ST Clere's secondary school in Stanford-le-Hope is moving into a mode described as 'partial closure' because of the coronavirus situation.

And USP College is to move into a 'distance learning' scenario with mist students staying at home.

The college, Grays, plans to reopen fully for the new term on Monday, 20 April.

At St Clere's Head Ashlie Hughes has contacted parents to say: As a school, we do not have any cases of coronavirus but we are following all the Department of Health advice and checking the daily updates.

"We have ensured regular cleaning is increased and we have updated pupils with details about the virus and precautions they should take, such as hand washing and maintaining physical distance from others as far as is possible.

"Our childrens' health and well-being is our priority and while evidence suggests children are less vulnerable to this virus, it is still important to protect each other and prevent transmission to others.

"We ask staff and parents to follow the Public Health advice which is to self-isolate if you experience a high temperature and a continuous cough.

"The advice now is to also self-isolate if you live with people who are experiencing these symptoms. Please ensure your child is kept at home if they display these symptoms and please notify us if this is the case.

"We have also requested parents notify us if they feel their child is more vulnerable because of an underlying health condition. Such absences will be authorised by the school.

"While we do not have plans to fully close the school unless instructed by the government, we are already finding staff absence is making it difficult to run the full curriculum.

"We will also be creating recommended work plans for pupils to follow if they are unable to attend school. There will be a mixture of online work and book work.

"Our previous correspondence has outlined which programmeswill be useful for your children and we have gathered information about pupil access to the internet."

Dan Pearson, CEO and principal at Palmer's says: "This has resulted in a number of staff and students needing to stay at home, which means we are now going to introduce distance learning from Thursday 19 March until the beginning of the Easter break (Friday 3 April).

"We have been spending the past two weeks planning and preparing for a move to a distance learning approach so we can continue to support your son or daughter to achieve the best learning outcome possible.

"Students are advised to come in tomorrow as usual, and their tutor will provide them with guidance on how to engage with distance learning, set clear expectations for the duration of this approach, and provide reassurance. If students are unable to access IT equipment for online learning, please ask them to speak with their teacher and tutor.

"The College campuses will remain open, and some specific groups of students may still be advised to attend in order to undertake particular assignments or assessments on campus. This will take place in small groups or on a 1:1 basis to limit contact.

"This is not a College closure, and there will be clear expectations for students to engage with their learning via the online tools and communication channels that have been put place.

"We would like to ask for your support in encouraging your son or daughter to participate fully with this temporary change. Distance learning should be treated with the same rigour as learning on campus in order to maintain educational outcomes."