PRIMARY SCHOOLS START TO REOPEN
Children return as lockdown is eased
PRIMARY pupils returned to some North East schools yesterday as lockdown measures were eased in England.
Children in reception, year 1 and year 6 have been able to return, with many having been out of the classroom for 10 weeks.
Schools have remained open during lockdown for vulnerable youngsters and the children of key workers.
Yesterday, more pupils were allowed to return to the classroom across the country.
In the North East, 19 schools in Sunderland reopened, while Northumberland County Council said 86 schools are due to open in the county this week.
Cath McEvoy-Carr, executive director of adults and children’s services at Northumberland County Council, said: “We know this is a worrying time for everyone and parents may be concerned about their children returning to school.
“I want to stress, keeping pupils and staff safe in schools is our top priority and we will do everything we can to support children and their families.
“We are working with head teachers in schools across the county to support them in the implementation of safety measures based on their risk assessments.
“Only when safety measures are in place will each school welcome back pupils in year 1, year 6 and reception. Parents should stay in touch with their child’s school for the latest information on opening arrangements.”
Schools are yet to reopen in North Tyneside, while councils in Newcastle and Gateshead said that they will begin a phased reopening of schools from next week.
South Tyneside Council said “as yet most schools in the area are not open”.
“Ultimately, it is a decision for the school governing body to determine whether they wish to welcome more pupils into their school, not the council, but we are working closely with our family of schools to support them in undertaking the necessary risk assessments prior to any decisions being taken,” Councillor Moira Smith said.
“Each school will have its own set of challenges and we understand that parents and carers will have considerations of their own. We will fully support their judgment and will also respect decisions made by parents and carers.”
Durham County Council said it has “advised all schools that June 15, the date that the Government has put forward for secondary pupils to return, is a more realistic date to begin a phased reopening”.
As children returned to the classroom, some parents expressed concerns that the schools were reopening too soon.
Dad-of-four Graham Moan and his wife Kirsty decided not to send their five-year-old son Brandon, who is in year one, back to school.
Brandon joined Croftway Academy in Blyth just one week before lockdown, after the family moved to the area from Consett.
But after feeling the Government’s decision to reopen schools was “too rushed”, Graham and Kirsty will instead wait until September before sending Brandon and their other children, aged between nine and 13, back to school.
The 38-year-old said: “We feel it’s safer to keep our children off school until September, especially as we don’t think it’s possible for young children to social distance.
“We’ve spoken to Brandon’s teacher who has said that only a handful of children will be returning today and that teaching will be focused on wellbeing, other than the national curriculum.
“Therefore, we don’t feel like they will be missing out on their education because we can continue to homeschool them and the school are good with sending work out to parents.”
After speaking to her children, Louise Sharp, from Whitley Bay, has decided to keep her daughter Jess off school, but will be sending her younger daughter Emily, who is in year three, back to school once it is ready to take more children back.
While her oldest daughter Jess would be eligible to return to school as she is in year six, Louise said that learning about the changes that would be made in school was too unsettling for her daughter who has autism.
Louise added that she will be monitoring the rate of infection to determine whether she feels it is safe to stand by her current decision to send Emily back to school.