One in six parents in England and Wales is seriously considering not sending their child to school this month over Covid-19 fears, a new poll shows.
The YouGov survey found that 17 per cent of parents might not send their children back to school.
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Approximately 40 per cent of schools were expected to welcome back students for the start of the autumn term today, despite concerns about their ability to reopen safely.
It will be the first time many pupils in England have stepped into a classroom since March, when schools were closed except to look after vulnerable children and those of key workers.
Coronavirus: Parents’ concerns about reopening schools
In the YouGov poll of more than 650 parents, nearly half (48 per cent) thought it would be unfair to fine parents who did not send their children back to school because of the pandemic.
The Department for Education said fines for parents who refuse to send their children to England’s schools will only be used as a “last resort”.
Meanwhile, a poll carried out by Mumsnet found that nearly six in 10 - 58 per cent - of parents felt the DfE had not done enough to reassure them about schools reopening.
These feelings were more pronounced among parents of students who will be taking GCSEs and A levels next summer: 71 per cent of parents of children in Years 11 or 13 said the English or Welsh government had not done enough to reassure them.
And one third - 33 per cent - of parents said they would remove their children from school if the infection rate starts to rise again.
Mumsnet founder Justine Roberts said: “Most parents are glad that children are returning to school but they also don’t feel that the government has done enough to address their inevitable concerns about safety and infection control, and many say they’ll remove their children from school if the infection rate rises again.
“Not surprisingly, parents of older children are the most concerned: those facing public exams at the end of this school year face considerable uncertainty and disruption and could do with some more clarity over when the exams will take place and what the content will be.”
