Local schools will reopen on Monday, but most children will only be going back for one day a week.
Details have been provided to parents this week after schools were given three weeks to prepare for the return to ‘Check in, Catch Up, Prepare for Summer and September’.
But any hope that parents had for four weeks of home schooling respite have been dashed with confirmation that, due to school classes being restricted to around eight children, kids will only be attending on a rota basis and that means one day a week.
Children who were using the emergency childcare hubs will continue to attend daily if required.
The summer term will be extended by a week to Friday, July 24, with autumn half-term holiday lengthened to two weeks.
Parents and carers of Guilsfield Primary School children have received a comprehensive “The New School Way” document today which explains that a maximum of eight children will be in class at one time, siblings will attend on the same day, and outdoor facilities will be used as much as possible.
Cllr Phyl Davies, Cabinet Member for Education and Property, said: “Since the Education Minister’s announcement at the beginning of June, we have worked extremely hard along with school leaders to get our schools ready for their re-opening.
“Our ambition is to keep Powys schools open the four weeks up until July 24, where possible. We believe the four weeks are important and will benefit our learners and their families, and our schools have been working on rotas and plans to make this possible and will support our school learners with the plans over the coming week.
“We will also ensure that our schools are safe for pupils and school staff for the last four weeks of the summer term. This position will be under constant review.
“We’re incredibly proud of our schools in Powys for what they have done over the last three months. This includes managing the emergency childcare hubs seven days a week; delivering and supporting learners and their parents with distance learning; and continuing with their re-opening plans while continuing to keep pupils their priority.
“We will continue to support our schools and make every effort to protect the wellbeing of our learners and our staff across Powys.”