Islander Peter Shreeve, assistant district secretary of the National Education Union (NEU), has condemned the government's announcement that it will consider partially opening primary schools on 1st June.

Calling the announcement 'incoherent' and scary, Mr Shreeve said a national survey of teachers shows there is huge opposition.

On Sunday night, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced, in a pre-recorded tv address, that the government would consider restarting classes for children in reception and years one and six on 1st June, if the government's conditions to battle coronavirus were met.

Secondary school children with exams in 2021 might also expect some time with teachers before the summer.

Within an hour of the comments, 49,000 NEU members had filled in a survey.

According to the union, 85% of respondents said they disagreed the primary school plan and 92% said they would not feel safe with the proposed wider opening of schools.

Of those with school age children, 89 per cent said they felt it would be unsafe or very unsafe to send their children back to school. 

Of those respondents working from home, because they have a pre-existing medical condition, or are pregnant, 96 per cent said they felt unsafe or very unsafe returning to work. 

"It did indeed feel like an unfinished drawing, one that should be erased and urgently re-drawn."

-Peter Shreeve, assistant district secretary of the National Education Union (NEU)

Meanwhile, 96 per cent of those with a family member living with them who has a pre-existing medical condition or are pregnant thought it would be unsafe or very unsafe for them to return, said the NEU. 

And 92 per cent said the government should meet the NEU's own five tests before schools can re-open.

Peter Shreeve said: "Yesterday's announcement – so out of step with Scotland and Wales and with its confusion about social distancing – has resulted in 92 per cent of NEU members saying they currently feel a wider opening of schools would be unsafe. 

"So does the science. A study, where researchers studied the success of different social distancing measures across 30 European countries – in terms of how effective they have been at reducing the number of Covid-19 cases and deaths, was published last week by the University of East Anglia (2). In it, they suggested that school closures are the single most effective way of suppressing the spread of the virus.

"The Prime Minister describes this as a ''first sketch'' of a roadmap and it did indeed feel like an unfinished drawing, one that should be erased and urgently re-drawn.

"The incoherence in this plan has generated genuine fear. For educationalists the lack of clarity about what is expected before, or on 1 June, is simply unacceptable."

Mr Johnson said in his address that the decision was not set in stone and would depend on the current coronavirus status.