Covid-19: School closing week early for 'family firebreaks'

A head teacher has decided to close his school early for Christmas so families do not have to isolate over the festive period.

St Martin's Comprehensive in Caerphilly will end term a week early on 10 December after appeals from parents.

Lee Jarvis said a survey of parents showed two-thirds intended to take their children out of class anyway.

First Minister Mark Drakeford has rejected a call from teaching union UCAC to end term early for all schools.

In a letter to parents, Mr Jarvis said: "Over the last few weeks, I have had a great deal of parental requests to remove their children from school during the last week of term in order to undertake a 'mini family fire break isolation', in the hope that their families will remain virus free over the Christmas period and therefore they can be confident that when they meet up with grandparents and their extended family they will reduce the risk to them.

"By self-isolating now, the hope is that there will be less need to self-isolate over the Christmas period and that there will be fewer cases of children identified as close contact with a positive case from school."

The head teacher said he had hoped the Welsh Government "would have taken a proactive approach to deliver distancing learning in the final week of school".

St Martin's currently has two year groups self-isolating following positive cases and "a large number awaiting test results".

The decision was taken after consultation between the head, the school governors and Caerphilly council, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The school, which has about 1,000 pupils, will close a week early by moving next summer's inset days to the end of the autumn term.