ONE YEAR-3 CLASS FROM ELLENBROOK COMMUNITY PRIMARY IS SENT HOME AFTER A POSITIVE TEST AT THE SCHOOL

It is being reported this evening (8th September) that one year-3 class from Ellenbrook Community Primary in Walkden has been told to self-isolate after a positive test by a pupil attending at the school.

Parents have apparently been notified that their children will have to remain at him and self-isolate for 14 days as required by law.

This brings the total number of schools in Salford with reported cases and sent home year groups to 'Four' within the space of a week since most schools returned from the summer break and previous imposed national lockdown.

Across Greater Manchester it has been revealed that there are now 32 schools reporting confirmed Covid-19 cases and as a result thousands of children having to stay away from school. More confirmed infections are expected to follow in the coming weeks.

Some parents are calling the current Government advice 'absurd' as siblings in other year groups that are exposed to sick brothers and sisters are expected to still attend the school, in turn possibly putting children in those other year groups at risk.

Schools across Salford have more than stepped up to the mark and have taken extraordinary measures to ensure the safety of their pupils but all it takes is one pupil to come into the school after contracting the virus elsewhere and an entire year-group is forced into self-isolation for 14 days.

For teachers and local education authorities, it's like they are being asked to fight this virus with one hand strapped behind their backs.

It is reassuring to see just how quickly our local schools are responding to these cases with their prompt actions, it demonstrates how seriously they are taking this.

For parents they risk a future in which they could possibly have a child off school for a fortnight as they self-isolate, only to return to school and be sent back home to self-isolate for another 14 days if a child in their year-group get sick again from the virus.

This puts untold pressures not only onto parents but also onto schools and teachers, who all quite frankly deserve more clarity. 

As always we wish the children who are sick a speedy recovery.