University College London tells students NOT to return to campus until as late as the end of MARCH - with all learning online until at least February 22 amid 'complex' Covid situation
- University College London students were set to return in January after holidays
- But the Provost has announced all teaching will move online until February 22
- Stands in contrast to current government advice to return on January 25
- Several schools across the country have also defied advice by staying shutStudents at University College London (UCL) have been not to come back onto campus until the end of February at the earliest.
Bosses at the central London institution fear the number of cases in the capital is rising rapidly and their partner hospitals are 'at or beyond their capacity'.
All teaching and meetings will be moved online except for students taking courses in medicine, dentistry, pharmacy and teacher training.In a letter setting out the changes, UCL's provost Professor Michael Arthur said he believed it would be unlikely that case rates would 'reduce sufficiently to allow students to return to campus', hinting the closure could be extended into March.
Bosses at the central London institution fear the number of cases in the capital is rising rapidly and their partner hospitals are 'at or beyond their capacity'
The move goes against government advice for students to return to university at the end of January.
Only days ago, Michelle Donelan, the universities minister for England, said the government was planning 'to allow a staggered return…from the week commencing 25 January, at the earliest'.
But, she added the situation 'continues to evolve', which could potentially mean even more time out of lectures and tutorials, except for those studying priority subjects like medicine.In the statement, UCL said it wanted to be 'honest and transparent' about its decision to remain closed.
It said: 'Our current and most realistic assessment is that it is unlikely that case rates will have reduced sufficiently to allow students to return to campus before at least mid-February, and quite possibly the end of March.
'We will therefore be moving all teaching and other face-to-face, in-person activities online from the start of term until the end of reading week. There will be no in-person teaching on campus until Monday 22 February, at the earliest.'
It comes as all primary and secondary schools in London are closed on what would have been the first day of the school term. All schools are to move to remote learning (file image)It added: 'We are aware that this is later than the government is advising but we believe this is the most responsible course of action in this complex situation.'
It comes as all primary and secondary schools in London are closed on what would have been the first day of the school term. All schools are to move to remote learning.
Several other schools in parts of Lancashire, Manchester and Cumbria said some schools had chosen to remain closed to prevent potentially spreading the virus.
Vulnerable pupils and the children of key workers can continue to attend school.
England's secondary schools and colleges receive packs of 1,000 Covid swab kits as rapid-testing drive begins
All England's secondary schools and colleges today received up to 1,000 Covid tests to get children back into class - just as Boris Johnson prepared to keep them all shut into February.
Staff at secondaries across the country started unpacking the kits after the Prime Minister admitted that reopening them on January 18 may be delayed because of the fast spread of the mutant strain of coronavirus.
Primary schools are also set to be sent more tests for staff in the next few weeks - but the children will not have to be swabbed if they are allowed back to class.
But Mr Johnson is set to unveil a brutal new national lockdown tonight in a desperate bid to keep the mutant coronavirus at bay while vaccines are rolled out - including a blanket schools closure.
Students at the University of Hull have arrived back on campus and were pictured swabbing themselves for coronavirus after Christmas at home with their families. It is not known if they will have to leave Humberside again.
The Oasis Trust will be piloting the testing in three of its schools in London and Bristol.
John Murphy, CEO of Oasis Trust, who unpacked the kits in their Coulsdon school today said: 'What we know for sure is that our young people make the best progress with quality first teaching, with their teachers, in the classroom with their friends.
'Therefore, once effectively delivered, we are assured that mass testing in schools will provide additional confidence to our children, parents, teachers and staff, and has the potential to greatly reduce disruption to learning, alongside our existing Covid controls.
Boris Johnson pictured today at Chase Farm Hospital in north London
'In January we will be piloting the testing in a number of our schools before implementing this to all our secondary academies across the country.'
Once up and running, rapid testing will be available to students and staff who are close contacts of those who test positive, according to the Department for Education (DfE).
Testing is repeated every weekday for seven days and weekly testing will be available for staff.
Schools began to receive initial deliveries of up to 1,000 test kits on Monday, the DfE said, with more arriving later in the week along with a handbook and 'how to' guide to setting up a test site.
