An executive head teacher has decided to close a primary school as almost a third of pupils are being kept at home by parents amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Ramsgate Holy Trinity Primary School in Broadstairs will be closed after tomorrow due to its "very difficult" staffing situation.

An email sent to parents, signed off by executive head teacher Tim Hunter-Whitehouse and head of school Erin Price, says it is not a decision that has been "taken lightly".

It says: "As we write this, there has been no further leadership from the government as to how schools and families deal with this very difficult situation.

"At Ramsgate Holy Trinity we had almost a third of our children absent today, and I want to reassure all parents that we fully understand the decisions they have made to protect their children and their families.

"We have been keeping children outside as much as possible, and have limited larger gatherings such as worship, opting for class worship instead.

"Our staffing situation remains very difficult with significant numbers of teaching and support staff not being able to work in school either through showing symptoms of the coronavirus or because they have, or family members have, underlying health conditions.

"As the guidance now states that households have to isolate for 14 days, the situation at school is only going to become more and more difficult.

"Therefore we have taken the decision to close Ramsgate Holy Trinity."

Tomorrow (Thursday) will be the school's last day open before the Easter holidays, and staff are now preparing learning resources for children to take home with them.

"This is not a decision that we have taken lightly, but we feel that it is in the best interests of our children, staff and community," the email adds.

"Arrangements will be made for learning activities to be placed on our website for each year group each week.

"Although this is the decision that we have made for Holy Trinity, we understand that it is also the decision being made in schools up and down the country."

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