Boris Johnson has said he wants to press ahead with a rapid reopening of primary schools in England on 1 June while older pupils remain at home, despite safety concerns from parents, school leaders and unions. The announcement would mean that school will remain shut to the majority of children for the remainder of the academic year, with most secondary school pupils in England and most pupils in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland unlikely to return before the end of the summer. In his address on Sunday evening, the prime minister said that “at the earliest” he hoped to see children as young as four back in classrooms in England after the half-term holidays, if the UK’s lockdown status was lowered by then. Johnson’s plan would see pupils in reception, year one and year six at English primaries returning from 1 June, to be followed soon after by other years. Only after that would secondary school pupils return, and only those in year 10 and year 12 – the first years of GCSE and A-level exams respectively – had a realistic prospect of returning to school by the end of the school year in July. School leaders in England were quick to respond to Johnson’s suggestion of reopening on 1 June – which Johnson himself said “all depends on a series of big ifs” – with a mixture of scepticism and hostility. Ruth Luzmore, primary school head at St Mary Magdalene academy in north London, called reopening on 1 June “optimistic” and said the government had made the task more difficult by having the youngest children, who were the least able to manage social distancing, return first. “It is obvious to all with experience in the sector that this is impossible for children in the youngest year groups, reception and year 1. They will not sit at desks all day, they will share play equipment and they do often require close care,” Luzmore said. Last Thursday, Wales announced that it would not be reopening schools on 1 June, with the education minister, Kirsty Williams, saying the government there “will only look to have more pupils and staff in schools when it is safe to do so”. Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, has also highlighted safety concerns as a main reason for schools not to reopen before August, and Peter Weir, Northern Ireland’s education minister, said last week that any reopening would be “guided by science and health, and will not be date-driven”. Among the school leaders in England calling for more detail was Cathy Rowland, head of Dobcroft infant school in Sheffield, which would see two-thirds of its pupils returning under Johnson’s plan. “My classrooms are not built for the children to be two metres apart and the English weather is not suitable for them to be outside learning every day where there is more space,” Rowland said, inviting ministers to come and see for themselves. In his statement, Johnson said: “In step two [of the easing of lockdown] – at the earliest by June 1, after half-term – we believe we may be in a position to begin the phased reopening of shops and to get primary pupils back into schools, in stages, beginning with reception, year 1 and year 6. “Our ambition is that secondary pupils facing exams next year will get at least some time with their teachers before the holidays. And we will shortly be setting out detailed guidance on how to make it work in schools and shops and on transport.” But the influential National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) – which represents most primary school heads in England – said it was unconvinced by the proposals. Paul Whiteman, the NAHT’s general secretary, said there was “little explanation of why or how such a return is considered to be safe”, and that the announcement would not convince parents or school leaders. But he said the government had some time now to make its case. “The government will need to show some understanding rather than reckless determination if it wants to pass the confidence test. It will all be in vain if many parents still decide to keep their children at home despite the all-clear from the government,” Whiteman said. The main teaching unions were also sceptical about the workability of Johnson’s plans. Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the National Education Union, called the announcement “nothing short of reckless”, while Patrick Roach, the general secretary of the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers, said Johnson’s announcement lacked the clarity of the leaders of Wales and Scotland. “It is baffling that, following the government’s decision to close all schools on public health grounds, the government now expects individual schools to work out for themselves whether or not it will be safe to reopen on 1 June and potentially put at risk the health of children, staff and the public,” Roach said. The prime minister insisted that government decisions would be “driven not by mere hope or economic necessity. We are going to be driven by the science, the data and public health. And I must stress again that all of this is conditional, it all depends on a series of big ifs.” Additional detail is expected on Monday afternoon, when Johnson expands on the lockdown lifting to parliament, but unions have warned that they want to see more in terms of safety for teachers and other staff, including the supply of protective equipment. Sources close to the education secretary, Gavin Williamson, said: “This is the most carefully considered decision by Gavin as secretary of state for education. The welfare and future of children has been at the heart of all decision-making. And decisions have been made in close consultation with teachers at every stage.” But Jules White, head of Tanbridge secondary school in Sussex, said: “There is still considerable doubt about how safe it is to reopen schools more widely. Every headteacher recognises the need to help children and their families get back to some sort of normality, but teachers, support staff, pupils and their parents will need a huge amount of science-based reassurance that the conditions are right and the timing is right. “It’s in the DNA of every headteacher to keep children and their colleagues safe. At the moment there is too much uncertainty to conclude that wider reopening after half-term is either inevitable or desirable.” Recent surveys of parents have suggested that few are enthusiastic about sending their children back to school, while many headteachers say they will struggle to ensure they have enough healthy staff.