A YORK councillor warns reopening schools could affect children's mental health if they fear they have passed coronavirus on the vulnerable family members.

Cllr Dave Taylor, from the Green Party, says the council and schools should be more cautious about following the government guidance.

"It would be a huge burden for children to think that they may have passed on the virus to their parents or grandparents with such grave consequences," he said.

Cllr Taylor, chair of City of York Council's education scrutiny committee, added: "This is the biggest decision facing the city of York right now because it not only impacts on the education of our children and the mental health of young people, but it could, potentially, lead to fuelling of the epidemic if we were to get it wrong.

"We need greater scrutiny of the proposals that have been announced, and we need to involve opposition councillors, teachers' representatives, and parents' groups before taking this step."

He said it "does not seem sensible to follow the national Government's advice" by sending children back to school on June 1 and added: "Teachers are supporting pupils online and over the phone and cannot do this while also taking classes – they cannot do both at once."

Secondary schools may reopen to years 10 and 12 from June 15.