Schools ask for help as capacity issues lead to parents unable to return to work

Calls have been made for a similar level of resources to be made available to education as was to the NHS to help children recover from the price they have had to pay as a result of school closures.

School capacity is severely restricted by guidelines on social distancing and separating out existing classes into smaller groups of up to 15 pupils from much larger class sizes, and some of Devon's schools are already at full capacity as a result of coronavirus restrictions.

But with the number of children in Devon attending school almost double the national average, some schools have already reached capacity and are unable to accept any additional pupils.

It has prompted fears of 'personal battles between headteachers and families' being created when they have to turn down applications from parents who either want or need their child to return to school to enable them to get back to work.

Devon's chief officer for children's services has called for the resources made available to the NHS to also be given to education.

Jo Olsson said: "Children have paid a huge price for protecting their community. Children have lost their education and disadvantaged children lost more than others, so in the reset, children have to be at the heart of the response, and the resources made available to the NHS needs to be made available for children to recover from the experiences they have had."

Dawn Stabb, Head of Education and Learning , told Wednesday's Devon Education Forum meeting that an open letter to schools is set to go out which clearly states that while we will work with schools to find solutions to the capacity issues where possible, but that they cannot ask schools to take additional children if it is unsafe to do so.

The meeting heard that unless social distancing restrictions were scrapped entirely, schools would be unable to open to full cohorts in September unless a rota system was allowed.

Speaking at the meeting, Mrs Stabb said that Devon's school have seen higher attendance numbers than across both the South West and nationally, with 17 per cent of all pupils across all age groups currently in school, compared to 9 per cent nationally.

In primary schools, nearly a quarter of all pupils have returned, 24.6 per cent, compared to a national average of 15 per cent, with 72 per cent of primary schools offering at least one year group places in additional the already in school children of key workers.

She added: "At the moment, 98 per cent of all schools are open, and by the end of the week we anticipate all of them will be," adding that 53 per cent of the early years settings have reopened.

The meeting heard on June 15, 6,717 children of key workers were attending school – more than double the figure before the half-term break – but she added that the increase was causing issues with capacity.

She said: "There is at least one school where there is a waiting list and there are others about to reach the capacity. In primary schools, we know from the end of last week, 44 per cent of pupils who were offered a place took it up, and that has increased this week, which is well above the national average so were are seeing the capacity issues earlier than rest of the country."

An open letter is to be sent to schools which will very clearly state that while Devon County Council will work with schools to find solutions to the capacity issues where possible, they cannot ask schools to take additional children if it is unsafe to do so.

Mrs Stabb added: "We are raising the need for a national plan from September. It is very difficult schools to plan without having an idea as to what the expectations will be. No-one is expecting a crystal ball but we are pressing for an urgent need for clarification on the plans for the summer and for September."

Jamie Stone, headteacher of Denbury Primary School, said that lots of school leaders are reporting the pressures around the ability to bring children into school. He said: "We are expected to take more and more children but if they are not already at capacity, they are very close to that. What support can be given to those who have reached capacity, as there is the risk of it becoming a personal battle between headteachers and families? Can we have something like when schools are closed due to snow to say which schools are at capacity and that it is something to point to?"

One option the Government is considered to increase capacity is by creating extra classrooms or using village halls, but Paul Walker, chief executive of the First Federation of Schools, said that in a large number of the villages in the county, the option to use other buildings do not exist as schools are in the village hall.