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Children of key workers should only attend school if their parents or carers cannot work from home, the government said in another U-turn, days after it expanded the supply of face-to-face school places in England for children who lack digital devices and quiet spaces in their homes.
The Department of Education (DfE) updated its guide for critical workers on Friday night and advised parents and caregivers of children who are eligible for a school setting that they should keep them at home if possible.
Parents whose work is critical to the coronavirus (Covid-19) and the EU’s transition response include those working in health and social care and other key sectors described in the following sections. Children with at least one parent or caregiver who is a critical worker can go to school or college if necessary, but parents and caregivers should keep their children at home if they can, ”the DfE guide now states.
It comes after schools and teachers raised the alarm over fears that schools could be overwhelmed amid growing staffing shortages and more students attending the school than during the first closure in spring.
The survey conducted by the Teacher Tapp app found that parents have been sending their children to school in increasing numbers, while principals have complained that their schools are “overcrowded” with students and that parents do implausible claims of being eligible “critical workers”.
Kevin Courtney, deputy secretary general of the National Education Union, welcomed the government’s reversal of school attendance for key working children.
“All the latest statistics on the number of cases and hospitalizations tell us that we have to do everything we can to reduce the number of contacts that people have. Therefore, we welcome DfE’s statement that critical workers should keep their children at home if they can, ”he said.
“However, it is regrettable that the DfE issued this statement at 5:30 pm on Friday, when it should have been clear from the early hours of Tuesday. All of this will lead to further confusion for parents and principals trying to manage the education of key workers and vulnerable children.
“The DfE has presumably issued this advice due to the number of children who have been present in elementary schools this week, which has been much higher than during the close of March.
“The DfE should have been trying to avoid this since the December 22 Sage minutes in paragraph 12 suggested there was concern that even with measures as strict as last March, and with the new variant of the virus, the R rate might not be below one, ”Courtney added.
DfE has been contacted for comment.
