Teachers have laid bare their horror about schools reopening describing children as 'sacrificial lambs'.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Sunday that Reception, year one and year six pupils can start to return to the classroom from June 1.
But his announcement was met with horror from many parents and teachers across England who think it is far too soon to be going back to school.
One teacher told Mirror.co.uk: "I am very, very concerned that we will be the guinea pigs or sacrificial lambs and just take home the virus to our families.
"There is no way that social distancing is possible in a school.
"It's an absurd suggestion and I am very worried about it."
Some parents are threatening to keep their children off school while local authority leaders and unions chiefs have accused ministers of going too fast on plans to reopen schools and want more local control over their return.
Patrick Roach, general secretary of teachers' union NASUWT, yesterday said it would take legal action against head teachers if schools re-opened without proper protections for staff, in a letter seen by The Guardian.
And St George's Church of England Primary School headteacher Howard Fisher has written to parents about the difficulty of social distancing in primary schools and warns it's "impossible".
In the brutally honest email the Sheerness school teacher warns of the "worst case scenario" and said he would rather let pupils "retake the year than die."
In Liverpool schools will defy the government and not reopen to most children on June 1.
Parents were warned in a letter today that the school-gates were unlikely to reopen by that deadline as the UK remains under the strict coronavirus lockdown.
Liverpool council's director for children and young people's services Steve Reddy said only the children of key workers were likely to be back at school on Monday, June 1, the target date the government set for some schools to reopen, reports the Liverpool Echo
In Wales First Minister Mark Drakeford has confirmed schools will not open on June 1.
Mr Drakeford said that while his Government was committed to getting children back into the classrooms, that is it would work with teaching unions to do it.
NASUWT carried out a survey of its members asking 'What concerns, if any, do you have about the return to full school opening?'
A total of 1090 teachers responded and with their concerns with issues raised including; fears of spreading coronavirus, no PPE, social distancing being impossible to enforce, poor ventilation, student anxiety, lunch times that go on for hours, quality of cleaning and shared apparatus.
"I feel we are being put at unnecessary risk so parents can return to their work"
"Social distancing. We are currently working in school on a rota basis (only those teachers without children) for key workers children and it is impossible to social distance even when we only have a small number of children.
"Hygiene is impossible to maintain even though we do lots of hand washing and wipe shared surfaces but you can't do that all day. Children do not understand.
"We share lots of resources too which cannot always be cleaned after every use but we don't have enough for every child. We have no PPE equipment and feel we are all completely at risk. I am very worried about schools reopening.
"I feel we are being put at unnecessary risk so parents can return to their work where social distancing will be more controlled or be easier to control.
"Trying to social distance in toilets and corridors will be impossible.
"Our corridors are very narrow and we are a large school.
"Lunch times would end up taking all by limiting the children allowed in the hall at any one time. The quality of teaching would suffer as we'd have to limit resources, group work and spend most of the day cleaning!"
"We're not invincible and do not want to be a part of an experiment"
"Safety, number one, first and foremost.
"I worry about the safety of the children, especially as a parent myself, because children can catch the virus and react badly, however limited the numbers.
"I worry about the safety of all of the staff, because even if the children are less affected, it doesn't mean the adults that share the classroom space with them are.
"We are not invincible and we do not want to be a part of an experiment to check how much the children will spread this.
"I worry about an increase in the spread of the virus within the community after schools reopen and therefore, the safety of all.
"Regardless of how effected children are, we know they spread things. They may also not even show the symptoms if it is mild for them and we will not know they have it necessarily.
"They will spread to the adults in school, they will then spread this to their adults at home, who in turn will spread it around the wider community and those who are vulnerable will be at increased risk once again.
"More people are, sadly, likely to die if they reopen the schools too early or fail to make sure that social distancing is adhered to.
"Social distancing in any school, but especially schools in the UK is realistically going to be nigh on impossible.
"I can't fit the number of children in my tiny classroom at the best of times, we are on top of one another.
"I think I'd fit 5 children in if I was lucky with 2 metres apart. Not to mention break and lunch times and how it could ever work to keep them apart. Or enough water and soap even!
