St Joseph's Academy – East Ayrshire

Please see undernoted letter from Linda McAulay-Griffiths, Head of Education.

We are sharing the latest advice for schools and educational settings on our homepage. This advice is provided by Health Protection Scotland, and will be updated as and when any new guidance is released.  The advice is aimed at school staff but is shared here to alert parents/carers to the procedures we have been advised to follow.

Advice if a young person or staff member reports that they feel unwell when in school and believes that they may have been exposed to COVID-19. 

Call the GP or NHS24 (111) or 999 in an emergency (if they are seriously ill or injured or their life is at risk), and explain the possibility of exposure to COVID-19 in the last 14 days. You can do this on their behalf if this is easier. People who become unwell should be advised not to go to their GP, pharmacy, urgent care centre or a hospital. Whilst you wait for advice or an ambulance to arrive, try to find somewhere safe for the unwell person to sit which is at least two metres away from other people. If possible, find a room or area where they can be isolated behind a shut door, such as a staff office. If it is possible to open a window, do so for ventilation. They should avoid touching people, surfaces and objects and be advised to cover their mouth and nose with a disposable tissue when they cough or sneeze and put the tissue in the bin. If no bin is available, put the tissue in a bag or pocket for disposing later. If you don’t have any tissues available, they should cough and sneeze into the crook of their elbow. The room must be cleaned once they leave. If required, identify suitable toilet facilities that only the pupil/staff member will use. Make sure that children know to tell a member of staff if they feel unwell.

Advice if a young person or staff member is suspected of having COVID-19 and is awaiting test results

For those who are in contact with a suspected case in an early learning and childcare or educational setting, no restrictions or special control measures are required while laboratory test results for COVID-19 are awaited unless otherwise advised by your local health protection team. There is no need to close the setting or send other learners or staff home. You should contact your local Health Protection Team for advice before issuing any wider communications, always bearing in mind the confidentiality of the person who is unwell. Therefore, until the outcome of test results is known there is no action that staff members need to take. People who test negative for COVID-19 will be advised individually about return to education/childcare settings.

Advice if a young person or staff member is diagnosed as having COVID-19

The early learning and childcare or educational setting will be contacted by the local Health Protection Team to discuss the case, identify people who have been in contact with them and advise on any actions or precautions that should be taken. An assessment of each early learning and childcare or education setting will be undertaken by the Health Protection Team with relevant staff. Advice on the management of pupils or students and staff will be based on this assessment. The Health Protection Team will also be in contact with the patient directly to advise on isolation and identifying other contacts, and will be in touch with any contacts of the patient to provide them with appropriate advice. Advice on cleaning of communal areas such as classrooms, changing rooms and toilets will be given by the Health Protection Team. The local Health Protection Team will advise on any closure/restrictions, in consultation with the headteacher and school management team.

Advice if a young person or staff member has been in contact with another member of our school community who has COVID-19 and was symptomatic at the time of contact

If a confirmed case occurs in an educational setting the local Health Protection Team will provide you with advice and will work with the headteacher, principal and/or management team to identify contacts who might require further follow-up.

The definition of a contact includes:

• any child, pupil, student or staff member in close face-to-face or touching contact
  including those undertaking small group work (within two metres of the case for more
  than 15 minutes)
• talking with or being coughed on for any length of time while the individual is
  symptomatic
• anyone who has cleaned up any bodily fluids of the individual
• close friendship groups
• any child, pupil, student or staff member living in the same household as a confirmed
  case, or equivalent setting such as boarding school dormitory or other student
  accommodation

Contacts are not considered cases and if they are well, they are very unlikely to have
spread the infection to others, however:

• they will be asked to self-isolate at home, or within their boarding school dormitory
  room or residential accommodation, for 14 days from the last time they had contact
  with the confirmed case and follow advice for self isolation, which can be found on
  NHS Inform
• the Health Protection Team will advise on follow up requirements
• if they develop any symptoms within their 14-day observation period they should call
  their GP or NHS24 (111) for assessment
• if they become unwell with cough, fever or shortness of breath they will be tested for
  COVID-19
• if they require emergency medical attention, call 999 and tell the call
  handler/ambulance control that the person has a history of potential contact with
  COVID-19
• if they are unwell at any time within their 14-day observation period and they test
  positive for COVID-19 they will become a confirmed case and will be managed
  clinically as indicated.

Family and friends who have not had close contact (as listed above) with the original confirmed case do not need to take any precautions or make any changes to their own activities such as attending early learning and childcare or educational settings or work, unless they become unwell. If they become unwell, they should call their GP or NHS24 (111) and explain their symptoms and discuss any known contact with the case to consider if they need further assessment.

Outside those that are defined as close contacts, the rest of the school/setting does not need to take any precautions or make any changes to their own activities attending educational establishments or work as usual, unless they become unwell. If they become unwell they will be assessed as a suspected case depending on their symptoms. This advice applies to staff and children in the rest of the class/setting who are not in a close friendship group or children undertaking small group work. The decision as to whether children, pupils, students and staff fall into this contact group or the closer contact group will be made between the Health Protection Team, the educational setting and (if they are old enough) the student. Advice should be given as follows:

• if they become unwell with cough, fever or shortness of breath they will be asked to
  self-isolate and should seek medical advice from their GP or NHS24 (111).
• if they are unwell at any time within the 14 days of contact and they are tested and
  are positive for COVID-19 they will become a confirmed case and will be treated as
  such.

The following poster provides advice and guidance for schools. Please click on the poster to see an enlarged version.

For a more detailed overview of advice to schools, please see The Health Protection Scotland guidance https://www.hps.scot.nhs.uk/web-resources-container/covid-19-guidance-to-educational-settings/ . This guidance is the key source of advice for all schools and educational settings including early learning and childcare settings.