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22 May 2020updated 06 Oct 2020 9:45am

Only a fifth of councils have advised primary schools to reopen on 1 June, survey suggests

By Samuel Horti

Only a fifth of councils have advised schools to reopen on 1 June, the date the government has set for the next phase of easing lockdown, according to a BBC survey. 

The BBC surveyed all 150 councils that oversee primary schools. Of those, 99 responded, and just 20 said they were advising schools to open from 1 June. Two-thirds could not guarantee schools would reopen for pupils in Reception, Year 1 and Year 6.

Most respondents (53) said they would leave reopening decisions to individual schools. 11 said they were still considering the matter, while 15 local authorities, mainly in the north-west, said they would not be advising schools to open. 

The government will later today publish the evidence that informed its decision to ask schools to reopen.

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