Sheffield primary school to stay open after staff member tests positive for coronavirus

The staff member at Phillimore Community Primary School, in Darnall, tested positive for the virus before the May half term, headteacher Gillian Briggs revealed today, June 1.

However, after consulting the Department for Education and Public Health England, the school has been advised that is it safe to remain open for some children, including those of key workers.

Ms Briggs said she has followed government advice throughout and has told 44 members of staff they ‘do not need to self isolate for 14 days’.

In a statement, Ms Briggs said: “Before half term we had a member of staff test positive for Covid-19, at which point I immediately contacted the Department for Education and Public Health colleagues for advice.

“We can’t comment on individual cases but we can assure everyone in our school community that we have followed advice from Public Health on every occasion relating to Covid-19.

“Following this, the school conducted a thorough clean in line with the guidance given to ensure the safety and wellbeing of staff and pupils.

“It’s important for me to stress that we consistently followed advice and guidance, and we are confident that we are safe to keep Phillimore Community Primary school open.”

Phillimore Primary, which is part of the Sheffield South East Trust (SSET), is currently closed to the majority of pupils despite the government advising schools to plan for a phased reopening from June 1.

The SSET is currently planning to open its schools more widely from June 15.

The GMB union said it is ‘very concerned’ that Phillimore Primary has plans to remain open after a staff member contracted coronavirus.

Lee Parkinson, GMB regional organiser for Sheffield schools, said: “The concerns are quite clear. Our members don’t want to be seen to be the ones carrying the virus. If they’ve got it they need to be tested and they’ve not been contacted by track and trace even though it came in last Thursday.

“They’re concerned they might be carriers of the virus or that they might catch it and pass it on. There’s been an unfortunate incident in school and I hope the colleague gets well soon but it’s the fear and the confusion out there.

“They might have been in contact with this person, they don’t know who it is and I get that needs to be the case because of confidentiality, but by not knowing who it is everybody is guessing.

“The message should have been quite clear – the school is shut, they’ve deep cleaned it, but staff should have been told to get themselves tested and when that test is clear then they can come back.

“Some of them might have been already tested previously but there’s nothing to say you can’t have two tests when there’s been an incident like this in school and I’m amazed that guidance hasn’t come back from the government.”