No fines for parents who keep kids off
ADVICE ON RE-OPENING OF SCHOOLS
PARENTS in Kirklees who defy government advice to send children back to school will NOT be fined, an education chief has confirmed.
There has been criticism of Kirklees Council ‘s stance on whether to send pupils back to classrooms as advised by Government. The authority has said the ultimate decision will be up to schools themselves.
During a virtual meeting of the decision-making Cabinet, the council’s Member for Learning, Aspiration and Communities, Clr Carole Pattison, ruled out fining parents who keep their children out of school on safety grounds.
She said: “Very simply, in the same way we’re not forcing schools to open we are certainly not forcing parents to send their child to school.
“And, no, they will not be fined.” Clr Pattison reiterated the council’s position on schools, which is to work with them and plan to open “if possible” on June 1 as per the government’s advice.
But she stressed that if scientists and clinicians cautioned against such a move then schools in Kirklees would remain closed.
She added: “If a school can’t accommodate the numbers of children wanting to come back, which is quite possible, we won’t be opening that particular school on that particular day either.
“In terms of the scientific advice and the health and safety issues in all of this, all our schools are undertaking a risk assessment, we are holding an online seminar for schools today (May 22) so they can hear direct from public health what the issues are and they can ask questions as well.
“They are not just hearing it via us as a conduit, they will get it direct from Public Health England.”
The Lib Dems’ Clr Andrew Marchington asked whether any headteachers had raised issues about capacity in Kirklees’ schools.
Clr Pattison replied: “We haven’t had any school at the moment turn round and say ‘We’re not opening because we haven’t got the space.’ What we are doing by the risk assessments, which can be externally validated, is working with each school to look at how they can accommodate the number of children that are wanting to come back.”
Clr Marchington expressed surprise that no schools had raised issues around capacity given that some older schools in Kirklees with smaller classrooms would “struggle” to accommodate 15 children with the relevant spacing required.
Clr Pattison replied: “There are some very small schools [with] small classrooms. The numbers wanting to come back at different schools vary.
“I’m sure we will possibly find that do have to provide additional accommodation somewhere but at the moment I’m not aware that there’s any school at the moment which is unable to accommodate the number of children wanting to come back.
“Schools have been asking parents ‘Do you want your child to come back?’ and the number is not 100% but it is larger than you would expect.”