First case of Omicron variant identified at Church Warsop primary school

In a letter to parents of children at Church Vale Primary School and Foundation Unit headteacher Jo Yardley broke the news that the school had its first case in its foundation stage.

Children and staff must now isolate until Sunday, December 19, unless they were absent. Due to lack of staffing the foundation unit will temporarily close.

Mrs Jo Yardley writes: “We have just found out that we have our first case of the Omicron variant of the COVID 19 virus.

"It’s unfortunately in the foundation stage. Because of how the unit operates and that the children and staff all mix we are advising you that your child must self-isolate for 10 days, their last day of isolation is Sunday, December 19.

“Work will be provided via seesaw and your teacher/TA will be in touch on Monday to make sure you can access the work and that you are all OK. If you have free school meals, we will be providing vouchers for your child, but they may not arrive until after the holidays, if you would prefer a packed lunch then please let us know and we can arrange it.

“If you have siblings in the other parts of school, you may have problems getting them to school if your little one cannot leave. We can authorise this absence this week but due to many different things happening around school this week work for them will probably be a little sparse.

“If your child has been absent since Thursday, December 9, they will not have been in contact and therefore will not need to isolate but the unit will still be closed to them as we have no staff (they are all isolating too). If the guidance changes during the self-isolation period, as the government has said that it may change to daily testing before Christmas, we will let you know.

“Please get in touch if you need anything at all, we are there to support you. Message us via Facebook messenger, email over the weekend or ring us on Monday.”

Much remains unknown about Omicron which emerged in South Africa in November. According to the World Health Authority it has many mutations and described as “concerning”.

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