Laura Doel, NAHT Cymru director said: “A decision of this magnitude needs to be based on the advice of medical and scientific experts and it is not for schools to say whether circuit breaks are the right or wrong thing to do.

"What is clear is that if schools were to be part of any planned circuit breaks and close, our concerns would be for vulnerable children taking more time out of school when schools play a vital role in their support network; more time out of education when children have already lost so much and we don’t we don’t know how long that may continue.

"We are also sympathetic to the difficulties this will cause parents, as many school leaders are also parents themselves and having to find childcare at short notice will put more pressure on families.

"There is no doubt that time out of school would be of benefit for school staff, many of who worked throughout the summer holidays to make sure schools were ready for a September return. But the overriding factor needs to be the health benefits from slowing the spread of the virus.

"Any decision on schools needs to be made nationally by the Welsh Government to avoid a mixed picture across Wales, that decision needs to be communicated clearly to schools and parents and it needs to be made to give everyone enough time to prepare for the impact any school closures may have.”

Press and Media contacts:

Steven George
NAHT Head of Press and Media
01444 472886
07970 907730

Rose Tremlett 
Senior Press Officer 
07545 354363

Email : press.office@naht.org.uk