Boris Johnson faces Tory revolt on reopening schools in England

Boris Johnson is under growing pressure from Conservative MPs to bring forward the reopening of schools in England after Nicola Sturgeon said pupils in Scotland will return to classrooms from February 22. 

The Prime Minister has said schools in England will not be allowed to reopen until March 8 at the earliest. 

But an increasing number of Tory MPs are questioning why the return cannot be accelerated as coronavirus case numbers continue to fall.   

Boris Johnson is facing a Tory revolt over reopening schools in England after Nicola Sturgeon said pupils in Scotland will start to return to classrooms from February 22

Just shy of 30 Tory MPs are now thought to have backed a parent-driven campaign to reopen schools amid rising concerns about the damage the closures are doing to pupils. 

The parents’ group UsforThem is ‘calling on the Government to reopen schools immediately or at the very least to publish the work it has done to show that the schools shutdown is proportionate’. 

William Wragg, the Tory chairman of Parliament’s public administration committee and one of eight MPs who backed the campaign yesterday, told The Telegraph: ‘The school shutdown has been damaging children’s educational prospects and having a huge impact on their health and welfare.’

Meanwhile, a cross-party group of MPs is pushing to hold a debate in the House of Commons on the need to reopen schools.

The move by the group, which includes Robert Halfon, the Tory chairman of the Education Select Committee, will further pile the pressure on Mr Johnson to act. 

The PM announced at the end of January that he was extending the national lockdown as he confirmed schools would not reopen after half-term on February 22. 

He said that the ‘hope’ is schools in England will start reopening from March 8.  

Ms Sturgeon yesterday announced that schools in Scotland will return on a phased basis from February 22 subject to final confirmation in two weeks’ time.

Under the plan, if confirmed, all children under school age in early learning and childcare will return.

Pupils in Primary 1 to Primary 3 will also be allowed back into school, as will those in the senior phase of secondary school.

However, the First Minister said older pupils will only be able to return to ensure practical work important to achieving qualifications is completed, and only between five and eight per cent of any school’s roll should be able to return. 

Some in Whitehall believe the reopening of schools could be delayed even beyond March 8, pointing out that case rates in England are still twice that recorded in Scotland.

The Government yesterday announced a further 16,840 lab-confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK.

That is the lowest reported daily total of new cases since December 9, when 16,578 cases were recorded.