'It's the best place for your children to be': Chesterfield schools prepare to stay open during second national lockdown

Schools and colleges across the country will continue to welcome students after Prime Minister Boris Johnson declared it his ‘priority’ to keep young people in education.

Headteachers in Chesterfield say their schools are ready and parents will be kept up to date about any changes.

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Helen McVicar, head of academy at Staveley’s Netherthorpe School, said: “It remains very important for children and young people to attend school to support their well-being, education and long-term futures.

"We believe that school is still the best place for children to be.

"We have had a very successful start to the term and both staff and students have shown tremendous positivity and resilience despite the situation.

"Their safety will remain our foremost priority and we will continue to review our risk assessments and procedures in line with any new guidance published.”

Other headteachers said they were pleased to see parents adapting to new rules about dropping children off in the correct way to maintain social distancing and keep children safe.

Jonathan Lynch, headteacher at Heath Primary School, near Chesterfield, said a second lockdown was ‘disappointing news’ and staff at the school ‘understand the worry communities will feel’.

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"However, as a school we have again reviewed our procedures and welcomed back parents and children this morning with over 94 per cent attending.

"We have tried to keep parents updated with more regular newsletters and were pleased with how many wore masks this morning to drop children off, as we had requested before half-term.”

Announcing the lockdown would begin on Thursday, Boris Johnson said: "We cannot let this virus damage our children's futures even more than it has already and I urge parents to continue taking their children to school.

"I am extremely grateful to teachers across the country for their dedication in enabling schools to remain open."

However, some teaching unions including the National Education Union, have called for schools to be included in the new lockdown restrictions and said it would be a 'mistake' to allow them to remain open.

In these confusing and worrying times, local journalism is more vital than ever. Thanks to everyone who helps us ask the questions that matter by taking out a subscription or buying a paper. We stand together. Nancy Fielder, editor.