Politicians, teachers, school governors, unions and parents from across the Lancaster district raise concerns over aim to re-open schools

The calls come after local authorities in Manchester, Cheshire West, Salford, Liverpool, Stockport, Hartlepool, Bury, Rochdale and Wirral made the decision not to re-open schools on June 1 unless the five tests are met.

Conservative County Coun Phillippa Williamson, Lancashire County Council's cabinet member for children, young people, and schools, said that ensuring the conditions are right for more children to be in school and that a careful phased approach is in place is crucial.

She also said that before any school has an increase in pupil numbers a full health and safety risk assessment would be carried out.

She added that the decision to allow more children to return to their school lies with the school itself, and that the county council will support schools in the decisions they make.

County Coun Lizzi Collinge, who represents Lancaster East for Labour, said: “As the mum of a six-year-old in Year One, I know many parents have been wrestling with the decision about whether to send their kids back to school.

"It’s a very personal decision based on your own family’s situation and the benefits of education and the risks of not being in school are clear.

"For me though, I can’t send my child back to school if I don’t know that the school are able to keep staff and pupils reasonably safe.

"Six-year-olds simply can’t keep their distance or follow strict hygiene or at least mine can’t!

"I am really concerned that staff and the wider community would be at significant risk from schools opening to more pupils.

"Of course, some pupils need to be in school either because their parents are key workers or they would disproportionately suffer from missing school and I support schools to serve those children.

"I just don’t trust the government to get everything in place to enable wider reopening.”

A joint statement has also been made by teachers, unions, head teachers, parents and governors in support of the National Education Union's Five Tests.

It said: "We note that the schools have not been closed and have been looking after children of key workers and vulnerable children every day, including through Easter and the Bank Holidays.

"No scientific evidence has been provided by the government to support their decision to increase the number of pupils going to school.

"The government has not addressed the five tests raised by the NEU, so in the absence of clear, scientific evidence saying that it has become safe we believe it is still unsafe to increase the numbers of children in school at the present time:

1) The coronavirus case count is still too high.

2) There is no plan for adequate social distancing in schools.

3) There is no plan for regular testing and tracing of children and school staff.

4) There is no plan if a case occurs in a school.

5) There is no plan for appropriate PPE in schools.

"Under Section 44 of the Employment Rights Act headteachers and employers could not say with any surety that it is safe to increase the number of children in school.

"Therefore we will not extend the reopening of schools on June 1.

"We believe the scientific evidence suggests the rate of infections will go back up and more people will die unnecessarily if more pupils start to go to school.

"We have witnessed this in other countries.

"We support the continuation of existing safe staffing levels and pupil numbers.

"The NEU five tests are supported by the NAHT (National Association of Head Teachers), TUC (Trades’ Union Council), NGA (National Governance Association), the BMA (British Medical Association), Parentkind, Eric Jones, chair of Lancaster Unite, and Lancaster University UCU."

It is also supported by North West Lancashire Green Party, including Coun Joanna Young who is chair of governors at Bowerham School, Labour councillors on Lancaster City and Morecambe Town Council, and Lancaster and Morecambe Supply Teachers Network.

Parentkind, formerly PTA, which represents parents of school children, and whose members include school PTAs and PTFAs, carried out a survey of over quarter of a million parents, which showed that 90 per cent would oppose the re-opening of schools as soon as lockdown ends.

It said: "This level of opposition shows that most parents require greater reassurance that educational settings are a safe environment for their child before they will be prepared to allow them to return."

The government has said that parents who chose not to send their children to school would not have absences labelled unauthorised or be subject to financial penalty.

County Coun Azhar Ali, leader of Lancashire County Council's Labour group said: “Of course as a parent I want my kids to go back but I will not be sending my kids back until safety in schools for teachers, staff and kids can be guaranteed.

"Teachers have been contacting worried out of their minds about their real fears that social distancing can not be maintained and therefore we could end up with a second wave of Covid-19.

"I have no faith in the government's promises around testing as you only need to look at the chaos around care homes.

