The Corby school closes for a week as a third of staff self-isolate

Children at a Corby children’s and pre-school have been told to stay home for a week as staff absence left too few teachers and support staff to keep students safe.

Parents at Danesholme Infants Academy received a letter yesterday (Sunday) informing them that children will be placed on distance learning as teachers in self-isolation until next week.

The school will be closed to all Kindergarten, Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 students, but places may be offered to those deemed “at risk” and some key worker children.

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Danesholme Infant Academy has had to close its doors to students as the number of teachers self-isolating meant there were insufficient staff to keep students safe

A joint letter from the Executive Director, Ms Lamond, and the Head of the Academy, Ms May, read: ‘Dear Parents and Carers, I am writing to inform parents that from Monday 24 January to Friday , January 28th, for all Danesholme Infant Academy students to move to distance learning. This means that no children should attend Infant Academy.

“The school will be closed to all students on Monday 24th January. On Monday we will try to determine if we can offer places for key workers and vulnerable children for the remainder of the week. We will be in touch on Monday when.” Please do not email or call to request a place at the school until we know if it is safe for us to offer the offer.

“Since we returned from Christmas we have been trying to manage the significant staff absences while also keeping the school open. Unfortunately, we are now in the position where over a third of our faculty and teaching assistants will have to self-isolate next week.

“This means we cannot safely open the school. We could not access any supply or agency staff to provide cover.

“We understand that this can be difficult for many families and the decision to close is only taken as a very last resort, but the health and safety of children and staff must be our priority.

Students will continue their learning at home using the resources provided by teachers.

Danesholme Junior Academy is open to all students as usual.

A spokesman for Infanta School said: “The health and safety of our students, families and staff is our absolute priority and as we all navigate the challenges of Covid-19, we continue to work hard to ensure our entire school community is properly supported.

“We take our duty of care very seriously and make every decision in the best interests of our students. Due to staff shortages related to Covid-19 we have made the difficult decision to close the school this week and study from home.

“We are committed to ensuring that all of our students receive the best possible education and we are taking robust measures to minimize disruption to families and ensure our students can continue their education during this time. This includes using online learning platforms like Microsoft Teams and Class DoJo to allow students to continue their education in a virtual environment and connect with their teachers and peers so they remain connected to their class and the broader school community.

“We are working with Public Health England and the Department for Education to follow the appropriate steps and guidance. We will review the situation at the end of the week and will be in regular contact with parents and carers to provide further updates and information as it becomes available.

“Unfortunately this is the case for many schools across the country at this time and throughout the pandemic our team of dedicated staff have been extremely supportive of our students. Thank you to our community for your continued support, understanding and cooperation.”

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