NEARLY 800 vulnerable students and children of critical workers attended Monmouthshire schools daily last week.

This is almost double the number that attended schools in the last week of childcare hubs during the first national lockdown.

The chief officer for children and young people at Monmouthshire County Council, Will McLean, said an average 570 of 908 children of critical key workers attended school each day last week.

An additional 218 of 363 registered vulnerable learners also attended Monmouthshire schools daily last week. This covers both primary and secondary schools.

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In the last week of childcare hubs in the first lockdown there was a total of 400 children in Monmouthshire schools.

Mr McLean said that Welsh Government changes in the critical worker policy could help explain this increase.

The rules on critical workers have been made clearer with children only needing one parent to be defined as a critical worker to attend school during the lockdown. More jobs roles have also been added to the critical worker list.

Schools in Monmouthshire and the rest of Wales have been operating remotely since the end of the Autumn term in December. It is not yet clear when the Welsh Government will decide to reopen the schools to all children.

Mr McLean said the big difference between the first lockdown and now, is that schools are expected to educate the children.

In the first lockdown, schools were used as hubs and were available as a childcare facility. However, now, children attending schools are expected to attend lessons and continue their education, while those at home will be taught remotely.

Mr McLean said there had been some big differences in the number of students seen in schools. Some rural schools in the county had had none or one child registered for in-school learning, while Osbaston Church in Wales School in Monmouth has 100 children registered.

Mr McLean said that the longer-term plan would be determined by how long remote learning is to continue for.