LIVE: The Sheffield primary schools that won’t open today as Covid cases soar

Sheffield Council advised all the city’s primary and special schools to reopen today, but some have opted to remain closed.

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A letter from Greg Fell, Director of Public Health for Sheffield, says schools remaining open is vital for the educational and emotional wellbeing of children.

He said the latest data up to January 1 shows there are 175 positive Covid cases per 100,000 in Sheffield, compared to London which has 762.

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But yesterday unions representing teachers and support staff urged schools to remain closed and to offer online learning because of safety concerns.

The National Education Union, the UK's largest education union with more than 450,000 members, has urged all primary and secondary schools to remain closed for another two weeks.

In Sheffield, Woolley Wood School in Parson Cross has declared today an ‘emergency training day’.

In a letter to parents, head teacher David Whitehead said: “It seems that the government is telling us to return to school, staff unions are telling us not to. As you will appreciate this has caused a great deal of concern and confusion for staff within schools.

“I have received an increasing number of emails from staff expressing their concerns and worries about returning to work with a significant number of them informing me that they were following their union’s advice not to return.

“I have therefore made the decision that tomorrow (Monday) will be an emergency training day to enable the senior leadership team to review the Covid-19 risk assessment and to work with staff to reassure them that the school environment is as safe as possible for them to return to work.”

He added: “There are no plans to vaccinate primary children and staff anytime soon so whatever happens there will be risk associated with our return to school and maybe increased measures will need to be put in place.”

Seven Hills School on Granville Road, Norfolk Park is also closed today.

A message to parents on its website, reads: “I regret to inform you that we have taken the decision to close Seven Hills School to students until January 11.

“This is due to a large number of staff who have opted to follow union guidance around concerns for staff safety with regard to coronavirus and is in line with Section 44 of the Health and Safety at Work Act.

“Unfortunately, we do not feel that we have enough staff available to ensure the safety of students at present.

“We also feel that this situation is unlikely to change until significant actions, such as testing, can be implemented to alleviate safety concerns.

“We will be working with the local authority and public health team this week to implement testing arrangements for staff and investigate any possibility of testing students effectively.”

Hillsborough Primary School and Birley Primary Academy are remaining closed but offering online learning.

Rowan Special School in Totley is to remain closed today and is set to inform parents later of its plans moving forward.

Woodseats Primary School has also opted to remain closed today.

A number of other schools are also reportedly closed but their websites have not yet been updated.

More to follow.

In these confusing and worrying times, local journalism is more vital than ever. Thanks to everyone who helps us ask the questions that matter by taking out a digital subscription or buying a paper. We stand together. Nancy Fielder, editor.