Covid: Greenwich council forced to U-turn on closing schools early after legal threats

The leader of Greenwich council has said he has “no choice” but to ask schools to remain open following threats of legal action from the government.

The local authority has agreed to withdraw its advice to schools in the south-east London borough to move to online learning for the last few days of term amid rising Covid-19 rates in the capital.

The decision comes after Education Secretary Gavin Williamson told the Labour-run council on Monday evening to keep schools open to all pupils until the end of term or it will face legal action.

In a statement, Greenwich Council leader Danny Thorpe said: “With Covid-19 cases rising rapidly in the borough, I cannot agree that this is the correct choice for our schools.

“However, I also cannot justify the use of public funds to fight the decision in the courts.

“Consequently, I have no choice but to ask our schools to keep their doors open to all students rather than just continuing with online learning.”

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Schools in Greenwich had been told to switch to remote learning for most pupils from Monday evening in a letter sent out by Mr Thorpe on Sunday.

The latest data shows there were 715 new coronavirus cases recorded in Greenwich in the seven days to December 9 – the equivalent of 248.3 cases per 100,000 people.This is up from a rate of 158.0 in the seven days to December 2.Leaders at two other Labour-run local authorities – Waltham Forest and Islington – have also advised schools to move to online learning for the last few days of term amid rising Covid-19 rates in the capital.

It came as London mayor Sadiq Khan called on the government to consider closing all secondary schools and colleges in the capital early and reopen later in January due to coronavirus.

But on Monday night, Mr Williamson issued a temporary continuity direction to the London Borough of Greenwich demanding it withdraws letters to headteachers and parents which advised schools to close.

The direction states it is enforceable by Mr Williamson making an application to the High Court or the county court for an injunction if the council does not comply by 10am on Tuesday.

In a statement on Tuesday morning, Mr Thorpe added: “From the start of this pandemic, both myself and the whole council have worked tirelessly to support our whole school community.

“The action we took on Sunday was based solely on doing the right thing for our borough, not a protracted legal argument with the Government, which absolutely nobody needs at the end of an extremely difficult term.

“The council has issued the following response to the Government, which outlines our serious concerns about forcing our students to attend school in person and our intention to reluctantly comply with the Secretary of State’s directive.”