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Media statement from Andy Hunter, Headteacher at Samuel Ward Academy

With careful consideration, we have decided that Samuel Ward Academy will remain closed to students tomorrow, Tuesday 8th September.

Remote learning was in place for the children today and will again be tomorrow. I share the disappointment of parents and children with this disruption to the start of the school year, but everyone’s safety is our priority.

We have not had any news about any cases amongst children in either the classes that are self-isolating or more widely.

Following successful contact tracing and a deep clean of the school today, Public Health England confirmed the school could re-open when it is ready to do so.

My team and I made the decision that the school should remain closed tomorrow (Tuesday) as we have a number of staff who are awaiting a test result. We want to keep them away from the school until the results of the tests are known.

We expect the school to be open for some year groups on Wednesday 9th September and will confirm this with parents by 5pm tomorrow (Tuesday) after a further meeting of the Incident Management Team.

We continue to have excellent external support, meeting today and agreeing this plan with the Incident Management Team, established with Public Health England, Suffolk County Council, Unity Schools Partnership and the Department for Education.