Corby school staff continue to 'monitor the situation' after positive Covid test confirmed

Pupils at a Corby school have been told to isolate after a positive Covid-19 was confirmed by health officials and in a letter to parents.

Official confirmation of the case was made by Beanfield Primary School's principal, Sam Eathorne, yesterday (Tuesday) reassuring parents that staff were closely monitoring the situation.

A small number of children who had direct contact with the person have been told to stay off school and self-isolate.

The letter said: "We have been advised by Public Health England that there has been a confirmed case of Covid-19 within the school.

"We know that you may find this concerning but are continuing to monitor the situation and are working closely with Public Health England."

"This letter is to inform you of the current situation and provide advice on how to support your child.

"Please be reassured that for most people, coronavirus (COVID-19) will be a mild illness.

"The small number of children who have been in direct prolonged contact with the confirmed case will have received an individual letter and will be staying at home for 14 days."

Beanfield Primary School in Farmstead Road, which part of the Brooke Weston Trust, will remain open to staff and students.

The letter added: "The school remains open and your child should continue to attend if they remain well."

One parent of a Year 2 pupil who contacted the Northants Telegraph said: "There is no social distancing when we are waiting on the pavement in the morning and afternoons.

"The guidelines say it should be 2m but everyone's there on the pavement. Even on the inside, on the playground even though there's 2m signs they have no one around to monitor it.

"As a parent it's very, very worrying. It is the one child that has been taken out. Everyone in the year group has been eating their lunches together and there's 90 pupils."

The Northants Telegraph went behind the scenes at the school last term as pupils returned to their classrooms after lockdown.

Hand-sanitising stations had been placed in every room in the building, markings two metres apart on the floor had been added to show pupils safe distances and one-way systems had been introduced throughout the school.

A socially-distanced queuing system had been introduced for the start and end of the school day with lines painted on the ground to remind parents, carers and pupils.

Mrs Eathorne said: "On receiving information that one of our pupils had a confirmed case of Covid-19 we immediately informed our local Public Health Protection Team and explained how the bubbles, routines and structures operate in our school.

"Their explicit advice was documented and followed precisely. This has involved some children who may have been in prolonged direct contact being required to self-isolate.

"We were advised that the class, year group bubble and school should continue to remain open as usual. The school made direct contact with the families of children who were required to self-isolate and all were incredibly supportive. We also issued a template letter to notify all other families of a confirmed positive case but at no point has the school confirmed the year group the pupil is in.

"Senior leaders, teaching staff and support staff are present around the whole of the site at the beginning and end of the day and our expectations for dropping off and collecting from school were shared with parents before the beginning of term, emphasising the need for adult social distancing, especially on and around our site.

"Our response to this positive case of Covid-19 is based on the information we have been given by the PHPT who had full knowledge of our structures and operating principles which were also shared with parents in our comprehensive information booklet prior to the start of this academic year.

"Our key priorities continue to be keeping all children and staff safe and cared for by maintaining strict hygiene standards and maintaining our enhanced cleaning regimes as outlined in our detailed risk assessment."

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