It said schools will also be provided with comprehensive online training modules with 1,500 military personnel on hand to provide advice and guidance on establishing the process.
Schools will be expected to test staff and students already on site from next week ahead of the planned return of most children for face-to-face teaching in the week beginning January 18. Covid class war: Now Boris Johnson hints secondary pupils won't return until FEBRUARY as unions unite to keep schools SHUT after hundreds of primary heads defied PM by cancelling first day of new term
Boris Johnson today prepared to shut all classrooms after teaching unions and headteachers united en masse in revolt after the PM insisted schools are Covid safe.
All of Britain's teaching unions today called for classroom teaching to be 'paused' until staff are vaccinated. In a joint statement the leaders of the GMB, NAHT, NASUWT, NEU, UNISON and Unite unions have said they want 'an immediate nationwide move to remote education for all pupils in primary, secondary and special schools and colleges'.
On a visit to a London hospital to see the rollout of the new Oxford University/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, Mr Johnson hinted that secondaries may shut for longer when closures are reviewed before January 18 - and insisted the risk to teachers from Covid was no greater than to anyone else working during the pandemic.
'We will have to look very hard at what we do with secondary schools later in the month. Closing primary schools is, for all of us, a last resort. That's why we are looking at everything else we can possibly do to avoid that. I would stress schools are safe and the risk to kids is very, very small', he said.
The Prime Minister added: 'The risk to teachers, and of course we will do everything we can to protect teachers, but the risk to teachers is no greater than it is to anyone else. The reasons for wanting to keep schools open I think are very, very powerful.'
Boris Johnson (pictured today at Chase Farm Hospital in north London) says he had had 'no doubt' that classrooms were safe but many headteachers have ignored him and closed anyway leading to the PM hinting he may now shut secondaries into February
Children enter Manor Park School and Nursery in Knutsford, Cheshire, as schools across England return after the Christmas break - but unions are demanding that all schools are closed immediately
Euan Stanton, a year 7 pupil at a secondary school in Ashford, Kent, studies at home as many schools switch to online learning from today for at least a fortnight
Hours later it emerged that Mr Johnson is set to unveil a brutal new national lockdown tonight in a desperate bid to keep the mutant coronavirus at bay while vaccines are rolled out.
All schools in London are closed today along with the majority of Covid-19 hotspots in Essex, Kent, East Sussex, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire after a Department for Education diktat last week. But headteachers told to remain open in areas such as in Surrey, Gloucestershire, Newcastle, Norfolk, Liverpool, County Durham, West Sussex, Sheffield, Wolverhampton, Leeds and Lancashire have shut down anyway.
There is growing rumours that the Government will soon cave in and close all schools in yet another embarrassing U-turn for Education Secretary Gavin Williamson as the NEU union said that 6,000 primary schools still open today have been told formally by staff that it is 'unsafe' to come into work, leaving parents with an anxious wait to hear if their school will be next to shut.
Closing schools will consign millions of children to 'sub-standard' online learning experts say can 'set back' children years, especially those from working class families while Ofsted chief inspector Amanda Spielman has warned schools not to 'furlough' children by shutting down again.
Parents took to social media this morning describing their anxiety at trying to care for their children at home at the 11th hour while trying to hold down a full time job with many slamming the decision by schools to close unilaterally as 'staggering'.
Northfield St Nicholas Primary Academy in Lowestoft, Suffolk, announced it was closing on Facebook with parent Rebecca Kane venting: 'Nice finding this out via a friend at 8.30pm.... no email or text to let us know. CAN'T say I'm surprised.'
Other parents in all parts of the country said they are fearful for their children because for many homeschooling in the first lockdown last year amounted to 'here do your times tables' and 'no actual teaching'.
