OVER 4,500 children are attending borough schools this week as primary and special schools welcome more pupils back, says the council leader.
Councillor Ian Courts also says he hopes the numbers will increase in the coming weeks.
Schools are now open for nursery, years 1 and 6 pupils in addition to key workers.
But the government this week aborted plans to bring back other primary school year groups before the summer holidays due to social distancing difficulties in schools.
The Conservative government has been accused of lacking leadership on the issue, as many heads and teachers’ unions had repeatedly warned of safety problems.
Conservative borough council leader Coun Courts said in his latest newsletter today:
“Latest official figures show that there are now over 4,500 children attending schools across the borough this week, as our primary and special schools welcomed more pupils back.
“I would like to thank all our head teachers and their staff for all their planning and hard work – this has more than quadrupled the numbers attending since the Whitsun break.
“We are working very hard to ensure that as many vulnerable children, especially those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, are able to attend and hope to see this number increase in the coming weeks.
“Secondary schools will also start having face-to-face contact with pupils in year 10 and year 12 from next week. They have been busy putting their plans in place, to enable this to take place safely and I hope that when it happens, the experience will be as positive as that which we have seen from our primary schools over the last two weeks.”
