THE Government’s hope to partially reopen schools has had a cautious response across Cumbria, with fewer than 70 per cent of headteachers planning to open for the eligible year groups.

That was the assessment yesterday from Cumbria County Council - although one Carlisle city councillor, who is also a teachers’ union official, has voiced the fear that the plan to bring back reception, year one, and year six pupils this week has been “rushed”.

Cathedral and Castle ward city councillor Louise Atkinson, who sits on the national executive committee of the National Education Union (NEU), said even some of the scientists advising the government say the potential risk from the return of pupils would be halved two weeks from now.

“Parents are concerned - and we as a union are concerned,” she told the News & Star.

The NEU believed two of the Government’s criteria for a safe return of pupils to schools have not yet been met. One relates to the infection rate in the community, which is not yet low enough; and the other to the test, track and trace system, which is not yet running as it should be, she said.

Mrs Atkinson, who is also a school governor and parent, added: “Schools have been put in an horrific position: they could be blamed for failing children if they don’t open; and blamed for failing the community in a public health sense if they do.

“I’m desperate to see my class again and my children want to see their classmates, but this has been rushed.” She said school leaders had been left to follow a "reckless" road map back to reopening. The Government has insisted it is following the science, and that its moved to ease lockdown are dependent at every stage on the conditions being right to minimise risk.

A Cumbria County Council spokesman said: “Given the wide diversity of schools in Cumbria, there is no single approach to reopening that applies to all schools.

“The council has been supporting more than 300 schools to gather detailed information regarding their arrangements for reopening.

“Individual schools are making their own decisions about reopening following a risk based assessment process, with support from the council and public health experts.

“For hubs and schools opening for children of key workers and vulnerable children, there were 194 schools planning on being open (60 per cent) and 17 hubs from Monday, with a further 21 schools being open from yesterday.

“This would give a total of 67 per cent of schools opening, plus the 17 hubs.

“In addition, for schools open to reception, year one and year six, there were 56 schools planning on opening from Monday (17 per cent), with a further 12 schools opening from yesterday (68 schools in total, or 21 per cent).”

Hub schools have stayed open throughout the pandemic, catering for the most vulnerable children and the children of key workers such as those working on the NHS front line.