‘Significant work’ is ongoing to re-open Pembrokeshire’s schools – to no more than a third of pupils at one time – at the end of the month.

Following guidance this week from Welsh Government on how schools will ready themselves for the June 29 reopening with advice on how best to maintain social distancing, outdoor learning, limiting children to groups of eight and other proposals.

Members of the Pembrokeshire County Council schools and learning overview and scrutiny committee heard from the interim director for schools at its committee meeting on Thursday, June 11.

Steven Richards-Downes outlined the work schools had been doing since lockdown in March including online learning, childcare hubs, supporting technologically excluded learners, frees school meal families and vulnerable learners.

Mr. Richards-Downes said plans were at “the very first stage of the recovery process of schools” with four weeks of on site education due to start for those families that want to send their children back to school.

“Everyone in the education community agrees that we need to take a careful approach to the recovery,” he said, with the safety of learners and staff paramount.

Clr. Alison Tudor, who has recovered from Covid-19 along with husband Clr. Tom Tudor, added that she didn’t want people to think the risk of infection had disappeared,

“I can’t say how ill we were and how horrendous it was. I wouldn’t want people to think that because we are returning to some sort of normality that the risk has gone away,” she added.

Cabinet member for education Clr. Guy Woodham said that the situation was “evolving day by day” with aim of making school as safe as possible for staff and learners.

“What we are trying to do, not only to ensure the safety of the learners and the staff is to deliver what we need to deliver for the learner.

“I’d like to see us in a much better place once we finally move out of the recovery stage, which will take a very long time,” he said, adding that the challenge of Covid-19 had been added to the challenges already faced by schools.

A blend of face-to-face and distance learning was likely to continue for the foreseeable future.

Members were told that significant work was underway with schools being visited for “tactical support” on guidance for the placing of hand sanitiser along with other measures, and reviews of building capacity.

Clr. Mike James highlighted the problems that small schools may face and Mr. Richards-Downes said there were some “challenging school buildings.”

He added that the maximum capacity of a third of pupils will be calculated for each school before being discussed with headteachers with some schools capacity being reduced, and a building’s size and layout would impact that.

How school transport will be managed and preparations for an increase in safeguarding disclosures, as well as support for the health and well-being of pupils is all being considered but the decision would rest with parents who were not being forced to return their children.