Coronavirus outbreak at Batley school

Staincliffe C of E Junior School has closed all of its student bubbles, after members of staff tested positive for Covid-19.

The Staincliffe Hall Road school has now closed for summer and students will return on Tuesday September 8 for the autumn term.

The 2020 summer term was due to finish on Monday July 20.

Headmaster Paul Dixon released a letter explaining what measures had been taken on the school's website on Monday July 13.

It read: "It was with great reluctance that we made the decision to close all of the bubbles in school today, especially as there are only a few days to go until the end of term. However, having sought guidance from Kirklees Emergency Planning and the Infection Prevention Control teams this morning following positive Covid-19 test results for members of our staff, it was decided that this would be the safest solution to protect all of our children, families and staff.

"I attended an emergency meeting today for all Kirklees Headteachers with Mel Meggs, Strategic Director for Children and Families; Jo-Ann Sanders, Service Director for Learning and Early Support; and Emily Parry-Harries, Specialty Registrar for Public Health, due to the continual rise in infection rates across the authority in comparison to many other authorities where rates are falling.

"There is also a serious concern for the Dewsbury and Batley areas where infection rates are rising quicker than other areas in Kirklees. These are worrying times and is a main part of the reason we took the safety precaution of closing down all bubbles for the rest of this week. Mel Meggs was keen to stress however, that schools in the area are not causing, and are not responsible for, the spreading of the virus. Community and Religious Leaders have been invited to the same meeting this Wednesday to hear the same important messages on how best we can keep our community and families safe.

"The Local Authority and its partners have therefore constructed a “Community Protection Plan” in order to try and flatten the curve of infections and bring the number of positive cases down in Dewsbury and Batley, as well as authority-wide."

For more information, visit the school's website.