Key-worker parents told children can’t return to Sheffield primary school on Monday

There are growing concerns among key worker parents in Sheffield who will still not be able to send their children – who are within selective year groups – back to school despite wanting to.

Lydgate Junior School in Crosspool wrote to caregivers to explain that not all students who are also key worker children will be able to return to class on Monday as teachers are also struggling to find child care provision.

It comes after Sheffield City Council announced today that schools in the city can now reopen to pupils from the start of next week.

Public Health Director Greg Fell said: “Having taken the time to carefully consider the risk and impact of COVID-19 in Sheffield, I have today advised Sheffield Council that I am satisfied that schools can begin to open more widely, in a planned and measured way, from Monday June 15.”

In a letter, headteacher of Lydgate Junior School Mr Stuart Jones shared that only 22 students from each year group will be able to return on June 15, where they will be split into two teaching groups of 11.

The limited places have already been allocated to vulnerable and critical worker children and parents were told “If you have not been contacted directly by us with an offer we do not have a place in our provision for your child until at least 22nd June.”

Mr Jones continued: “We all appreciate how increasingly difficult this is for parents, who are being called back to work, and for children, who want to return to school.

“However, we have our own staff availability issues that are limiting capacity, just like every other organisation.

“This is just one of many factors that are impacting our ability to meet demand.

“I am receiving a great many demands from parents that their child must have a place because of the particular nature of their job; but allocation will simply not work on that basis.”

The primary school, which has 270 pupils who are children of essential workers and almost 40 ‘vulnerable’ students, has enforced a prioritisation system to give school places to those most in need.

Mr Jones has urged Sheffield City Council to explore a city-wide approach that prioritises teaching staff for school provision so they can get back to work and expand availability for others.

He wrote: “I have members of staff without places for their own children in their schools’ provision.

“Those members of staff cannot come in to work because they have no alternative safe child care, and so our capacity to expand numbers is reduced.”

The headteacher told parents he hopes to increase the number of primary school places for children from June 22 but hasn’t confirmed how many more can return.