IT is perfectly understandable that parents are worried about their children going back to school.

Although death and infection rates are dropping, the virus is far from eradicated.

Many mums and dads, and indeed teachers, believe the Government's target date of June 1 for some schools to begin a phased reopening is too soon.

A range of experts, including from the World Health Organisation, have said children are at a very low risk from getting seriously ill from coronavirus and are 'less capable' of spreading the infection than adults.

But former education secretary Michael Gove, speaking on Monday, said that while he believed schools are safe to reopen, you can 'never eliminate risk'.

These words won't have been reassuring to mums and dads who believe plans to cut classes to 15 pupils to help with social distancing are not realistic when dealing with excited children who have not seen their friends for two months.

In Wales, schools are not reopening from June 1 and in Scotland and Northern Ireland, it is unlikely children will go back before the summer holidays.

It seems that there is very little consensus on this important issue.

One point most can agree on however, is that the safety of children is paramount.