More on KentOnline
More on KentOnline
A head teacher has admitted he is "running out of staff" due to Covid isolation - with between 25 to 30 members of his team absent on any given day.
Adam Mirams, who runs St George's Church of England Foundation School in Broadstairs, wrote to parents praising pupils' resilience during the "extremely challenging" time.
But in his letter he admits staff shortages are having a big impact on the school.
"During this last week we have had between 25-30 staff off on any given day mainly due to isolation," he wrote.
"This clearly places huge amounts of pressure an all areas of the school and we are ensuring that we can keep the school open to as many year groups as possible.
"This has resulted in large numbers of staff doing new things and making changes to their daily routines with no major noticeable effect on the children.
"However, the impact is that certain practices at present are simply not possible across the school.
'We were simply running out of staff' - Adam Mirams
"Staffing alongside a small number of infections is the reason we have decided to ask Year 8 to remain at home until Monday, December 7, when they will return.
"We were simply running out of staff."
Mr Mirams says infections within the Broadstairs school given its size are low and that often posts on social media are presenting incorrect information.
"Although it is impossible to eradicate all risk in a school environment please put your trust in us to make the right decisions for all in our community as some of us are currently working seven days a week to act quickly once we are told about infections," he said.
Meanwhile, at Hartsdown Academy in Margate, students in Year 7 and the sixth form have been asked to isolate after confirmed cases of Covid.
Head teacher Matthew Tate says pupils must stay at home until December 11 when they must return to school.
Last week, school leaders in Thanet insisted they would remain open until the end of term, despite the large number of pupils and staff being sent home to isolate.
Schools are due to break up on Friday, December 18, meaning if there is a positive Covid-19 case in the classroom that week, staff and pupils will have to stay home for 14 days, missing out on seeing extended family over the break.
Out of more than 2,000 readers taking part in a KentOnline poll, 88% thought schools should shut on December 11.
But the Government is remaining firm that they should stay open.
Kent County Council says it doesn't have the power to order a full closure of schools and is supporting them to stay open so children can access education.
More than 25 schools have been affected by Covid cases since September 1.
