48 hours before arrival in England
• If you are fully vaccinated OR you are under 18, you must take a PCR test on or before Day 2 in the UK, and you must self-isolate until you receive a negative result. You can take this test any time between landing in England (Day 0) and the end of Day 2; some airports are offering rapid Day 2 testing so you may be able to minimise self-isolation depending on the service you book.
• If you are over 18 and are not fully vaccinated, you must self-isolate for 10 days after arrival, and book a PCR test for Day 2 and Day 8. You can also take an optional, additional Day 5️ test (known as Test to Release) to end your self-isolation early.
• ALL arrivals must complete a Passenger Locator Form within the 48 hours before arrival to the UK. You must have already booked your relevant PCR tests before doing this, as you will need the booking reference number(s) to complete it.
• You can join your English lessons online while you self-isolate, so you won't miss anything! Classes are hybrid so you will be in the same class however you join us.

[Please note - if any test comes back positive you must self-isolate for 10 days from the day you took your test or started experiencing symptoms]

See our full Covid-19 guidance and FAQs here, and the full official guidance on the UK government website here

We can't wait to see you online or in Bristol - if you would like more information about our courses or have questions about the above, please don't hesitate to get in touch and we will be happy to advise you