Brighton and Hove primary schools advised to stay closed due to surge in coronavirus infections
Many across England are due to reopen on Monday (January 4th).
Primary schools across part of Sussex are being urged to stay closed until January 18th due to a rise in coronavirus cases in the city.
Brighton and Hove City Council has issued warnings that the city's infection rate is now 500% higher than it was at the beginning of December, when national lockdown measures were eased.
A statement released by the authority put the current rate of infections in the city at 388 per 100,000 people - but warned that a 'rapid rise' is continuing and will likely reach around 500 per 100,000 in the next few days.
Councillor Hannah Clare, chair of Brighton and Hove City Council's Children, Young People & Skills Committee said:
“We therefore must do this to protect our NHS from being overwhelmed and ensure that our city’s children, school staff and the wider community are kept as safe as possible.
“We know that there will be sacrifices that have to be made as a result of this and that many families will now face challenges in finding the right childcare on a short time frame. We are sorry this is the case.
“The Government has left us to make this decision that it is not brave enough to face and we hope to see a change of heart from them for primary schools across the south east.
“Until then, we will work with our city’s primary schools to ensure they are supported in providing remote learning, while remaining open to the children of key workers, and vulnerable children.
“In the next two weeks, we will use this time to seek urgent clarity from Government on how it will ensure that school staff are vaccinated as a priority.”
Primary schools in West Sussex are currently set to reopen on Monday, along with those in the majority of England - save for ones in areas with the highest Covid-19 infection rates.
Those include the Hastings and Rother districts of East Sussex.
The government has said it will only close schools and move to "remote education" as a last resort - after a leading union said teachers have a legal right not to return to classrooms due to the spread of COVID-19.
The National Education Union (NEU) has said all primary schools should remain closed for at least two weeks following the Christmas break, and is urging Education Secretary Gavin Williamson to move all learning online as infections continue to rise.
The government's handling of the situation has prompted the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) union, along with the Association of School and College Leaders, to make preliminary steps in legal proceedings.
On Friday, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said that primary schools in all 32 London boroughs will remain shut next week - rather than just those in certain boroughs as he had announced days earlier.
He also signalled more schools outside London could close by warning that the list of closures is being kept under review.
A Department for Education spokesperson said:
"Children's education has consistently been a national priority, which is why we want classrooms to reopen wherever possible in the new term.
"Schools will continue to implement appropriate safety measures to help mitigate the risk of transmission.
"As we've said, we will move to remote education as a last resort, with involvement of public health officials, in areas where infection and pressures on the NHS are highest."