Important information about the R rate in Manchester

Dear Parent/Carer,

You may have seen in the media over the weekend that the R rate for the North West region has risen above 1, it is currently reported as being 1.01. You may also have seen that schools across Greater Manchester, including some in Tameside, have been advised to delay opening until 22nd June.

Manchester Local Authority have advised all Manchester schools that currently, it is not possible to have an R rate figure for sub regions such as Manchester. This means that although the R rate for the North West has risen above 1, we do not have the R rate just for

Manchester. The number of positive cases for Manchester though as reported on the daily Public Health England tracker as of Thursday 4th June is relatively low compared to other areas across the North West region. The Manchester rate was 293.4 per 100,000 and most other NW local authority areas have a rate above 300 per 1000,000 population. 

The Local Authority have advised Manchester schools to continue with their plans for the wider opening of schools to pupils as set out in DFE guidance. Therefore we will still be opening to Year 6 pupils on Monday 8th June. However, we have been advised to keep our plans under careful review as they may change, should the R rate continue to increase.

I will continue to keep you informed.

Regards,

Mrs Hughes

Headteacher