Derbyshire school reveals the steps it has taken after staff member tests positive for Covid-19

Outwood Academy Newbold in Chesterfield said it was informed late on Monday, October 5 that a member of staff had tested positive for coronavirus.

An email was sent to staff the following day advising them that the leadership team would be working that morning to identify staff and students who had come into close contact with that individual, before seeking advice from Public Health England.

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That email was shared anonymously with u, raising concerns that those who had come into close contact had not already been told to stay home.

In response, the school revealed that 58 students and some employees were now self-isolating after being informed that morning, and that pupils had been removed from lessons while they waited to be collected.

A spokesman for the academy said: “At Outwood Academy Newbold, we put the safety of our staff and students first which is why throughout the last few months we have worked tirelessly to ensure we have gone above and beyond the official guidance with the safety measures we have implemented across the academy, including sanitiser stations based across the site and PPE available for all staff and students.

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"Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, an academy community member informed us late on October 5 that they had tested positive for Covid. As a result we worked swiftly to process a full track and trace to identify those who needed to self-isolate. The result is that 58 students, along with some staff members, are now self-isolating after their parents were informed of the situation on the morning of October 6 and the students were removed from lessons as they waited to be collected.

"We have prepared for this event and our remote learning resources are available to students to ensure they do not miss out on their education while self-isolating. It was always inevitable that issues would arise during this unprecedented time, but we will continue with our work in the academy to ensure that we minimise risk as far as is possible for both staff and students moving forward."