Peterborough headteacher prepared for “longer haul” as Government drops plans for all primary pupils to return to school

The Beeches headteacher Tim Smith said: “I’m getting two things from parents - it’s too soon and they are not sure. But the school is safe and regulated.”

Last week, Mr Smith hailed the return of a third of pupils and the reintroduction of reception and Year 1 a success.

But the Government believes it’s no longer feasible for all primary years to return and have instead given schools flexibility over whether to admit more pupils or not.

Mr Smith said: “The caveat from the Government is that schools can be flexible. It may mean we take in more children but we must maintain the same ratio particularly because we are pushed for staff.”

He added: “We can accommodate three or four more classes (50 children) but to open fully, the period of social distancing would have to be over.

“We have relief in the short term and the need for flexibility from parents.

“It’s funny that you can go on holiday and parks but you can’t go back to school.”

And he admitted for all children to return with social distancing in place, the Government would have to give him a building twice the size..

“We are preparing for a longer haul,” he conceded.

Meanwhile, secondary school Nene Park Academy has consulted with parents and revealed the majority of parents from Year 10 and 12 are “positive about a return to school for some face-to-face support”.

Robin Grover, principal, said: “Following guidance from the Department for Education, we are working hard to integrate some face-to-face support for Year 10 and 12 students with our current online curriculum provision and we will share these plans with our staff, students, and parents as soon as we can.

“We have consulted with our students on reopening using our student council meetings held online using Microsoft Teams and with parents using surveys to gauge feedback on our curriculum provision so far and their feelings about a proposed return to school. We were pleased to see that the majority of parents from Year 10 and 12 are positive about a return to school for some face-to-face support for these students.”

And he added that although the emphasis for reopening is on Year 10 and 12, the school has also been grading GCSE and A-Level subjects for Year 11 and 13 students.