John Murphy CEO of Oasis Community Learning unboxes COVID-19 testing kits and rubber gloves at Oasis Academy Coulsdon, south London today. Every secondary school and college will receive 1,000 testing kits in the post today with students expected to swab themselves under supervision when they return
But Lady Eleanor Holles School in Hampton was closed today after all children in the capital were forced into online learning
Schoolchildren make their way to primary school in Leeds (left) and Cheshire (right) - but millions of children are now at home for at least a fortnight
Naomi Carpenter, a 20-year-old sports rehab student at Hull University, takes a swab for a lateral flow Covid-19 test at the campus sports facilities as students return to the university
The area in red is where the Government ordered all schools to shut. The areas in pink are where headteachers have shut down anyway
Schools announced they were shutting at the 11th hour - leaving parents irate and often hearing the news second hand
Official figures show there had been a further 54,990 lab-confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK, up 80 per cent from last week's case figure of 30,501, while the number of deaths had increased by 43 per cent from last Sunday to 454TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady said: 'The Government's own advice from Sage makes it clear that opening schools to all pupils now risks increasing the infection rate. That's in no-one's interests.
'Instead of creating chaos for parents and exposing workers to risks, the Prime Minister should be talking to trade unions about what steps are needed to make sure all schools are Covid-secure.'
NASUWT general secretary Dr Patrick Roach called for a move to remote learning for all pupils nationwide.
He said: 'The NASUWT is completely committed to ensuring that children can return to school as quickly as possible.
'However, it is now abundantly clear that the pandemic is seriously impacting on the ability of all schools and colleges to continue to operate normally.
'The NASUWT is calling for an immediate nationwide move to remote education for all pupils in primary, secondary and special schools and colleges.'
The Prime Minister told families yesterday that children should return to school in all areas where they were due to open today and tomorrow. But as Covid-19 rates soar, teaching unions said that a 'snowball effect' was shutting scores of schools despite the official advice to stay open.
One mother said she finds it 'staggering' that her child's primary school will not be opening on Tuesday, and said she wants the school listening to scientists rather than unions.
The woman, who does not want to be named, received an email from the headteacher of Anlaby Primary School in East Yorkshire on Sunday afternoon advising that pupils should not come back to school on Tuesday.
She told Hull Live that online home learning is 'not good enough', adding: 'I find it staggering how the school is choosing not to take government advice - I am really not bothered about what their union thinks.
'I take my advice from the government scientists who are saying it's safe for children to return to school and so should the school.
'There was no teaching it was just 'here do your times tables' and there was no actual teaching, which created massive amounts of stress in the household as I not only had to teach my child, but I had to work as well.'
Childminder Juliet Voisey wrote online: 'More notice is required. I am a self-employed childminder. I haven't applied for the grant from the government for this period as I am due to open next week. There's a deadline to apply for the grant.'
One parent, who asked to remain anonymous, said she would not be sending her children to school due to her coronavirus safety concerns.
As she has severe asthma, the woman told the PA news agency she could not risk her children bringing the virus home, so would be teaching them herself.
She said: 'We have all managed to avoid catching Covid so far, but with this new strain, I don't think it's safe at all.
'We should never have been taken out of lockdown over the summer. The economy will recover in time, but people's lives won't. And you can't run an economy with the dead, can you?
'Human life is far more important than shops and restaurants opening.
'How can schools be safe if the Houses of Parliament are not safe?'
Some parents have expressed their concern about sending their children back to school in an area where Covid infection rates are rising fast.
Children in Sunbury on Thames, Surrey, returned as normal while less than three miles away in London borough of Richmond all primary schools remained closed, despite having a lower infection rate.
At the school gates of St Ignatius Catholic Primary School in the Surrey borough of Spelthorne anxious parents dropped their children at the school gates.
'My daughter was excited to go back in year two, but I do have my concerns' said Fernando Jardin.
'All the schools in neighbouring London boroughs are closed but the schools here in Sunbury are open.
The infection rate in our borough of Spelthorne is similar to that in Richmond.
'Not sure how one school can stay open while others are closed'
Francesca Yaite admitted to having mixed feelings about sending her daughter back to school after the Christmas break.
She said: 'If am honest I have been worrying about this day.
