More than 60 schools across the UK have experienced Covid-19 outbreaks less than a week into the new term, the Department for Education has today confirmed.
While some schools have closed altogether - including Samuel Ward Academy in Haverhill, Suffolk, where five teachers tested positive for the virus - most have closed to only sections of pupils.
A DfE spokesperson said children who were self-isolating would continue to receive remote education at home.
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He said: “The very small number of schools that are asking some or all of their pupils to remain at home are following our clear published process following a positive case being confirmed in a school.
“If a positive case is confirmed, swift action will be taken to ask those who have been in close contact with them to self-isolate, and Public Health England’s local health protections teams are standing ready to support and advise schools in this situation.
In a session of education questions in the House of Commons this afternoon, Labour’s shadow education minister Kate Green said headteachers were “very concerned” about the costs of protecting staff and pupils from the spread of Covid-19.
She said: “Headteachers are now openly saying they are having to weigh up pupils’ safety against financial stability.”
Other schools fully closed include Trinity Church of England School in Lewisham, South London, where a staff member contracted Covid-19.
And at the Cardinal Newman Catholic School, in Hove, East Sussex, 45 Year 7 pupils were sent home after a teaching assistant tested positive.