"We'd need a large portion of time a day just to get school children to regularly wash their hands. There'd be limited time for learning.
"We need to know it's safe before we return. The numbers need to be manageable.
"We will likely need PPE. It cannot go ahead without every assurance of our safety. It shouldn't happen before September to try to ensure this is the case.
"This frightens me and I do not want to go back to work"
"If social distancing continues in public post lockdown, how can we maintain this in schools, with class sizes if over 30 pupils, over 1000 pupils moving around the school site to the next lesson every hour, break and lunches.
"Children may be a lower risk, but what about us staff? What about the idea that children are carriers, and could bring and pass on germs from home.
"It makes no sense to put so many schools at risk in this way, would this not just start a new spike in cases?
"Honestly this frightens me and I do not want to go back to work, despite not being high risk, if social distancing is to continue across the country but not in schools?!!
"It should be a full opening only when safe to do so"
"You cannot get primary age children to stay 2m apart! We are trying in school but so difficult. Some staff will not be able to return to wok due to health or family health reasons and who is going to sort the online learning for those still at home.
"We will have to be doing 2 jobs if not fully open. Partial opening WILL NOT work as still doing the on line learning and feedback for half then actually in school. Can't do 2 things at once."
"Risk of a second wave"
"Not having PPE it enough of it. Children with special educational needs and disabilities do not understand distancing or the need to wash their hands. At risk due to spitting."
"Utterly terrified about the prospect"
"I am constantly upset anxious and fearful at the prospect. . It is not possible to ensure social distancing with 30 ks1 children.
"The very nature of a KS1 class means they are super spreadersof all germs.
"Therefore, I would not be able to keep my class safe, myself or in turn my own children and family.
"I will not send my own children ks3 and 4 back to school until I consider it safe for them.
"Social distancing is impossible when working with students with SEN.
"PPE consists of gloves and aprons which we already have due to the close contact personal care if pupils. Staff and students are not protected from Corona virus.
"Petrified in all honesty"
"We have a very old building - oversubscribed and big classes. I teach 22 hours of single lessons a week meaning I come into contact with roughly 533 students per week.
"We historically have an ‘uncaring’ management and I worry we will just be thrown back into teaching . Really scared."
"Many pupils have really dirty and unscrupulous habits"
"Sneezing and coughing without protection - over other pupils, staff, onto the tables, never carrying tissues or handkerchieves, perception of it being socially unacceptable to blow their noses, sniffing large amounts of phlegm or wiping it on their sleeves. Pupils not washing hands and vandalising toilets.
"Lack of regular and inadequate cleaning of tables and equipment. Total inability to enforce social distancing. Some cramped classrooms and overcrowding.
"Pupils congregating in large groups, particularly in toilets and inadequate staff numbers to deal with splitting them up.
"Lack of room within school corridors for passing each other, lack of proper seating areas for eating (too frequently pupils will sit on the floor in corridors or stairwells)
"Pupils constantly touching each other (for a variety of reasons) not respecting distance between themselves and staff. Pupils dropping litter and food.
"These are really unhealthy habits in normal circumstances and even more so now.
"There are inadequate numbers of cleaners, the depth of cleaning was already questionable and I feel that there would need to be much more regular cleaning between classes and much more thorough cleaning at the end of each day.
"There is often a lack of soap and hand towels in both pupil and staff toilets. I simply feel that schools are inherently insanitary places and should we return too early, then any illness will spread extremely rapidly between pupils, to staff and they will take everything, then back to their families.
"Scared isn’t strong enough"
"I’m highly vulnerable. I’m petrified. They’ve been using my classroom as a base whilst I’ve been off, which seems crazy since there was every possible room except two that the staff are still in, and they used ours for the first three weeks.
"Social distancing cannot work in my room. I cannot separate my desks two metres apart.
"If I separate then 10cm, it will block access to the fire door. I am disabled and will not get around the room.
"Even then they are desks for two. I think I could have 5 children per day perhaps? How can I teach them without getting within 2 metres?
"To be honest even with 5 I don’t think I am far enough away, that just protects them from themselves. How can I mark their work without being contaminated?
