Peterborough MP calls for city schools to re-open as he hits out at ‘knee-jerk opposition from Labour’

Paul Bristow said disadvantaged children will suffer the longer they have to wait to return to the classroom.

And he hit out at the “blanket, knee-jerk opposition from Labour” over the issue.

Some Labour-controlled councils, including Liverpool, Hartlepool and Gateshead, have said they will not open up their schools from June 1.

The Government has set out plans for Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 pupils to return full-time from the start of next month, while secondary schools will also work with Year 10 and Year 12 pupils to prepare them for exams next year. Special schools will also begin to welcome back more pupils.

However, the timeframe for re-opening has sparked a fierce national debate over whether it is safe for young children to return to the classroom in ‘bubbles’ of up to 15 due to a lack of social distancing.

The National Education Union has issued a ‘checklist’ which it says must be met before it is safe for schools to fully re-open.

But the chief executives of two multi-academy trusts which run primary schools in Peterborough said on Monday that “the impact of lost learning could be irreparable” if pupils did not return to the classroom soon.

Nick Hudson, chief executive of the Ormiston Academies Trust, and Adrian Ball, chief executive of the Ely Multi-Academy Trust, wrote in a letter to The Times alongside 21 other academy trust chief executives: “For any child, prolonged absence from school is concerning. For disadvantaged pupils, it is calamitous.”

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Schools have kept their doors open during the coronavirus pandemic, but only for vulnerable children and children of key workers.

On Tuesday, the head of education at Peterborough City Council and Cambridgeshire County Council, Jonathan Lewis, said not all schools will re-open on June 1.

He stated: “While there is no denying myself and all the headteachers I speak to want to see our pupils back and learning in our schools, we will only encourage pupils to return when the scientific evidence is clear that is safe to do so.

“Our headteachers have been working tirelessly to consider different models of phased re-opening long before the Government made any announcements. Some will be able to take pupils from June 1, but some will not. I can’t ask them all to stick to the same timeline – it simply isn’t feasible nor safe.”

Outlining his views on the issue, Conservative Mr Bristow said: “Our children’s education has been hit as a result of the lockdown, and if it goes on it’s the most disadvantaged children in Peterborough who will suffer the most.

“Private schools are going back. Children in other countries are already back.

“Our city’s schools and teachers have done an excellent job in lockdown looking after some of the most vulnerable children who rely on free school meals. But it’s right that our kids now start going back to their schools from June.

“This involves lots of precautions and starts with specific year groups.

“The blanket, knee-jerk opposition from Labour is completely wrong. It fails our teachers who want to get on and teach, as well as our most vulnerable children.”

The final decision on whether to re-open schools on June 1 is the responsibility of headteachers and their governing bodies.

MP for North West Cambridgeshire Shailesh Vara said: “The safety of children, teaching and all other staff is of course very important and there will be no penalty for families who do not send their children to school.

“In proposing a return to school, however, it is important to remember that the Government has been guided by expert advice. That is why the return will be phased with smaller classes.

“I know the staff of local schools have worked incredibly hard in these difficult times to provide learning from home and they deserve huge credit for all their work. But nothing compares to face-to-face time with a teacher in the classroom and that is why we need to make a start to returning to school and it is proposed to do so in a phased and measured way.”