Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
‘IT’S IMPOSSIBLE TO KEEP KIDS APART’
CONCERNS AS SOME SCHOOLS ALMOST HALF FULL IN LOCKDOWN
The number of pupils still attending class during the Covid-19 lockdown is almost 10 times higher at some district schools than during the first wave of the virus.
After the country was shut down for a third time last week, schools were forced to close to all youngsters except those deemed vulnerable or whose parents are key workers. But head teachers say almost half of pupils are still attending at some primaries, with far more parents choosing to send their children in than when the schools first shut at the start of the pandemic. Whitstable head teacher Jacqui Spinks, who runs St Alphege Infant School, says 40% of her pupils are still coming in. “This is a mix of vulnerable pupils and those of critical workers,” she said.
“This is considerably higher than our numbers in March, where we only had around 10 children – or 6% – accessing the school on average each day. “This considerably reduced the risk to both our staff and our community.” Statistics seen by the Gazette show that 20,000 pupils in Kent went to school last week – 15,000 more than last spring. Under current lockdown rules, there is no limit on the number of vulnerable youngsters and children of critical workers that can attend each school. Government guidance stipulates that this is “because we are reducing overall social contact across areas and the country”. However, Reculver Primary School boss Jenny Ashley-jones says that due to the numbers still attending classes, her staff are unable to make sure pupils are socially distanced.
The Herne Bay head teacher said: “If you’ve got so many children in school, you’ve got a lot of community mixing as well as mixing of children whose parents are critical care workers. “We aren’t able to socially distance children in a classroom when we’ve got numbers that are so great. It’s a real challenge at the moment.
“We’re trying to follow the guidance of the medical experts - who say we must not go out and mix - and balance that with the Department for Education who say we must have key workers’ kids in, which is difficult as they conflict.”
About 130 pupils - roughly 27% of Reculver Primary’s roll call - attended classes on the school’s busiest day last week. Ms Ashley-jones says during the first lockdown 15 children turned up for lessons each day. The increase means some classes still have more than 20 children.
St Alphege head Ms Spinks believes that changes to the list of key workers able to send their children into school is the reason for the marked increase. She also thinks the rise shows that parents are struggling to balance work with their youngsters’ remote learning commitments, and so “they are opting to send them in this time around, regardless of what their job roles are”. “Previously this was for people who were ‘critical to the Covid response’ only,” she explained. “The latest guidance now contains nearly every job, including those who are working from home.
“They have also changed the guidance that both parents need to be key workers, to now needing to offer spaces to families regardless as to whether only one or both are key workers.” A KCC survey showed that average attendance across 490 schools last week stood at 12%, with the highest being 44%. This comprised 18% attendance in primary schools, 2% in secondaries and 33% in special schools.
Critical workers are defined as people whose work helps the EU transition or coronavirus response, including those who work in health and social care.
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‘We aren’t able to socially distance children in a classroom when we’ve got numbers that are so great’