"Our icy equipment is never cleaned. I always share it with 4 staff and the 31 kids, now every staff member had touched it. I have no ventilation except a fire door.
"What if it is cold, or rains? If we don’t have assembly, I will have to plan and deliver those too.
"If we wish to prevent diner time spread, they will be asked to stay in the classroom to eat- I will have to supervise (lunchtime supervisors have 1-120 children in 4 rooms).
"Most of my children have hay fever. With the door open they all sneeze. How can I be safe? How can I eat?
"We cannot social distance in the staff room and I’m too far to go home. Can’t even go to a cafe!
"We have 3 toilet cubicles for 35+ staff, they cannot be kept clean and most definitely cannot be social distanced.
"We will almost all need to visit in the same 30 minutes, there is regularly a queue. I have to touch a touch screen to log in every day. It doesn’t work with gloves, I’ve tried.
"I walk with walking aids, if I put them down they could become contaminated. I’m worried about breaking down on the way to work."
"Economy is being prioritised over people's health"
"I am concerned that schools will open before it is safe to do so because the economy is being prioritised over people's health.
"I am concerned that students who come in coughing and unwell will not be sent home (this was my experience before the lockdown as it was decided by school admin that students were likely faking but in my view that is not a risk worth taking).
"I am also concerned that social distancing is not going to work with full class sizes."
"Dealing with student anxiety"
"Bring a government guinea pig - how is social distancing possible in a school?
"Being held to account for achievement when pupils have had different levels of support during crisis.
"Quality of cleaning... in my current school student facilities were cleaned well but staff toilets were not. Dealing with student anxiety. Parents not sending students in so teaching half a class.
"How do you reach the others and whose responsibility is it? A co-ordinated plan needed for a possible second peak so we are ready and protected.
"The week before schools were closed in March was very stressful for staff left in school covering for absent colleagues.
"Will teachers be some of the first wave of people to get vaccine when and if it becomes available?
"Teachers not given adequate time to replan curriculum to take into account inevitable learning gaps"
"That it will happen too soon, and without proper consideration of the practical implications.
"Social distancing in schools is simply not possible, irrespective of what the government may believe.
"The government repeatedly state that CV is not dangerous for children (which I do not believe to be entirely true) and that they seem blind to the fact that many adults also work in schools.
"Teachers do not have access to PPE and risk catching the virus or taking it home to vulnerable members of their household.
"Schools may be told to increase cleaning routines, but will not be given the resources (including financial) to actually do so.
"My school was filthy anyway due to repeated budget cuts and the subsequent paring down of cleaning staff.
"Disinfecting light switches and door handles twice a day is not going to fix the problem!
"Teachers will not be given adequate time to replan the curriculum to take into account the inevitable learning gaps and varied home learning experiences that will have resulted from lockdown, but will still be expected to magically close said gaps.
"Students in year 10 and year 12 will be seriously disadvantaged in next year's exams.
"Schools will be understaffed due to continuing incidences of illness or self-isolation, increasing workload for those able to work."
NASUWT General Secretary Dr Patrick Roach said: “In a situation where the wrong decision will result in people becoming seriously ill and dying, there can be no compromise on health and safety.
"If this means that schools are unable to open safely before September because they are unable to make arrangements to safeguard their staff and pupils, then that position must be accepted.
“We are reminding members there is no obligation on any schools to extend their opening arrangements.
"The 1 June 2020 is the date from from when schools may be able to extend their opening arrangements.
"It is neither a fixed nor hard and fast date by which all schools must open and there is no requirement or obligation currently on any school to reopen to more pupils from that date.
“Nothing that has been said by the Government or the DfE has changed the NASUWT’s position that no teacher should be expected to go into a school that is not safe and until it can be demonstrated that it is safe to do so and we will be continuing to support and advise members on that basis.”
A Department for Education spokesman said: “We want children back in schools as soon as possible because being back with their teachers and friends is so important for their education and their wellbeing.
“Plans for a phased return of some year groups from June 1, at the earliest, are based on the best scientific and medical advice. The welfare of children and staff has been at the heart of all decision making.
“We have engaged closely with the unions throughout the past seven weeks and will continue to do so, including to develop further guidance for the sector.”
