Headteacher Sharon Freeley has confirmed that a member of the Broadlea Primary School community has tested positive for Covid-19.
The school has rigorously followed the advice of Public Health England, accessed through the Department for Education official advice service, and any affected persons are following official guidance, including self-isolating for the necessary periods as directed.
In the circumstances, due to the timeframes involved since the person with the positive test result was last in school, Public Health England have advised that no further action is required and that parents and families can be reassured that all recommended precautionary actions have been taken.
Ten cases since Friday
Ten instances of positive Covid-19 tests have been found in Isle of Wight schools since Friday, the Isle of Wight Council has confirmed.
Speaking at a meeting of the Local Outtbreak Engagement Board today (Thursday), cabinet member for children’s services, Cllr Paul Brading, said there had been a spike in new cases in schools on the Island since Friday.
Cllr Brading said:
“Each case is dealt with very professionally by the school and the guidance from Public Health England is clear.
“Parents and pupils have been understanding and adapting to what we have to put in place to make the school safe environments.”
He added that it was disappointing to see media references as to whether the positive test were from adults or children, saying, they are all part of the school community.
Switch to remote learning
If a bubble in a school has to self-isolate, schools are automatically switching to remote learning.
Multiple schools on the Island have announced a case in its community in the last few days — including at the Island Innovation VI Form, Medina College, Cowes Enterprise College and Barton Primary School.
Northwood Primary School has also had a Covid-19 positive case in its community, but following Public Health England guidance, nobody in the school needed to self-isolate.
Bryant: Schools doing really well
Director of public health for the Isle of Wight, Simon Bryant, said schools have been doing really well in managing any positive cases.
The number of pupils, staff or other members of the school community currently self-isolating are unknown.
No further action is required from parents or families of any children that attend the school.
This article is from the BBC’s LDRS (Local Democracy Reporter Service) scheme, which OnTheWight is taking part in. Some alterations and additions may be been made by OnTheWight. Ed
Image: Evgeni Tcherkasski under CC BY 2.0
