Wolverhampton Council leader: We'll shut schools at risk from virus
A council leader says he will have no hesitation in shutting down schools if staff and pupils are at risk from coronavirus.
Councillor Ian Brookfield, the leader of Wolverhampton Council, has vowed to support the city’s schools through the phased reopening after lockdown.
And he said that while “every precaution” had been taken to ensure schools are safe, he would step in and close any which heads and governors felt posed a risk to staff and pupils.
Mr Brookfield also spoke of the urgency to get as many pupils as possible back into school, saying the knock on effects of prolonged absence would be “disastrous”.
See also:
Pupils from reception, Year 1 and Year 6 returned to school last week, while secondary schools will begin providing some face-to-face lessons for students in Years 10 and 12 from June 15.
Mr Brookfield said: “If there is any danger at all then I will take the necessary action, and the Director of Public Health will step in and close a cluster of schools if required.
“Parents can rest assured that we are taking every single precaution necessary.
“We know that we could stay at this level of infections for a good while, and then there is the possibility of a second wave which could have an impact in September/October.
“Of course that is a concern and they are issues that we are ready to address.”
The council said around 2,000 pupils attended the city’s primary schools last week, compared with around 1,000 during lockdown.
The majority of pupils in the eligible year groups are expected to come in for some face-to-face learning for part of every week, and to be home-schooled for the rest of the week.
Mr Brookfield said: “The schools are doing a fantastic job and let’s not forget, we’ve had kids in the majority of our schools since the lockdown started.
“I would say to families and carers to weigh the decision up over sending their kids back, although we can’t afford to keep them out for too long as the knock on effects would be disastrous.”
Some schools have seen a substantial drop in attendance than expected – with parents deciding to take their child back home rather than leave them in a near-empty classroom.
