JCB-sponsored academy in Staffordshire is the first school to close due to a confirmed coronavirus case days after millions of pupils returned for the first time
- JCB Academy in Rochester, Staffordshire, told pupils to stay at home today
- The school was closed as a precaution after a ‘single case’ of coronavirus
- Pupils will be allowed to return on Monday but 100 will self-isolate at home
A school in Staffordshire is believed to be the first school to have closed due to a confirmed coronavirus case since they reopened to pupils.
The JCB Academy in Rochester, Staffordshire, was one of the first schools to welcome pupils back at the end of August but told children to stay at home today.
In an email sent to parents late last night, the school said it was investigating a ‘single case’ of the virus but did not clarify whether a member of staff or a student tested positive.
The school has been closed ‘as a precaution’, with 700 of the 800 students being allowed to return to class next Monday.
The JCB Academy in Rochester, Staffordshire, was one of the first schools to welcome pupils back at the end of August but told children to stay at home today
Around 100 students have been asked to stay at home and self-isolate for the next 14 days.
The school has told parents not to be ‘unduly concerned’ by the outbreak but advised them to book a test for their child if they become symptomatic.
Principal Jenny McGuirk said the academy has taken advice from Public Health England and the Staffordshire Covid-19 Response Team.
She told the BBC: ‘Through track and trace, academy staff have worked throughout the day to contact the families of students believed to have been in contact with the individual who has tested positive.
The school has been closed ‘as a precaution’, with 700 of the 800 students being allowed to return to class next Monday
‘As a result, around 100 students have now been asked to self-isolate for the next 14 days.
‘In the meantime, the JCB Academy will re-open on Monday for the remaining 700 students.’
Self-isolating students will be able to access learning on Google Classroom for their lessons.
At least seven schools in England have sent students home due to outbreaks of the virus but the JCB Academy is believed to be the first school to fully close since reopening.
The school has told parents not to be ‘unduly concerned’ by the outbreak but advised them to book a test for their child if they become symptomatic
More than two dozen pupils at Unity College in Burnley were sent home to self-isolate after a child tested positive for coronavirus yesterday afternoon.
The school confirmed a Year 7 pupil contracted the virus on his first day of school.
It was the first day many children were returning to the classroom after a six-month absence.
In a statement on the school’s website, Headteacher Mrs Sally-Jane Cryer said: ‘At the start of the afternoon of Wednesday 2 September 2020, I was contacted by a parent of a child in year 7 to inform me that the year 7 child has tested positive for Covid-19.
More than two dozen pupils at Unity College in Burnley were sent home to self-isolate after a child tested positive for coronavirus on the first day of school yesterday afternoon
‘The boy and his family have been part of the governments track and trace pilot and are tested weekly. The parents do not have the virus but the year 7 child does have it.
‘The boy has had no symptoms at all. The college took immediate action and isolated the boy and his family collected him immediately.
‘The parents of all the other students in the child’s bubble, 25 year 7 students in total, have been contacted and all 25 have been sent home this afternoon and told to self-isolate for 14 days.
‘The rooms where the class have been taught were deep cleaned immediately. No other student bubbles in any year group including year 7 have been affected.’