Star date: 18th March 2020

ST AMBROSE BARLOW LATEST SCHOOL TO PARTIALLY CLOSE

Salford now has four officially confirmed cases of COVID-19, as more schools in the city begin to close or partially close due to staff shortages.

St Ambrose Barlow RC High School is the latest to announce that Year 9 and 10 pupils should stay off, unless they are the children of key workers.

Full details here...

According to the latest official figures from Public Health England, Salford now has four confirmed cases of coronavirus, although it still has the joint lowest number of cases in Greater Manchester.

Statistics published yesterday show Salford, Wigan and Rochdale all with four cases, Bolton with five, Bury with seven, Oldham, Stockport and Tameside with ten, Trafford with 12 and Manchester with 14.

This compares with areas in the south of England, where Hampshire has 69 cases, Southwark and Westminster 58, and Kensington and Chelsea 49.

Meanwhile, schools in the city continue to close or partially close, with St Ambrose Barlow RC High School asking Year 9 and Year 10 pupils not to go in, unless they are the children of key workers...

"We cannot fully staff all areas of the school to ensure the safe staffing of the school and curb the potential transmission of the virus to vulnerable groups in school" writes Headteacher Ben Davis in a letter to parents "This is not a decision that I have taken at all lightly, it has been given due consideration and we have risk assessed the situation carefully in line with our contingency plan."

The school is open for years 7, 8, 11 and 13.

St Andrew's CE Primary School in Eccles has also closed its nursery and reception classes until 20th April 'due to number of staff self isolating'.

The full official Salford Council list of school closures is...

Primary Schools...
Holy Family Catholic Primary School – nursery and reception classes, closed until 20th March due to 'staffing issues'
St Andrew's CE Primary School (Eccles) – nursery and reception classes closed until 20th April 'due to number of staff self isolating'
The Cathedral School of St Peter and St John RC – nursery class closed until 20th March due to 'insufficient staffing'

Secondary Schools...
St Ambrose Barlow RC High School - closed Wednesday 18th March for Year 9 and Year 10 due to 'staffing issues'

Special Schools...
New Park High School – closed until 24th March for Year 8 pupils...'other closures may follow depending on staffing'
Oakwood High School – closed from Monday 23rd March to 20th April 'due to the health and vulnerability of our pupils and staff members'.

Pupil referral units...
Alder Brook Primary Partnership Centre – The Link and Oak classes closed on Wednesday 18th March 'due to staffing issues'.
The New Broadwalk – closed until 20th March for a deep clean. It expects to re-open on Monday 23rd March.

For a full updated list of school closures in Salford see the Salford Council website – click here

Update 8am:

Ellesmere Park High School closes for Year 7 pupils 'for the foreseeable future'... "We are unable to safely and effectively run the school with our full complement of students" states I Ross headteacher.

Albion Academy closes until the end of the week for Year 9 and Year 10