Unions in school numbers warning

SCHOOLS should be operating at no more than 15 per cent of their usual capacity during the latest lockdown, several of the county’s teaching unions have warned.

The call comes after concern was raised about the number of pupils still in the classroom once the government ordered learning should move online for all but vulnerable children and the children of key workers.

The Department for Education revised its guidance late on Friday to stress that even those with a “critical” role in society - and therefore eligible to send their child to school as normal - should keep them at home “if they can”.

It is understood that the Lancashire branches of the National Education Union, the National Association of Headteachers, the Association of School and College Leaders, the NASUWT and UNISON agreed that the lockdown limit for schools in the county should be between 10 and 15 per cent of the number of pupils on their roll.

But Ian Watkinson, Lancashire’s representative on the NEU executive - and chair of its health and safety group - said: “When I was covering vulnerable and key worker classes last spring, the maximum we had was seven or eight children,.

“One Lancashire primary school last week had 180 pupils attending in total, another had 140.

“They are numbers that you would just never have seen during the first lockdown.”

Lancashire County Council tweeted a link to the updated government guidance on Sunday afternoon, adding: “School places for critical worker children are in high demand in some areas.

“If you’re a critical worker, you should keep your child at home if you can to help relieve pressure on our schools.”