The principal of Swadlincote's Pingle Academy has written to parents to reassure them after a post about the sibling of a student testing positive for coronavirus circulated on social media.

Vivien Sharples sent a letter to parents yesterday (Thurs) saying: "I wish to reassure you that correct processes are followed at all times at The Pingle Academy, with regard to coronavirus symptoms and testing.

"Please do not be alarmed if you have seen a Facebook post about a sibling of a Pingle student who has tested positive.

"The Pingle student has tested negative, so please do not worry about risk in this regard.

"Rest assured I will always alert you if we need to take any actions and we will keep all students as safe as we can."

Mrs Sharples adds that regular cleaning and sanitising takes place at the school throughout the day and students 'have been acting responsibly in terms of personal hygiene'.

"I have asked teachers to urge all students to wear masks on corridors and in communal areas.

"This week we have been reviewing our risk assessment and our procedures.

"We have decided to slightly stagger finish times for students at the end of the day [from today (Fri)]to reduce the risk of transmission," she adds.