'The school has been fantastic, but as a parent you have concerns but I do agree with keeping them open . It is so beneficial for the children'
Sophie Symes, a year 7 pupil at Knutsford Academy in Cheshire, studies at home as many schools switch to online learning
Boris Johnson visits Chase Farm Hospital and greets a pensioner given the Covid-19 vaccine as he faces growing pressure to shut schools and impose a new national lockdown
Three miles away in the Hampton every school was closed. It was the same picture in neighbouring London borough of Hounslow.
Latest data shows the borough of Richmond has an infection rate of 550 per 100,000 people while in Spelthorne the rate is at 669 per 1000,000.
A mum waving goodbye to her daughter at St Ignatius said she thought the Government should have closed all schools.
'It doesn't make sense than two adjoining boroughs have different policies' said the mum of two who asked not to be named.
'The virus doesn't stop at boundaries. People are goi g about their daily lives so the virus can easily transmit'
A dad who held his five year old son's hand as he walked him to the school gates said he had agonised over the weekend whether to send his son back to the classroom.
'My son only started in September and he lives it' said the dad.
'He wants to be with his friends. They are kept in a bubble in school but with this new variant there is much more to worry about.
'If the government do a sudden U-turn and the deadline is passed for the grant I'm then out of pocket. I don't want to claim money if I'm able to work.'
Conservative former health secretary Jeremy Hunt has called for the closure of schools and borders and a ban on household mixing 'right away' as he warned that the pressures facing hospitals are 'off-the-scale worse' than previous winter crises.
The chairman of the Commons Health and Social Care Committee wrote on Twitter: 'Time to act: thread on why we need to close schools, borders, and ban all household mixing RIGHT AWAY.
'To those arguing winter is always like this in the NHS: you are wrong. I faced four serious winter crises as Health Sec and the situation now is off-the-scale worse than any of those.
'It's true that we often had to cancel elective care in Jan to protect emergency care but that too is under severe pressure with record trolley waits for the very sickest patients.
'Even more worryingly fewer heart attack patients appear to be presenting in ICUs, perhaps because they are not dialling 999 when they need to.
'Full credit to NHS for keeping cancer services open but in Wave 1 there was still a 2/3 drop in cancer appts: people didn't come forward to GPs or want to go to hospitals, with many potentially avoidable cancer deaths. We hoped to avoid that this time but now looking unlikely.'
Schoolchildren walk to school on the first day of a new term in Tier 4 Manchester today
Rachel Allen, 40, is a single mother to Lewis, seven, (pictured together) and runs a social media consultancy from her Tier 4 home in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire. She says: 'As a self-employed single parent trying to maintain a business that was decimated at the start of lockdown, school is a lifeline for me'. Ella Brucher, 35, a self-employed cleaner, has two children, Scarlet, six, and Dominic, ten, (pictured together) in Purley which is in Tier 4. Ms Brucher said: 'After not being able to work at all for three months earlier in the year, it's very difficult – and more than that, it's hard for the children, too. They want to be back at school.'
Parents shared their stories of being told of school closures at the very last minute
Pinehurst Primary School in Anfield, Liverpool this morning, which announced that they will not be opening as planned this weekDianna Nicholas, 35 a stay at home mum from Castle Bromwich, Birmingham with two children at Firs Academy, aged five and six, said: 'Both my children have got learning difficulties so routine and structure is very important for them.
'They have looked forward to going back to school for the whole of the last week.
'For them the interaction with friends and getting up in the morning and coming home, the whole thing, I think they need it.
'There's been so much uncertainty with everything taken away from us over the last year.
'It's unfair on the children and on us as parents. I think they need a bit of normality.
'Their education is very important because both of mine have got autism and global development delay and getting them to where they need to be is very important.'
Jahangir Ahmed, 51, from Castle Bromwich, Birmingham, who has one eight-year-old son in Year 3, said: 'Most parents aren't happy sending their children to school after the new coronavirus strain started.
'It's spreading so fast and I heard in London one of the school children who died was only eight.
'This school has said Year 4 and 6 are not supposed to come in because of Covid.
'I don't understand this - apparently this coronavirus cannot attack Years 4 and 6?
