‘Majority’ of Peterborough schools re-open, but many keep doors closed

From today, primary schools, nurseries and early years settings across England are welcoming back Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 pupils after being instructed to do so by the Government.

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Some schools have stayed open during lockdown to look after vulnerable children and children of key workers, but for many youngsters this will be their first time back in a classroom for more than two months.

However, many parents are refusing to send their children back today despite the city council’s education chief Jonathan Lewis saying on Friday that he had “confidence in the guidance set out by Government and Public Health colleagues, combined with the level of diligence and rigour applied by my colleagues in schools”.

Youngsters are being placed in ‘bubbles’ with their teacher, while other measures surrounding cleaning and staggered arrival/pick-up times are also being introduced.

The council has left it up to individual schools to decide whether to re-open today, while parents will not be fined for refusing to send back their children.

Asked this morning how many primaries are receiving pupils, a spokeswoman for Peterborough City Council and Cambridgeshire County Council said: “We are working through data now and we anticipate between 60 per cent to 70 per cent of schools have returned today.

“We will not be in a position to confirm exact details until later tomorrow.”

The figures relate to both schools maintained by the council and those which are outside of local authority control.

Among the city primaries not to re-open today are those run by the Thomas Deacon Education Trust - Gladstone Primary Academy, Welbourne Primary Academy and Thomas Deacon Academy’s junior school.

A trust spokeswoman said: “TDET are intending to open all their primary academies to more year groups from June 8 but cannot guarantee it at this stage until all the planning is completed over the course of this week.”

MP for Peterborough Paul Bristow has been vocal on the need for more pupils to return to school, citing the need to prevent children from disadvantaged backgrounds from falling further behind.

He was at Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School in Bretton this morning where children in Reception returned.

Year One pupils will then come back tomorrow and Year 6 pupils the following day.

Mr Bristow said: “I’ve been really, really keen for schools to get back in a safe and managed way because I don’t want to see disadvantaged children miss out due to a lack of teacher time, a lack of education.

“They are doing a fantastic job here at Sacred Heart getting first Reception, then Year 1 and then Year 6 back in a managed way.

“I know it’s not easy, I know teachers and parents have plenty of questions, but it’s crucial as we return back to normality that children get back to where they belong in the classroom.”

He added: “Today is a positive day for Peterborough - for parents, children and our schools.”

West Town Primary Academy and Hampton Lakes Primary School are among the schools which are planning to re-open on Wednesday.

The Government’s call for pupils to return to the classroom has proved controversial, with education unions opposed to the move.

The Cambridgeshire branch of the National Education Union made a late plea over the weekend for schools to stay shut, stating that “four senior government scientific advisers have ‘broken ranks’ to express safety concerns”.

Calling for schools to delay re-opening for another fortnight, it added: “The NEU believes that it is no longer good enough to say that individual heads know what will work for them based on their own school circumstances - which primary head or local authority officer knows better than these top government appointed scientists?

“In Cambridgeshire we are being asked to accept that the Government knows best and that they have reviewed their five key measures and are fully confident that they have been met. But how can this be when the ‘test, track and isolate’ system will not be fully up and running until the end of June and the number of new infections each day seems to be about the same as when lockdown was announced?

“Heads and staff are being asked to make decisions on widening the opening of schools without knowing the rate of infection, or the number of cases of infection locally. We should wait until at least June 15 when the projected infection rate will be halved before we consider opening schools to a wider intake.”

Secondary schools will be able to re-open to Year 10 and Year 12 pupils from June 15 to give them face-to-face time with their teachers in preparation for their exams.