CONCERNED parents are calling on the Government to ditch its plans to delay the reopening of north Essex schools in favour of keeping them closed all together.

On Wednesday education secretary Gavin Williamson announced ministers had been forced to rethink their blanket approach to returning pupils to classrooms due to the rising Covid-19 infection rate.

As a result, secondary schools, and colleges in Clacton, Colchester, and Harwich will not open until January 18, with remote learning being rolled-out instead.

For vulnerable children and those of critical workers, however, all settings will reopen on Monday.

Students in exam years will also be able to return to education from January 11.

Most primary schools are also likely to open as planned on Monday, but those in Braintree and Maldon will not.

Gazette:

Since the announcement, Kirsty Louise Eyles, 39, from Harwich, has set up an online group for like-minded parents to come together to discuss the reopening of schools.

Her three children – one of which is at high risk of illness - attend Harwich and Dovercourt High School and the Mayflower Primary School.

She said: “I am very concerned about all my children going back to school and I will do whatever it takes to keep my children safe – I will home school them if I have to.

“In Harwich we are in Tier 4, but how is it a lockdown when the schools are still going to open?

“With a child who is at high risk of illness, I am so afraid of him, and my other children, getting coronavirus.

“As a single parent, if anything happened to me they would get separated.

“Parents have not been given a choice, but it’s not just parents, this affects teachers too.”

Teresa Dent, 51, from Colchester, sends her daughter to the Colchester Sixth Form College.

She is due to return on January 11 as she is preparing for her final exams, but Teresa, who is shielding, has her reservations.

“I have always been completely behind my children with their education,” she said.

“But I have taken the decision my daughter will not be going back to college.

“I know she feels I’m letting her down in some way, but how would she do in her A-Levels if her mum was dead?

“I have no choice - life at this point is more important than education.”

Gazette:

Samantha Honey’s three children all attend Clacton County High School.

The 39-year-old said: “I think schools should be closed.

“The Government have changed so many laws, why can’t they just extend schooling for another year for this generation?

“This would protect our children’s education and the lives of their families.”