'What about the others, what is going to happen to them?
'I have met so many parents who have said they don't have any choice because if they don't send their child to school they will start being fined.
'I know that parents are not happy. I also think that every single parent you ask will say the same, didn't they have enough dying last time from coronavirus?
'And now it's going to start having a go at the children.
'We are not happy, we want our children to be educated but their life is more important than anything.
'If they are not going to live then what can they do with their education?
'I want them to make their minds up. If they want to send the children in, send them all, not just some. Or just shut the doors.'
Kuntaea You, 37, who is unemployed and from Castle Bromwich, Birmingham, has two sons aged ten and nine. She said: 'Some people are saying it's not safe but the school is open so we have to send our children to school today.
'I'm okay with my children going into school but only one of my sons has gone in today.
'He's ten and in Year 5 but my other son he's nine and hasn't gone into school as he's in Year 4 and they have not gone in.
'I'm a bit unsure on it all but happy for my children to go into school today.'
Mum-of-four Athena Davidson, 35, a care assistant from Castle Bromwich, Birmingham, said: 'If the government doesn't shut the country down and do what they are supposed to do then the schools have got to remain open.
'But I think the government should just do a full lockdown as this makes it more difficult for parents that go to work.
'Because if the kids go in and someone from their class or a teacher has Covid then they have got to isolate for two weeks.
'But then that parent has got to take time off of work so I don't think the government is considering the people.
'I think they are just all in it for themselves.
'I have got four children and one on the way and have two in school. One is aged nine in Year 5, and I have a five-year-old in reception.
'I just think the government needs to just sort it out. They should just lock the country down again if that is what is needed.'
Leader of Kent County Council Roger Gough urged Education Secretary Gavin Williamson to keep all primary schools in the county closed, saying it is 'very hard to justify' letting some schools open while others are closed.
Primary school pupils in Thanet, Canterbury, Dover and Folkestone and Hythe are expected to return on Monday while the other districts in Kent will learn remotely for the first two weeks of term.
Yesterday council leaders in Cumbria, Brighton, Birmingham and Wolverhampton all formally requested permission for schools in their area to stay shut.
While it waits to hear back from Education Secretary Gavin Williamson, Brighton and Hove City Council has advised all primary heads to shut their schools, apart from for vulnerable children and those of key workers, and to move learning online.
In Southampton the city council warned that some schools 'do not have enough staff to reopen safely to all children', while Slough Borough Council said some primaries would stay closed amid 'confusion across the board' caused by the Department for Education.
Boris Johnson says harsher Covid lockdown IS coming despite Tory fury at warnings it will need to last MONTHS to combat 'out of control' mutant strain – with vaccines only hope of escape
Boris Johnson gives a thumbs up as he has his temperature checked during a visit to Chase Farm Hospital in north London today, with the Oxford University/AstraZeneca vaccine launching
Boris Johnson today confirmed that tougher coronavirus lockdown is coming amid hints the whole of England will be under Tier 4 within days - and enforcement could be hardened.
The PM put Britons on notice that stronger restrictions will be needed for months, despite the optimism sparked by the first Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine doses being administered.
Speaking during a visit to Chase Farm Hospital in north London, Mr Johnson warned of 'tough tough' weeks to come.
He added: 'If you look at the numbers there's no question we will have to take tougher measures and we will be announcing those in due course.'
Earlier Mr Hancock responded to demands from Labour and scientists for a national lockdown by saying all options are on the table. But he suggested the first step will be to escalate even more of the country into the harshest restrictions, saying Tier 3 did not seem able to hold back the more infectious version of the deadly disease.
A headteacher in Berkshire has told parents not to send their children to school tomorrow amid soaring cases of the more-infectious Covid variant - despite assurances from Boris Johnson that schools are 'safe'.
Slough headteacher Gil Denham said she can't 'guarantee that pupils or staff will not be exposed to the virus' if they return on Monday and parents should only send their children in if they feel the risk is not 'too high'.
Most primaries in England are expected to re-open their doors tomorrow, while secondary schools will reopen on a staggered basis later this month with a weekly-testing scheme.
