WE MISSED YOU, MISS!
IT’S BACK TO SCHOOL AFTER MONTHS AWAY DURING THE LOCKDOWN
HUNDREDS of thousands of children stayed away from school yesterday despite many classrooms in England reopening for the first time in months.
Large numbers of worried parents are thought to have kept their kids at home amid widespread distrust over the government’s claim it is safe for some pupils to return.
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said the picture was ‘very mixed’ and ‘highly variable’, with headteachers reporting attendance ranging between 40 per cent and 70 per cent of eligible pupils.
‘School leaders are also reporting an increase in the number of key worker children who are attending across all year groups,’ he added.
Pupils who did return were faced with socially distanced desks, while those at Harris Primary Academy in south London were given temperature checks by staff wearing gloves and visors before being allowed on site.
Many schools across England have decided to delay reopening while they install extra measures to keep pupils apart, while others have said they will continue educating only the children of key workers for the time being.
Despite receiving a letter saying it would reopen, parents and children were turned away from Winsor Primary School in Beckton, east London.
Parent Raquel Carrasco, 47, was ‘quite relieved’. She said: ‘My daughter is only five and I am worried about her getting Covid at school. But my daughter is very happy and she is looking forward to going back.’
Prime minister Boris Johnson had urged reception, Year 1 and Year 6 classes to return, despite members of his science advisory board warning it was too soon. No.10 said: ‘This is the start of a cautious and phased return during which attendance will grow over time. We have only taken this step because we believe it is safe to do so.’
Meanwhile, Buckingham Palace refused to say if five-year-old Princess Charlotte had returned to class.