THERE is concern among primary school headteachers that their schools are set to reopen next week - despite Cumbria being placed in the highest level of coronavirus restrictions and with no testing for pupils and staff.

Education secretary Gavin Williamson told MPs on Wednesday the vast majority of primary schools would reopen as planned, and only those in a small number of areas with the highest infection rates would not reopen - except to vulnerable children and children of critical workers.

Despite Cumbria moving into tier 4, the county’s 280 primary schools are expected to welcome back pupils on Tuesday.

Alex Wilkinson, executive officers of Cumbria Primary Headteachers Association, said the lack of testing for primary schools is a concern.

While testing offers a layer of protection to secondary schools, he said there is very little support for primary schools.

“Part of the problem is that primary age children seem to be showing some different symptoms to those in adults and older school children.

“Primary headteachers are being expected to try and ascertain whether a child who is ill is displaying Covid symptoms or symptoms of something else,” he said.

“The other main thing is that while secondary teachers and secondary pupils are starting mass testing on Monday, there is going to be no testing in primary schools.

“Some of the primary schools in Cumbria are bigger than some of the secondary schools and that is a problem.

“Teachers can have underlying health problems, they can be pregnant, and so there is a number of people who are really anxious about returning to work.

“The Government does not seem to be supporting primary schools.”

The PHA is doing all it can to support headteachers and Mr Wilkinson said Cumbria County Council’s Public Health and Learning Improvement Service have been really good at supporting schools.

“There is a lot of concern. But primary teachers and headteachers, being who they are, will turn up to school, and will be working effectively, carefully and doing the very best they can as the always do, and have done since March, including working through holidays,” Mr Wilkinson continued.

“I’m really concerned that a lot of the people I speak to and see online are really jaded and exhausted. A lot of them haven’t had an opportunity to rest and recuperate.”

The Department for Education works with Public Health England, the NHS and the Joint Biosecurity Centre and across government to monitor the number of new infections, positivity rates and pressures on the NHS, which form the basis of how its latest decisions have been made.

It says: “The contingency framework for education includes the option to move primary schools to remote education should rates of incidence or transmission of the virus in a local area require it.

“Evidence suggests that transmission is limited between young children, and the decision to close primary schools will be based on higher thresholds than for secondary schools and colleges and will only be taken as a last resort.

“Early years will remain open nationally, as will alternative provision and special schools.”

Mr Wilkinson, who retired yesterday, added: “The headteachers of Cumbria are an amazing group of people and I hope the parents of the children in their schools appreciate the work and the care that they have given over the last eight, nine months, really in some cases at the expense of their own health.”