From Monday hundreds of Plymouth school children will return to school for the first time in months.

Many children in reception, Year 1 Year 6 will return to lessons for the first time since March after the coronavirus lockdown was announced.

Practically and logistically, helping this to happen safely is a big challenge for the council and schools across the city.

Here, Judith Harwood, the council’s service director for education, explains the considerations and challenges the council and schools have had to overcome over the past few weeks.

Here are all the Plymouth schools reopening their doors in June.

'Bringing some year groups back to school is not simple'

When parents were told in March that schools were closing, we helped schools to put things in place quite quickly, writes Judith. Home learning was set up and schools stayed open for the children of keyworkers and vulnerable children.

Unfortunately, bringing some year groups back to school 11 weeks later is not as simple.

Although 90 per cent of schools are aiming to open for the year groups set out by the government during the week beginning 1 June, some are looking to open the following week.

Our approach is absolutely driven by how it can be done safely, not when, and we are therefore not putting any pressure on schools to re-open on 1 June, or holding them to any date after that.

What are schools doing to make it safe?

Every school in the city is carrying out thorough risk assessments before they allow pupils to return. If a school can’t open safely, it won’t be opening. It’s a simple as that.

Together, with other experts in health and safety, we have looked at how many pupils can return safely, how many staff are available, what needs to be in place to continue providing educare for keyworker and vulnerable children as well as children from Early Years, Reception, Year 1 and Year 6.

There are clear guidelines about this that schools must follow. There will be extra cleaning, children will only mix with a small number of children in a group that is kept as stable as possible, social distancing will be in place and staff and some children choose to wear protective Personal Equipment (PPE).

Schools have given us their plans and together we’ve assessed whether re-opening is possible. Only when those running our schools are confident more pupils and staff can safely return to the classroom should it happen.

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I don’t want my child to return to school yet. What happens?

You’re not alone. Many parents feel this way.

It is crucial that parents, teachers and the children themselves have confidence in being able to return to schools, with enhanced cleaning, PPE where appropriate and risk assessments shared with school staff and the rest of the school community.

We are clear that attendance is voluntary and parents will not be fined if they choose not to send their children back to school if they are not comfortable with the measures in place. This should be discussed with your school so you know what they are doing and how they can help.

We are encouraging schools to continue their home learning programmes for children who are not physically attending lessons.

My school has said my child can only return part time. Is this right?

If they haven’t already then your school will make contact to describe the arrangements for children in school so they are as safe as possible.

Each school has a different layout, each with its own challenges and so a one-size fits all is not the right approach. Clearly, younger children do not understand the concept of social distancing so this another factor which is being taken into account.

This means that schools cannot take every child back full time in some case.

For example, the children of keyworkers will still be in school. Social distancing means that schools cannot fit more than 10-15 children into a class. When once your child was in a class of 25-30 in one room this is not now possible. This means that schools need twice the space plus more room for if children fall ill. It is not physically possible to accommodate all children.

Where can I find out more?

If you have concerns or questions about how your child’s school will be dealing with re-opening, please contact them directly. They will be best placed to advise and reassure you.

If you’ve got a query about how the Council is supporting schools you can contact us at childrensservicesresponse@plymouth.gov.uk.