SCHOOLS from across the Bradford district welcomed pupils back to school today with open arms but also with caution as lateral flow testing started in high schools.

A spokesperson at Laisterdyke Leadership Academy, on Thornbury Road, Bradford, said: “We are delighted to welcome our pupils back to school and have received many encouraging messages from their families.

"We have been administering lateral flow testing and the process is running smoothly, along with all our measures to keep the community safe. Our pupils have impressed us with their maturity – they have taken testing in their stride and it’s great that they are learning alongside their friends on site again."

Jon Skurr, principal of University Academy Keighley, said his school on Greenhead Lane at Utley has a very detailed plan to get the children back safely.

It includes a phased return for the pupils, with Year 11 turning up today for a lateral flow test and returning to lessons tomorrow. Year 10s will then be tested tomorrow and be in school for lessons on Wednesday with other years following a similar pattern.

Mr Skurr said: "The hope is that everybody will be back in as normal on Monday.

"The testing for Year 11s today was very organised and efficient," he said. "The students wanted to be tested to keep themselves safe.

"We're very familiar with safeguarding against Covid in Bradford," said Mr Skurr. "We've been working on all this since September, so it's not unusual for the children.

"We serve communities that are disproportionately affected by Covid, so for us it's about keeping the community safe. It's not just about school life."

"Clearly there was a balance that had to be struck," said Ian Murch, president of the Bradford district branch of the National Education Union. "Children have missed so much learning and socialisation but it also had to be safe to go back.

"There has been a lot of work done to get ready to go back and we've always felt that a phased return to school would be best.

"We've had some concerns about testing and the reliability of the lateral flow tests. The testing not without its difficulties, so some schools are having people come in from the outside to do the tests."

To welcome children back to school with a smile, pupils and staff at Netherleigh & Rossefield School in Heaton celebrated with a special day of activities.

As part of the day's activities, the children made hopeful bunting, created happiness dishes and enjoyed an afternoon of sports.

"We know that it hasn't been easy for many parents and we hoped this party will give us the opportunity to welcome the children back and to begin our curriculum of happiness for the next few weeks," said Year 3/4 teacher Antony Silson. "Many parents are concerned that their children have lost months of education, but we want to concentrate on the children's well being as much as getting them back into the routines of full time education.

"We know children have been anxious and upset during the past year, so we want to show them that life is beginning to return to some sort of normality."