Was parent refused access to child by headteacher because of COVID? Fact Check

An apparent conversation call between a school headteacher and a parent is circulating social media in copy & paste style that claims to demonstrate new powers that schools in the UK have that could allow them to remove children from school and refuse to tell parents where they are.

In the alleged exchange, the parent is told they are not allowed to collect their child, and that they could not be told where their child is.

FALSE

An example of the claim as it appears on social media –

FOR ALL THE CARING PARENTS OUT THERE WHOS KIDS MAYBE GOING BACK IN SEPTEMBER…
YOUS NEED TO READ THIS.
ITS A REAL LIFE SITUATION THATS HAPPENED TO SOME POOR PARENT.
UKS A JOKE AND THE CHILD SERVICES ARE A TOTAL DISCRACE
Headteacher: sorry we have had to take your child to a testing centre as they were showing symptoms of covid
Parent: right so where is my child
HT: I’m sorry I cant disclose that information
P: is my child ok?
HT: I can assure you your child is in safe hands in the mean time you need to self isolate with your family for 14 days
P: No I’m coming to get my child now
HT: I’m sorry but if you arrive at the school we will have no choice but to call the police and have you removed from the premises
P: is this a joke? that is my child
HT: I’m sorry but under the new covid act we have the power to remove your child without your consent if we feel the have symptoms.
P: So when will I see my child next
HT: We will have a child service officer contact you.
Now imagine this was a call from your Childs Headteacher

Despite the claims made by most iterations of this rumour, it doesn’t appear to show a genuine exchange between a parent and a headteacher.

As is often the case with such social media copy & paste claims, there are no sources or evidence offered. While the Coronavirus Act 2020 does offer a variety of new – albeit temporary – powers to UK authorities, healthcare workers and the police, after looking through the text of the legislation, we could find nothing that would allow a school to prevent parents from seeing their children, or having a parent refused information as to where their child is. The text of the Coronavirus Act 2020 can be read in full here.

The text appears to be nothing more than scaremongering. Continued below.

Sponsored Content. Continued below...

More suspicious still is that at the time this message began circulating, the vast majority of children in the UK are currently not at school, as the new school year begins in September.

Schools, naturally, have the powers to remove and isolate children if they develop symptoms of COVID-19, in a bid to try and stop the spread of the virus. However, despite scaremongering messages like the one above, current guidance from the UK government states that the child should be isolated in a room with no other children until they can be collected by their parents or guardian. From the UK Government website –

If anyone in the school becomes unwell with a new and persistent cough or a high temperature, or has a loss of, or change in, their normal sense of taste or smell (anosmia), they must be sent home and advised to follow ‘stay at home: guidance for households with possible or confirmed coronavirus (COVID-19) infection’, which sets out that they should self-isolate for at least 10 days and should arrange to have a test to see if they have coronavirus (COVID-19).
…
If a child is awaiting collection, they should be moved, if possible, to a room where they can be isolated behind a closed door, depending on the age and needs of the child, with appropriate adult supervision if required. Ideally, a window should be opened for ventilation. If it is not possible to isolate them, move them to an area which is at least 2 metres away from other people.

Given that the circulating messages above provide no evidence, reasoning or sources, and the messages contradict current UK government guidance, they can be dismissed. We rank the claim false.