Home   Dartford   News   Article

Longfield Academy alerts parents and pupils to potential Covid-19 case

A staff member is suspected to have contracted coronavirus at a secondary school.

Longfield Academy wrote a letter to parents and carers to inform them that they have identified the potential case within its admin team.

Longfield Academy has alerted parents and pupils to a potential coronavirus case at the school
Longfield Academy has alerted parents and pupils to a potential coronavirus case at the school

The case is not yet confirmed by testing but the school says it is treating it as such "due to the circumstances involved".

It is not believed that the member of staff has had any close or direct contact with any students and so pupils are not being asked to self-isolate at this time and the school remains open.

The academy is in the process of contract tracing any other staff who may have had direct contact with the affected person and will be asking them to temporarily self-isolate.

A spokesman for the academy said: "We have contacted Public Health and we are following the guidelines."

Public Health England has advised that the school can remain open as normal in line with Covid-19 secure guidelines.

The case has not yet been confirmed by testing but Public Health England have been contacted
The case has not yet been confirmed by testing but Public Health England have been contacted

If a school develops multiple cases where cross transmission is a factor, the organisation will then advise whether a partial or full school closure is needed.

As part of its Covid-19 secure procedures the academy has put in place additional cleaning routines throughout the day to ensure that high contact areas are regularly cleaned.

It means each evening the academy is being cleaned more deeply than usual to prevent the virus remaining present on surfaces.

This is in addition to other measures already adopted to curb the potential spread of the disease such as extra hand sanitizer stations on entry and throughout the school.

In classrooms, students are allocated into "bubbles" designed to stop the transmission of Covid-19 across the wider academy.

Classrooms have been rearranged to avoid students sitting directly face to face and being in close contact with each other.

The affected area will now be cleaned in line with guidance from Public Health England.

All staff and pupils have been told to continue to monitor for any new Covid-19 like symptoms they may develop and the school said it would contact parents should anything change..

In a letter sent to parents from principal Alex O’Donnell, she said: "We appreciate that you may find this news concerning so early into the new academic year but please be assured we have taken steps to act quickly to reduce the risk of cross transmission within the academy and we are working closely with Public Health England to monitor the situation."

Read more: All the latest news from Dartford

Read more: All the latest news from Gravesend

Close This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies.Learn More