This is just one of many emails being received by parents tonight telling them their children’s schools won’t be opening as planned this week (in this case in Bedfordshire). In many places heads and governors are taking matters into their own hands.

Another where the head says they’re going to have to use tomorrow to take stock: “I am really sorry for the short notice to the change of start date. This has been caused by the escalation of the virus [and] not knowing which way the government would turn”.

Back in March, one of the things which made national school closures more likely was the fact that attendance plummeted, as parents acted unilaterally. Govt is stressing that schools are safe. But one of the big themes of this week will be whether parents/teachers will listen.

NEW: Northumberland County Council effectively leaves it up to individual heads and governors to make the decision about their school reopening. Encourages parents to check school websites.

Parents, teachers, councillors- let me know what’s happening in your school. DMs open.

Remember the wider context to all this- as last term wore on, attendance was already slipping to an English average of under 80%. In some areas was as low as around 50-55%. Some schools were barely functioning as a result of staff and pupil Covid absence. https://twitter.com/lewis_goodall/status/1338974335063777280