But in a series of embarrassing blows to Gavin Williamson's plans, councils across the country are defying Government orders and demanding their primaries continue to teach remotely as the new Covid mutation wreaks havoc.
Britain yesterday recorded a further 54,990 coronavirus cases in 24 hours - marking the sixth day in a row that daily infections exceeded 50,000.
Cumbria, Brighton, Kent, Birmingham and Wolverhampton have asked the Department for Education for permission to keep primaries closed tomorrow, demanding learning be delivered remotely.
In the mean time, Brighton and Hove City Council has ordered primary schools in the area to shut, while several schools in Wolverhampton, Derbyshire, Merseyside and Nottinghamshire have also refused to open.
And yesterday afternoon, Essex County Council ordered all schools in the only three districts earmarked by the Government for reopening to move to online learning only.
Leader of Kent County Council Roger Gough urged Education Secretary Gavin Williamson to keep all primary schools in the county closed, saying it is 'very hard to justify' letting some schools open while others are closed.
Primary school pupils in Thanet, Canterbury, Dover and Folkestone and Hythe are expected to return on Monday while the other districts in Kent will learn remotely for the first two weeks of term.
Yesterday council leaders in Cumbria, Brighton, Birmingham and Wolverhampton all formally requested permission for schools in their area to stay shut.
While it waits to hear back from Education Secretary Gavin Williamson, Brighton and Hove City Council has advised all primary heads to shut their schools, apart from for vulnerable children and those of key workers, and to move learning online.
In Southampton the city council warned that some schools 'do not have enough staff to reopen safely to all children', while Slough Borough Council said some primaries would stay closed amid 'confusion across the board' caused by the Department for Education.
Colchester, Tendring and Uttlesford have been told to open classrooms on Monday - but the council has now written to Mr Williamson demanding 'urgent clarity' over whether they should still do so as infections continue to soar.
Ms Denham - headteacher of the Marish Academy Trust which operates two primary schools in Slough - wrote a letter to parents saying they can keep their children at home if they feel it is safer, Berkshire Live reports.
The letter read: 'As a parent and grandparent myself, if I feel that the risk of my child or someone else in my family contracting Covid-19 is too high, if they attend school from Monday, I would keep them at home.
'It may be that this is the decision some of you come to for your own families.'
She stressed that online teaching will be available to parents who refuse to send their children in.
She added: 'Neither I, or any other school leader in Slough can guarantee that pupils or staff will not be exposed to the virus in school or on the way to or from school, when our experience has already shown us that Covid-19 can easily spread through a community.'
Slough Borough Council later said it will allow individual schools to make the call about whether or not to open.
Norfolk, Greater Manchester and Southampton have also allowed schools to make their own decisions about sending pupils back.
Their defiance came as the Prime Minister today told parents that it was 'safe to send their children back but refused to rule out a full shutdown to control the mutant coronavirus strain - as Keir Starmer demanded a new national lockdown within 24 hours.
Now nearly a third of the country – some 17million people – are living in areas where primaries have been told to close by the Government, or where councils have said they will back heads who decide to close their gates. Despite the unfolding chaos, Mr Johnson said yesterday that he had 'no doubt' that classrooms were safe. He told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show: 'Schools are safe. It is very, very important to stress that.
'The risk to kids, to young people is really very, very small indeed. The risk to staff is very small.'
He added: 'I understand people's frustrations, I understand people's anxieties but there is no doubt in my mind that schools are safe and that education is a priority.'
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said his plans were insufficient and it was 'inevitable' many would stay closed today.
The unofficial closures came after Britain's biggest teaching union, the National Education Union, called an online meeting attended by 400,000 teachers and supporters where they were told to 'say no' to reopenings.
Ofsted chief inspector Amanda Spielman said school closures should be kept to the 'absolute minimum' as Education Secretary Gavin Williamson urges teachers and parents to 'move heaven and earth', adding the young must not 'bear the heaviest cost' of the pandemic
Kevin Courtney, its joint general secretary, told teachers who dialled in that they should protest against returning to school – and that this could lead to a 'snowball effect'. Within hours, the message appeared to be having an effect.
