Nursery World - School tells of being left to face crisis alone

A Devon primary headteacher has told an inquiry into the foot and mouth disease crisis about how staff and children coped with the outbreak despite a lack of official information. Black Torrington Primary School was at the centre of an area affected by the disease and was closed for a week during the height of the crisis earlier this year. The inquiry by Devon County Council heard how the rural school's staff and 24 pupils were 'living and breathing foot and mouth' and that 'everyone felt the pressure and uncertainty of coping with the disease'.

Black Torrington Primary School was at the centre of an area affected by the disease and was closed for a week during the height of the crisis earlier this year. The inquiry by Devon County Council heard how the rural school's staff and 24 pupils were 'living and breathing foot and mouth' and that 'everyone felt the pressure and uncertainty of coping with the disease'.

Headteacher Mark Raven said, 'There were times when we had to talk about death with the children and give them time to express their feelings, be that through artwork or words. The children seem to have come through it all right, but we are still concerned about how it may affect them in the future.'

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