Students at three more schools will be learning from home in the final week of their autumn term.

Coronavirus cases at Cornwallis Academy, New Line Learning Academy and Tiger Primary School, all in Maidstone and part of Future Schools Trust, are rising, with more staff shortages as well.

From this Monday, until the schools break up for holidays on Friday, December 18, the sites will be closed, with "virtual school" in their place.

In a letter sent to parents yesterday, trust chief executive Isabelle Linney-Drouet said: "We have been doing everything we can to ensure you son/daughter's school remains fully open during the current challenging situation.

"However, the last few days have been particularly challenging as the rise of Covid-19 cases in our trust and the Maidstone area is impacting even more so on our school community.

"Whilst we have managed to operate in a safe way until today, we do not have the capacity to operate in such a way next week.

"In total, nine bubbles are closed across the trust with over 80 members of staff absent.

"Therefore I have made the difficult decision to operate as a 'virtual school' for all students in all year groups in the last week of term."

Explaining her reasoning, she said there has been a rising number of coronavirus cases either in students and staff or within the "extended community", such as parents or staff's relatives.

Staff shortages are being caused by childcare issues, as a result of bubble closures in other schools and employees also being instructed to self-isolate.

Staffing levels are changing with little advance notice and supply agency staff are increasingly difficult to recruit as many are self-isolating. As a result of this, the CEO added: "The number of cover lessons has reached an unacceptable level and is not sustainable."

Ms Linney-Drouet said: "I can assure you that this decision was not taken lightly but this is the only option to safeguard our students, to continue to operate safely and most importantly to maintain the standards of high-quality teaching and learning we all uphold and expect."

She said individual schools will be in contact regarding provision for vulnerable and key workers' children.

Aylesford School has already closed until next term, with coronavirus cases in each year group. Two schools in Faversham have also done the same.

In Maidstone, the weekly cases of coronavirus per 100,000 people is at 451.6, reflecting the week of December 2 to December 8.

This is an increase of 61.1 in the previous seven days. The rate for the whole of Kent is 392.6, up 87.6 in the previous seven days.

For a comprehensive list of which Kent schools have been affected by the virus, click here.

News from our universities, local primary and secondary schools including Ofsted inspections and league tables can be found here.

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