By last night, many schools had made the decision not to open, despite being outside the Government's 'contingency framework', which mandates closures, with some citing union advice. The Daily Mail has learned of many schools being forced into 11th-hour decisions in the face of staff shortages. For example, Lea Community Primary School, in Preston, said that 'due to health and safety, a rising increase in transmission and infection rates… and following advice of unions' it was unsafe for it to open.
And St Mary's Catholic Primary School, in Birmingham also said 'insufficient staff' was the reason behind its decision to close. All classes would be taught via 'live' lessons delivered online instead.
Bedford Primary School, in Bootle, Merseyside, said it would be shut to pupils, apart from those of key workers, for at least a week 'due to reduced staffing ratios.'
Salford mayor Paul Dennett wrote to Mr Williamson last night saying he wanted face-to-face learning to be looked at again. He said he would 'support any Salford school leader who assesses that it is not safe to open their school'.
Writing in the Mail on Sunday, Mr Williamson gave no indication he was considering widening school closures. 'The safety of teachers and pupils will always be paramount, but we must all move heaven and earth to get children back to the classroom where they best thrive,' he wrote.
Dozens of parents arrived at Perry Court E-ACT Academy in Hengrove, Bristol, which was open to reception, Year three and Year six pupils, as well as vulnerable children and those of key workers.
Law firm worker Lisa, 37, took her four-year-old son Brennon in.
She said: 'In terms of primary schools staying open I'm absolutely fine because they've got lower numbers.
'Secondary school is different. But in Primary schools - groups have been segregated going back now.
'I would be annoyed if the primary school had to close - whether they should be closed or not I'm not sure.
'I'm working from home so my work has been brilliant with having kids at home.
'It's easier for me but for others it's not, it's really difficult, I can imagine their struggles.'
A headteacher in Berkshire has told parents not to send their children to school tomorrow amid soaring cases of the more-infectious Covid variant despite assurances from Boris Johnson that schools are 'safe' (file image)
Victoria, 37, who works in finance and accompanied by her son Oliver, aged four, said: 'I'm very happy with kids going back to school, I agree.
'I believe when teachers stay at home during these situations - they're on furlough, being paid - I'm being paid for my job.
'I'm not paid to be a teacher and I don't have special education to teach my child.
'I don't have knowledge of how to teach my child correctly.
'I'm doing my best, but being in quarantine was a nightmare for me. I had to juggle between being a mum, doing my job and teaching my child - It's hard.
'So I believe the best solution would be that home learning shouldn't just be homework, it's not the same thing.
'If we do have home learning teachers should provide 100% online classes.
'So then my job is to take my child in front of his computer at the right time and make sure he sits there and listens.
'The rest should be their responsibility because i think basic education is for free in this country, I pay my taxes to have this right.
'I shouldn't have to be a mummy, a teacher and carry on with my own job, unless I was being paid extra.'
Unemployed Shirelle, 29, mother to 11-year-old Keira, said: 'I have four kids at home and only one can return today.
'She has to go because she's in year six, she's preparing for her SATs.
'But ideally it's not safe enough for them to go home. I think a full shutdown needs to be done.
'This makes me anxious. We have a vulnerable child at home as well, but education is important and for as long as the schools open I have to send them otherwise I'll get fined.
'I would probably home school them until this was all over. It's not very safe, we don't feel safe.'
Unemployed Hollie, 35, mother to five-year-old Zeus, said: 'I've got seven children so Zeus is the only one out of the seven coming back.
'He was kept home from school before Christmas due to having to isolate.
'My personal opinion is that I'd rather have them all home where I know they're going to be safe.
'But then again I know the school takes the measures to keep the children safe and keeps us up to date with any confirmed cases.
'So as much as I would rather have him home with the others I do feel safe knowing that the school is taking the relevant steps and precautions.
'I think they're education is important but obviously so is our health and their safety. I'd rather have all my children home safe with me until this has all passed.'
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