Ceredigion Schools prepare to reopen

CEREDIGION schools are preparing to reopen their doors for the end of the summer term with around a third of pupils allowed at one time.

The relevancy of Ceredigion County Council’s school admission policy 2021/22 was questioned by Cllr Hag Harries as the council’s cabinet signed it off at its first virtual meeting on June 9.

Cllr Harries said the admission policy was “at risk and redundant at the moment” with coronavirus restrictions meaning that social distancing measures needed to be in place in a bid to ensure the safety of pupils and teachers.

The policy relates to the number of pupils each school in the county can register, the meeting was told by corporate manager for accountability and progress Meinir Ebbsworth and that did not change because of Covid-19 but the number going on site would.

“Safety drives this, the numbers in a school won’t be anymore than what is safe according to the risk assessments,” she told the meeting.

Further guidelines from Welsh Government on how local authorities will reopen schools, closed since March, is expected before the end of the week, members heard, with the council incorporating it into the guidance it had already been preparing.

This includes accepting a third of pupils back into school, although this was a “cap” said Mrs Ebbsworth, with the site size of some schools meaning classrooms were not suitable for that amount of children while maintaining social distancing.

Mrs Ebbsworth added that the admission number does not change but there will be a “blend of face to face education and remote education for a period, we don’t know how long.”