"Lancashire County Council should be clearer in its guidance and also make clear whether head teachers and school governors would be liable to legal action if someone got infected or worse."

In a statement released today Coun Williamson said: "We have been working with headteachers across Lancashire and union representatives to consider the guidance that has been made available so far by the DfE in order to put a considered, thought-out recovery plan in place for an increase in pupil numbers for a while now.

"Ensuring that the conditions are right for more children to be in school and that a careful phased approach is in place is crucial.

"The situation in Lancashire is that we have a range of schools that are governed under different relevant bodies, and headteachers who decide on a school by school basis what the right decision is for their school, in consultation with governors.

"We know that they are best-placed to be able to make individual choices based on the circumstances of their schools, the decision to allow more children to return to their school lies with them.

"We will support schools in the decisions they make.

" It is essential to remember that the majority of our schools have remained open and that it is important to help more young children and their families to get back to some sort of normality.

"Before any school has an increase in pupil numbers a full health and safety risk assessment will be carried out.

"We will advise schools on health and safety, testing of staff and pupils, and about PPE, in line with the national guidance.

"We are monitoring the situation closely and we will issue public health advice both generally to schools and individually to inform their decision- making.

"I would like to take this opportunity to thank our teaching and support staff across the county who continue to work so hard in keeping our schools and nurseries open."

County Coun Geoff Driver, leader of Lancashire County Council, said: "This is clearly a very sensitive issue involving difficult decisions for schools and parents.

"We are working closely with the schools and it is particularly disappointing at this time that, yet again, some county councillors appear to be seeking to score political points and thereby adding to the concerns that parents quite understandably have.

"I stress, no schools will reopen or take in more pupils unless it is safe to do so."

Shadow Cabinet member for Schools Coun Jenny Mein said: "I agree with the British Medical Association that it is not safe to send school kids back yet.

"We have to listen to the experts and reduce the risks."

Sam Ud-din, Chair of Lancashire NEU Branch said: "I fully support the position and argument of County Coun Ali in his letter to Lancashire County CEO Angie Ridgwell.

"Lancashire school staff are ready to agree to start ceasing support for students from home, re-start more extensive travel to and from school workplaces and interact with more students in classrooms.

"BUT this will only happen when our very sensible Five Tests can be shown to have been met.

At the moment, Lancashire is not far enough along the road of reducing the incidence of new cases.

"The proposed plans for 15 students per room, without PPE is not acceptable.

"And there is still woefully too little capacity for quick and accurate testing.

I have, well afterwards, been made aware that at least one student and one teacher have been positively tested for Covid-19 locally.

"The data about a small region of Australia that was promoted over the weekend by one national tabloid, to encourage an early return from 1st June, would suggest that we should be happy with more than one incident in every Lancaster and Morecambe school.

"That would be absolutely not acceptable.

"I have heard too of local cases where already more than 15 students have been crammed into a room.

"This is too dangerous already.

"And we would be concerned by any plans, beyond what is being tentatively suggested by the government, being rushed forward by any school to extend opening at Secondary School level from 1st June.

"Fortunately, schools are undertaking Risk Assessments - and those that we have seen so far clearly show too high a level of danger to warrant opening on 1st June.

"But this kind of hectic activity does not encourage all those that that we speak with to feel that the safety and lives of staff, children and their families are being sufficiently considered.

"LCC is responsible for the safeguarding of all Lancashire children and the safety of all Lancashire citizens.

"The right decision has already been made in the North West by Liverpool, Stockport, Bury, Rochdale, Manchester, Cheshire West, Salford and Wirral.

"Lancashire should be leading the way.

"I would praise too head Teacher unions, the BMA and the National Governance Association (NGA) and all the other groups that have all said that there is not enough evidence as yet to be be deciding to return by 1st June and that our tests, the NEU 5 Tests, are sound and sensible.

"The hundreds of individuals that have signed up to the local Trades' Union Council sponsored joint statement on Facebook and via googledocs are testament to the width and strength of feeling locally, especially amongst parent groups."