Schools at crisis point over key worker children

CALLS to limit the number of children in school is growing, with attendance levels surging to more than 50 per cent in some areas.

Head teachers are in an ‘impossible position’ as they cannot allow all eligible pupils to attend while reducing ‘social mixing’.

Some schools have seen five-fold increases in demand for places from key worker families compared to the last lockdown. And pupils are in ‘super-size’ bubbles of up to 32 children, leaving staff ‘genuinely scared’ about the potential spread of Covid.

The Department for Education has widened the categories of vulnerable children who can still go to school and added more critical workers whose children can also attend. The already extensive key worker list now includes Brexit transition staff.

But last night the department updated its guidance to clarify that ‘children with at least one parent or carer who is a critical worker can go to school or college if required’. However, these ‘parents and carers should keep their children at home if they can’. An accompanying DfE blog said: ‘If a child has a parent who is a critical worker, it is for the parent to decide whether they are able to keep the child at home. We encourage parents to consider the spirit of lockdown when making their decision.’

The Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) and the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) have called for urgent clarification on the ‘maximum’ number of pupils that can attend.

It comes as Independent Sage – a group of scientists who offer an alternative view to the Government’s advisers – yesterday said that underprivileged children are now at ‘risk of greater infection’ as they can attend lessons if they do not have access to digital devices at home.

It has recommended that the Government narrows the definition of key workers.

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of NAHT, said making ‘lack of internet access a vulnerable criteria’ has ‘only added to the numbers physically’ in classrooms.

Schools have experienced a much higher demand for places during this lockdown, with reports of some ‘having 50-70 per cent’ attendance levels.

This is an issue as schools aid the transmission of the virus. One in 27 secondary pupils and one in 39 primary pupils had Covid-19 on Christmas Day, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Mr Whiteman added: ‘Schools have been put in an impossible position. They cannot meet the demand created by Government and reduce social mixing. We would urge the Government to be clear about how many pupils on- site is too many, if the virus is to be suppressed.’

Geoff Barton, general secretary of ASCL, said: ‘We are hearing reports that attendance in some primary schools is in excess of 50 per cent because of demand from critical workers and families with children classed as vulnerable under criteria which has been significantly widened. We are urgently seeking clarification about the maximum number who should be in school.’

Half of all pupils at Willerby Carr Lane Primary School in the East Riding of Yorkshire are still attending lessons. Some 187 children turned up for class on Wednesday in ‘super-size’ bubbles ranging in size from 25 to 32 pupils.

Invicta Primary School in Deptford, south-east London, has five times as many pupils still attending compared to the last lockdown.

‘Staff are scared’