Most parents keen to send children back to classroom

ALMOST nine in 10 parents say their children will go back to school in the new term, government data suggests.

In its weekly survey assessing the social impacts of Covid-19, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) for the first time asked parents how they felt about children returning to the classroom.

The ONS found that almost nine in 10 adults with children of school age (89 per cent) reported that it was either very or fairly likely that those children would return to school or college.

Furthermore, more than six in 10 adults with children who will be of school age next term (62 per cent) reported that they are very or somewhat worried about the children or young people in their household returning to school or college.

The concerns respondents reported most frequently were that they were worried about their children catching the coronavirus (58 per cent), and that they were worried about the impact on the mental health and well-being of their children because of the changes in schools and college because of the virus (42 per cent).

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of NAHT, the school leaders’ union, said: “Everyone wants to see children return to school. School leaders and their teams have worked hard throughout lockdown to put workable arrangements in place that meet the Government’s guidelines and plans.

“They have been doing so for the new academic year too. The ONS data confirms what other surveys have said, namely that parents are keen to send their children back to school in September but six out of 10 are still very worried about safety.

“Over the summer, we need to see as much effort from the Government in communicating a ‘back to school’ message as was first invested in the ‘stay at home’ instruction. This must focus on providing clear information about why it is now safe for children to return and what families should do to support schools’ efforts to keep children safe.” ♦ Grammar schools should delay the 11-plus until late October or November, ministers have said as they warn that children will not be performing to their “utmost” in September.

New guidance from the Department for Education says that authorities are “strongly advised” to push back the exams, which normally take place in early September, by at least a month.