Rainford High School to reopen following coronavirus closure

Rainford High closed on Monday, September 28, after it experienced a sustained period of transmission across all year groups, which public health chiefs believing the virus was coming into the school from the community.

Following intervention from St Helens Borough Council and Public Health England (PHE), 1,100 staff and students were tested on-site in an attempt to better understand the spread of the virus.

This testing uncovered 30 new cases, with a “significant minority” of students presenting as asymptomatic, in addition to 10 people who had already tested positive.

Subsequently, a decision was made to close the school for two weeks to allow students to isolate.

That period has now passed and the school will now re-open as planned on Monday, October 12.

Rainford High’s principal, Ian Young, wrote to parents earlier this week in preparation for the reopening.

He warned there will “no doubt” have further positive cases of coronavirus but said the schoo’s aim is to stay open for as many children as possible.

Mr Young said: “As we look to reopen school we have worked closely with Public Health England and Infection Control to consider how we can adjust our systems to reduce risks further and keep Rainford High open.

“This has led to a number of adjustments rather than wholesale change. We will no doubt have further positive cases of coronavirus but our aim is simple: to keep the school open for as many children as possible.

“We have continued to develop our remote learning approach and capacity so that every lesson will be available for every child online from Monday 12th October.

“These lessons cover the same content of knowledge, skills and understanding that students would cover across the curriculum if in school.

“Our aim is to ensure that no student will be left behind if they engage and use the support available to keep on top of their learning across all their subjects when absent from school.”

Ian Young, principal of Rainford High School

One of the changes upon the return will be the mandatory use of face masks in all communal areas such as corridors and changing rooms, as well as on the way to ordering food in the canteen.

Mr Young said teachers will proactively enforce the wearing of masks when students leave classrooms and move around the school.

Face masks must also be worn on buses going to and from school.

All students will need to update a daily contact log on Google Classroom using phones during the school day.

This will take account of anyone they are in contact they have had close contact with.

Mr Young said this will support the school in identifying which students need to self-isolate and remove the need to isolate whole classes and year groups.

Presently, the coronavirus infection rate in Rainford is 233.6 per 100,000 people, and is among the lowest in the borough.

That figure covers the seven days between October 1 and 7, and if from 18 positive cases – the lowest number in St Helens – according to public health data released today.

Across St Helens, 614 cases were recorded during that time period, giving an infection rate of 341.0, down from 351.6 between September 30 and October 6.

For more information about Rainford High School’s reopening, click here.