NAHT calls on government to justify its belief that June 1st is a wise move

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT said:

 Support for a fixed date for school return is vanishing quickly. What is needed now is local flexibility to determine when it is right for schools to open up to more pupils, informed by evidence of what is happening in their local area.

We have never expected certainty; all we have asked for is clarity. The publication of the evidence being used to inform the government's decision-making is an important step in achieving greater transparency.

We’ve now seen what evidence the government has been working with. We all want to see schools back as soon as possible, so NAHT has written again to the secretary of state for education today because we still need the government to explain why it has so strongly asserted that a return to school on 1 June is a wise thing to do.

The government needs to show greater flexibility and a willingness to take local circumstances into account. A robust test, trace and isolate policy is essential if we are to successfully return more pupils to school.