A primary school lacks the ‘space and staffing capacity’ to welcome back Year 6 pupils when it reopens in June.

Like primary schools across the country, Epping Primary School is preparing for a phased reopening from June 1.

However, the school in Coronation Hill will only be bringing back Reception and Year 1 pupils and not Year 6 pupils like most other schools.

Epping Primary School will be at “maximum space and staffing capacity” with Reception and Year 1 returning, parents have been informed.

A spokesperson for the school said: ““Department For Educations guidance states the school must prioritise provision for vulnerable and key worker pupils, then EYFS (Reception), then Y1, then Y6.

“We have received a very strong response from all parents in EYFS, Y1 and Y6. At this time our planning suggests we can safely accommodate all of our vulnerable and key worker children, all of our EYFS and all of our Y1 pupils full time from June.

“The need to maintain social distancing guidance means that once all these pupils are safely accommodated the school will be at maximum space and staffing capacity.

“The school is therefore, and with great sadness, unable to accommodate our Y6 pupils. We will confirm arrangements we will be putting in place to maintain contact with children and any virtual transition work we have planned.”

The school, which closed for the majority of pupils due to the coronavirus pandemic on March 20, will be subject to a county council health and safety assessment before it can return to full operation.

Cllr Ray Gooding, ECC cabinet Member for education, said: “Reopening is a complicated exercise and we are helping settings to come up with their own solutions. This means that settings will have their own approaches that work best for them, their children and their local communities.

“We are clear that each setting’s health and safety risk assessment should drive their decision making. This will mean that not all settings will be able to offer a full-time service initially. Some may re-open later in June. Things will be gradual, phased, and small scale to begin with."

A spokesperson for the school added: “In order to plan for the safe reopening of Epping Primary School senior leaders and governors have been following all guidance provided by the DFE and the local authority, alongside the completion of a very detailed whole school risk assessment. This risk assessment will be kept under review throughout next half term.”

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