Hundreds of thousands of parents have signed a petition arguing they should be given a choice over whether to send their children back to school if they reopen more widely in June.

Last night, prime minister Boris Johnson announced that pupils in Reception, Year 1 and 6 may return to primary schools from as early as 1 June.

News: Reception, Y1 and Y6 may return to school from 1 June

PM: Plan to reopen schools will be set out ‘next week’

Coronavirus: ‘Stop speculation about schools reopening’

But many parents remain to be convinced that it will be safe for their children to return to school after half term.

At the time of writing, over 380,000 people have signed the online petition on Change.org, calling on the government to “give parents and guardians the option of not sending their children back to school if they reopen in June”.

Begun by parent Lucy Browne, it says that many parents “have lost confidence in the government’s handling of this crisis and feel it is too early to return children to schools”.

“As a mum I don’t want to face serious repercussions for making a choice I feel affects the safety of my daughter during a global pandemic,” Ms Browne added.

Michelle Forster, a teacher who signed the petition, wrote “I am a teacher and believe that we cannot return to school safely as we do not have the correct equipment, space or resources to manage the pupils and ensure social distancing measures and PPE.

“Returning to school before it is safe puts thousands of pupils, families and staff at risk.”

The Department for Education has been contacted for comment.