Schools decide on pupils’ return

City council says it will support schools ‘in whatever decisions they make’ on re-opening

Schools in Peterborough and Cambridgeshire will be left to decide whether to re-open.

A spokesperson for Peterborough City Council and Cambridgeshire County Council told the Peterborough Telegraph: “We are awaiting the scientific evidence and will support schools in whatever decisions they make resulting from this.”

Councils across England have taken different stances over whether to re-open schools from Monday, with some refusing to make the date.

The Government wants Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 pupils to return on June 1, with Year 10 and 12 pupils returning on June 15.

During the lockdown schools only remained open for vulnerable children and children of key workers.

Concerns have been raised about a lack of social distancing when pupils return to the classrooms, while others, including MP for Peterborough Paul Bristow, have said that it is crucial for children to go back to stop those from disadvantaged backgrounds falling further behind.

Council service director for education Jonathan Lewis has previously stated: “While there is no denying myself and all the headteachers I speak to want to see our pupils back and learning in our schools, we will only encourage pupils to return when the scientific evidence is clear that is safe to do so.

“Our headteachers have been working tirelessly to consider different models of phased re-opening long before the Government made any announcements. Some will be able to take pupils from June 1, but some will not. I can’t ask them all to stick to the same timeline – it simply isn’t feasible nor safe.”

Some academy trusts in Peterborough have already signalled their intention to reopen schools from June 1.

The Greenwood Academies Trust runs a number of schools in Peterborough.

A spokesperson for the trust said: “We respect the Government’s decision that schools should re-open to some year groups from June 1.

“However, our own risk and capacity assessment has determined that in order to best protect the health and safety of our pupils, families and staff - which is our top priority - the decision as to how and when each of our academies re-opens will be made on an individual basis.

“The best interests of our pupils, their parents and our staff are at the heart of every decision we make.

“We are fully aware of the competing priorities and there is nothing we want more than to welcome our pupils back to school, but we are committed to doing this in a manner that supports the necessary social distancing and hygiene measures.

“Throughout lockdown, our team of dedicated staff have brilliantly supported our pupils with their online learning and have been ensuring they are in regular contact with pupils and families to check on their education and welfare.

“That will continue to be the case, whether that is through our remote network or smaller class sizes.”

‘We are fully aware of the competing priorities.’

Jonathan Lewis, service director for Education for PCC and CCC