Ruth Cadbury Publishes Results of School Survey
Opinion divided on whether or not children should be returning
Children at a local school play while social distancing
Brentford and Isleworth MP Ruth Cadbury has published details of a survey she held recently into parents’ attitudes on the reopening of schools.
She thanked the ‘many hundreds’ of her constituents who filled out the survey and said, “People are fairly evenly split about how they feel about children going back to school. It was interesting to note that most people had an opinion - only a small percentage had no view.”
The results showed that of the people who had children who were eligible to return to school, more parents sent their children back than kept them at home.
45% of people wanted to see more children go back to school as opposed to 35% who did not leaving 20% undecided.
80% of people who responded thought that the Government should ensure all children of school age have free access to a WIFI connection at home to support home learning and 91% of people thought the Government could do more so that disadvantaged children do not go hungry.
Ms Cadbury said, "As your MP, one of my jobs is to ensure that the varied views of my constituents are represented in Parliament. What comes through from the survey and the comments that people made was that, in broad terms, most people want their children back in school but that the Government must do far more to convince parents that their children will be safe. Unless they are able to make that argument, a lot of parents will vote with their feet and keep their children at home.
“It was also clear from the comments people made that there is a high level of concern about the wider impact of the closure of schools on pupils, particularly those from a disadvantaged background.
“I will make sure that in Parliament I continue to hold the Government to account and press for further steps to be taken to support Headteachers and staff who are trying to ensure a safe return for all pupils in September.”
July 24, 2020