PARENTS won’t be fined if they do not send their children back to school in September when following medical or public health advice in Devon.

Cllr James McInnes, cabinet member for schools, confirmed at Devon County Counci’s meeting that for parents and carers of children of compulsory school age, this means that the legal duty to provide their child with an education will apply at the start of the new term.

But he said that they won’t be going down the road of issuing fines to parents if they keep their child off school when following medical advice.

Cllr McInnes said: ‘In Devon, schools and the local authority will work with parents to support children back into schools and where children are not able to attend school, as parents are following medical and/or public health advice, the absence will not be penalised.’

Explaining the readiness of Devon Schools to reopen to all pupils in September, Cllr McInnes said that to ensure the full opening of schools in September is as safe as possible early years settings, schools and colleges have been putting in place proportionate protective measures for children and staff as laid out in the revised DfE guidance.

This guidance has been developed with advice from PHE and includes essential measures such as a requirement that people who are ill stay at home, robust hand and respiratory hygiene, enhanced cleaning arrangements, active engagement with NHS Test and Trace, and formal consideration of how to reduce contacts and maximise distancing between those in school wherever possible.

He added: ‘All schools in Devon are undertaking a health and safety risk assessment which reviews how well they have been able to implement the measures.

‘The government has said that all children and young people, in all year groups, will return to school and college full time from the beginning of the autumn term and that attendance will be mandatory.

‘This is because the prevalence of coronavirus has decreased since schools and colleges restricted their opening in March, the NHS test and trace service is up and running and more is understood about the measures that need to be in place to create safer environments in schools.

‘For parents and carers of children of compulsory school age, this means that the legal duty to provide their child with an education will apply.

‘In Devon, schools and the Local Authority will work with parents to support children back into schools and where children are not able to attend school, as parents are following medical and/or public health advice, the absence will not be penalised.

‘We also recognise that children and young people returning to school and college is not only important for their educational progress but also for their wellbeing, and wider development.’

He added that where there were instances of parents being concerned about the safety of allowing their child to return to school, they would be inviting parents in to see the process and measures that have been put in place to ensure the environment is as safe as it can be.

Cllr Frank Biederman questioned whether there was going to be any extra funding from Central Government for schools to finance the extra measures that they have had to put in place, to which Cllr McInnes said he wasn’t aware of any being provided.