MORE THAN half of Wokingham’s vulnerable children are not attending school during the third national Covid-19 lockdown.

Wokingham Borough Council says it is checking in on those children to make sure they are safe and urging some to return to school.

The government is aiming to reopen schools on March 8, but until then only the children of key workers and vulnerable children are allowed to attend.

Around 12 per cent of the 27,000 Wokingham schoolchildren are still going in, but the council does not know how many of them have key worker parents.

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However, it states around 42 per cent of the vulnerable kids, who have either been assigned a social worker or provided with an Education, Health & Care Plan (EHCP) because they have special educational needs, are still in school.

Sal Thirlway, assistant director of Children’s Services, said: “With just over half of those that are eligible for a place, parents or carers are choosing to keep those children at home.

“We continue to review those children who aren’t attending, even though they are eligible, to assure ourselves they are safe and it’s appropriate for them to be at home.

“One of the messages that has consistently applied is if you are able to keep your children at home, even they are eligible to go and it is safe to do so, then you should do so to alleviate the pressure on the school system.

“Where we might have concerns about individuals choosing not to go in and we feel school is a safer place, we are working with families and schools to re-engage those pupils.”

At the start of the academic year, there were 1,211 Wokingham children with special needs on EHCPs – 209 more than the previous year.

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Around 40 per cent of those children are autistic and 19 per cent have severe difficulties in managing their emotions and behaviour.

There are also 104 children in the Wokingham care system.

Last week, the council revealed that around 500 children may be missing out on an education, because they do not have a laptop that can be used for remote learning.