Sheffield primary school says sorry for arranging ‘temporary salon’ that risked spreading virus

Broomhill Infant and Junior School explained that informal arrangements were made for a hairdresser to come to the school on March 3 to give haircuts to staff who wanted them.

In a statement, the school said: "The school was contacted by the local authority who advised that this would be against the current Covid-19 regulations and the hairdressing appointments were immediately cancelled.

"The hairdresser left the premises, and no hairdressing took place after the phone call. We accept that arrangement should not have been made.

"We apologise, and we will ensure that we learn from it."

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The 'wellbeing haircut' arranged by the school came to light following a report by the BBC over the weekend, saying that the staff were put at risk when they were offered £30 appointments with a professional.

Quoting the GMB union in its report, a "distraught" member had alerted health authorities before haircuts went ahead.

The union said it was told of plans to hold the March 3 and 4 sessions by a concerned member.

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The "temporary salon" organised as part of the school's wellbeing sessions, was cancelled on the first day of appointments after a phone call from Sheffield City Council's environmental health team, which had received an anonymous tip-off.

GMB said some staff were “very, very upset” and the union had been told there were six or seven appointments booked.

The school was also contacted by police later in the day, who said that no further action was taken as no offence was committed.

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