Pupils return but parents in a dilemma
PARENTS have spoken of their mixed emotions over letting their children return to school. In Bristol, Ashton Gate Primary School in Southville was one of few schools in the city to restart classes.
Several other schools are expected to welcome back pupils in the coming days, although many are yet to give an exact date.
Angie Parker, 47, dropped her daughter off to resume Year 6 at around 8.45am.
She said: “I’m going against my instincts, in all honesty. I think it’s too soon for the schools to be opening.
“But this school has been so remarkable. The staff have been amazing. The detail they have gone into – that’s why [the children] are here.
“I’m happy to override my gut reaction to support this moving forward.
“The carrot had been dangled for my child – it would be more harmful to not let her go back.
“I think it would be tough for them to be at home when they could be in school. But whether they should be – that’s a different matter.”
Rachel Mostyn, 43, was also dropping her daughter off to rejoin Year 6.
She said: “My feeling is that the school has done everything they can to make the children safe. I have complete faith in what they are doing. The communication has been excellent.
“My daughter is in Year 6. For her to have an ending is really important for her emotional wellbeing.
“She’s done a lot of remote learning. She’s had calls from her teachers, calls on video. They have been amazing.
“They’re going to keep providing that for the children not coming back in.
“[The decision] is completely up to the parents. There’s been no pressure from the school.
“We thought about it, and the school provided a vast amount of information. We talked about it as a family and talking about it with other parents.”
Parents left their children in a playground opposite the main school building, in the care of teachers
Pupils were then asked to line up outside – spaced well apart – before filing inside at 9am.
Staff at the school declined to comment about the return of the children.
Damon Charles, a 47-year-old parent from near Radstock in Somerset, took his two daughters out of primary school shortly before lockdown began, and believes it is “premature and a bit crazy” to ask them to go back.
Mr Charles, a digital designer, said: “The Government keep saying that children ‘ need to be back at school’ but to be honest I think what that actually means is ‘we, the Gov
. ernment, really need the kids to be back at school’.”
Some have complained that the return of schools has been hastened to allow parents to return to work more quickly.
“They’re clearly not doing this in the best interests of the children, but to serve a political purpose,” Mr Charles said.
He added that he would rather keep his children in a “stable” environment at home rather than the “weird and slightly dystopian environment the schools will have to create in order to allow kids in”.
Primary schools in England have been told to reopen to pupils in Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 from this week, with nurseries also expected to resume sessions.
Yet a survey by the National Foundation for Educational Research found that heads are expecting nearly half (46 per cent) of families to keep their children at home.
Schools in North Somerset won’t open until next Monday at the earliest following the coronavirus outbreak which forced the closure of Weston General Hospital.
I’m happy to override
my gut reaction to support this moving
forward ANGIE PARKER