Notification of close contacts at weekends and during holidays

As you know when we are notified of a confirmed case of COVID-19 at English Martyrs, we undertake a risk assessment in discussion with Public Health and identify anyone in the school/college who is classified as a ‘close contact’ and who would, therefore, need to self-isolate.

It is then our responsibility to identify and inform close contacts that they need to self-isolate.

If we are informed of a confirmed case over a weekend or during the school holidays, we are still required to carry out a risk assessment and identify and inform close contacts of the need to self-isolate.

The procedure for contacting you about this is as follows:

  • If your child has been identified as a close contact you will receive a telephone call informing you of this. This will be followed up by a letter outlining dates of return to school. These dates are all agreed in our discussions with Public Health England and are based on the date of the onset of symptoms or, in asymptomatic cases, the date of the positive test.
  • If your child is in the year group or class of a confirmed case but is not a close contact you will not normally be contacted and your child is expected to attend school as normal.

As a reminder, if your child tests positive you must inform school immediately. During term-time please inform us either by telephone (01429 273790) via email to admin@ems.bhcet.org.uk

At weekends and during the holidays please inform us via email to SHammond@ems.bhcet.org.uk

If your child is asked to self-isolate from NHS Track and Trace

If your child is asked to self-isolate by NHS Track and Trace – either by telephone or via the NHS App, it is important that you contact the school using the admin email address above. It would be appreciated if you could forward a screenshot of the advice, as there is disparity in the number of days people are being asked to self-isolate. This will enable us to update our records correctly.

Update on confirmed cases from September 1st – October 19th

To date, we have had a total of 15 confirmed cases of COVID-19 amongst our students:

  • Year 12/13: 7 cases + 38 self-isolated
  • Year 11: 3 cases + 73 self-isolated
  • Year 10: 2 cases + 50 self-isolated
  • Year 9: 2 cases + 22 self-isolated
  • Year 8: 0 cases
  • Year 7: 1 case + 17 self-isolated

If your child is self-isolating

Work for students who are self-isolating is available via the relevant year group folder on Microsoft Teams. Staff are uploading work in fortnightly chunks – this work is arranged in date-ordered folders.

If your child experiences any issues in accessing this work then you should contact Mr Dickson (Deputy Headteacher) via email to: PDickson@ems.bhcet.org.uk

Student behaviour in the community

We have been informed by The Police that some of our students are socialising in large groups outside of school. The current government guidance for Hartlepool is:

  • you must not socialise with anybody outside of your household or support bubble in any indoor setting, whether at home or in a public place
  • you must not socialise in a group of more than 6 outside, including in a garden or other spaces like beaches or parks (other than where specific exemptions apply in law)

I would be grateful if you could speak to your child so that they understand this guidance.

May I take this opportunity to thank you for your support and patience over what has been a very different half term to normal.

Yours sincerely

Stephen Hammond
Headteacher