Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Revealed: Number back in school
Around 16% of all Kent primary school pupils returned to their education studies earlier this month, it has emerged. Hundreds of schools across the county welcomed back 21,000 children on June 8 as coronavirus lockdown restrictions continued to be eased. This included a phased return of Reception classes, Year 1 and Year 6. More than 487 of the 600 schools run by Kent County Council (KCC) have returned so far.
Medway, which is a unitary authority, has separate numbers for its schools.
Kent councillors discussed the impact of coronavirus on school numbers at a special briefing. KCC’S corporate director for education, Matt Dunkley, described the Covid-19 crisis as an “unprecedented” pressure for the schools sector.
And Cllr Richard Long (Con), cabinet member for education, said: “Like all services, KCC education officers have faced major and fast moving challenges to ensure work continues and manage massive changes at schools.”
Under the most recent figures, 21,383 Kent pupils were back in primary school classrooms on June 12. Around 27% of these were in Reception, 21% in Year 1 and 32% in year 6.
The total number of primary school pupils enrolled in the county this year is 128,147. But only just over 21,000 are back in class, according to KCC. This is either because they have been kept home by worried parents or their year group has not been told to return full time.
The numbers, however, were up considerably on the week of June 1-5 when around 9,000 pupils were attending each day. It has also been revealed that in the week lockdown was ordered in March, only around 2,500 primary school pupils were being taught in Kent.
A large percentage of these were children of key workers or those who have special educational needs. Meanwhile, Medway Council’s up-to-date numbers show a huge number of pupils being kept away from class. On Monday, 40% of primary school children (4,125) eligible to return have done so – meaning 60% (6,462) who could have gone back, haven’t. In secondary schools, 5,054 could have attended but only 653 did (13%).
Other parts of Kent’s children’s sector continue to unlock as the UK enters a new phase of the public health emergency.
More than 500 childminders have now reopened while 441 nurseries offered support to nearly 10,000 pupils last week, up 1,200 from the week before, it has been revealed. Despite the difficulties, officials have worked hard to make sure younger children have places at primary schools to go to in September.
Cllr Long added: “The admissions team have quietly and without fuss ensured that nearly 18,000 children, the biggest cohort in four years, had an offer of a school place, with more than 95% of them receiving one of their preferred schools. “All this has been done while staff have been working in lockdown conditions.”