Less than half of parents (48 per cent) are comfortable about pupils returning to school in September, a new survey has revealed.

However, the poll, carried out by King’s College London and Ipsos Mori, found a “big shift” in parental attitudes since May, when only a third said they were happy to send children into school.

In May, only 33 per cent said they would be very or fairly comfortable with sending their children in, but this rose to 48 per cent of those surveyed 17-20 July.

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The proportion who said they were very uncomfortable with doing so halved to 15 per cent. The survey questioned 609 parents in July and compared the findings with 590 interviewed in May.

The poll also asked about mask wearing at a time when the government had announced that face coverings would be compulsory in shops but before the measure had come into force.

It found that about 70 per cent of people reported wearing a mask in July, up from 19 per cent in April.

Some secondary schools have reportedly said they would ask staff and pupils to wear masks in school when they reopen in September.

Asked whether a more widespread use of masks would make parents feel more confident sending children back to school, Professor Bobby Duffy, director of the Policy Institute at King’s College London, told Tes: “My personal view of this is that the push factors of worrying about children’s education gaps and the pressures on families from having children at home will be stronger than changing views of the efficacy of face masks.

He added: “I don’t think people will be linking the two - beyond a general sense that we need to find ways to live with the virus while trying to get closer to normal life, where education of our children is a key aspect of that for parents.”