News
Greater Manchester school to withdraw places for pupils who break lockdown rules
The headteacher has issued a warning letter
A school has threatened to withdraw places for pupils who have told teachers they are visiting people from outside their households.
Yew Tree Community School in Oldham has said they will withdraw places for those children in school who have admitted to visiting friends, neighbours and family despite Covid-19 lockdown rules.
Headteacher Martine Buckley said she would take action when ‘parents were putting staff in danger’.
Currently, schools are open to pupils who are listed as vulnerable or as children of key workers. Families can also form childcare bubbles with another household and children who live between two parents who live separately can move between households.
However, other household mixing is forbidden.
Mrs Buckley began the letter by saying she was ‘upset’ to be writing this but that ‘I feel I must’.
She continued: “Our lovely children are open and honest and they tell us about their lives and activities.
“A number of them are telling us that they are visiting friends, neighbours and family which is against the law.
“Our teachers and support staff are putting their own safety at risk to look after your children and they should be confident you are doing your bit to follow the lockdown rules.
“I am afraid I will have to withdraw the offer of a place in school to children whose parents are putting us in danger.”
One man told the BBC that his two grandchildren who were at the school have been asked about their activities at home which was ‘out of order’.
He said: “My granddaughters are pretty intimidated by the tone.
“Asking them questions like that and then the answers off the back of that. They come to a decision of whether they are going to displace them or not.”
A spokesperson for the Department for Education said: “We expect schools to work with families to ensure all critical worker children are given access to a place if this is required.
“We encourage all vulnerable children to attend.”
Commuters could be facing the steepest rise in the cost of train travel in more than a decade just months after prices were already increased.
It has been predicted today that train prices across England and Wales could rise by nearly 5% before the New Year.
The 2021 rise in prices was delayed as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic when train travel was at an all-time low, however, tickets still saw a price rise of 2.6% in March.
Abhijit Tembhekar / Flickr
And this morning, the Retail Prices Index for July 2021 was confirmed as 3.8% by the Office for National Statistics, meaning passengers could see fares rise by 4.8% in 2022, which would be the largest hike since 2012.
This means that the cost of rail travel could increase twice within ten months, and would see a Manchester-Glasgow off-peak return rise by £6.30 to £94.90, according to Metro.
Though all hope isn’t yet gone – changes to the fares in 2022 are still yet to be confirmed.
Jon David Houghton / Wikimedia Commons
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “No decision has been made on national rail fares.
“The government is considering a variety of options and we will announce our decision in due course.”
This news has come as train travel in Manchester and beyond is on the rise – earlier this month, we reported that zero cases of Covid were found in Manchester Piccadilly Train Station, despite thousands of commuters using the station’s services as offices reopen.
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