Revealed:UK Teaching unions demand special 'bin maps', paintbrush and glue stick cleaning wardens and coronavirus counsellors in 169-point shopping list before they will go back to work

Union chiefs have told teachers to demand detailed answers to at least 169 questions from their bosses on issues such as bin lids, coronavirus counselling and employing extra staff to clean paint brushes, scissors and glue sticks before agreeing to return to school, it was revealed today.

The National Education Union has also told its 450,000 members to stop marking work and keep online tuition 'to a minimum' for any children still at home and not to try remote teaching if 'they feel uncomfortable' after going back to the classroom from next month.

The NEU's gigantic list of demands includes mapped locations of lidded bins in classrooms and around the school, full health and safety risk assessments for leaving doors and windows open while teaching and also asks: 'What arrangements are in place to keep every classroom supplied with tissues?'.  

Other queries from the NEU include: 'Have families been told to provide water bottles?' and suggests grilling bosses about bringing in more staff specifically for washing 'resources for painting, sticking and cutting before and after use' in classrooms and an official policy on how often pupils will be reminded to catch coughs and sneezes with a tissue or elbow. 

The NEU's safety checklist has been hailed by many teachers but critics have said the 22-page document is a 'barrier' to reopening primary schools in England from June 1 because it appears impossible to answer all the questions before then and may spook headteachers who fear their own staff could take them to court.

Richard Marshall, the union's Learning and Development organiser, tweeted last night that the number of 'unanswered' questions from its 450,000 members was more like 1,000, to which one primary school teacher replied: 'I can answer most of them with one sentence - use your bl**dy common sense'. 

Today a growing list of councils told their headteachers not to reopen on June 1, with Brighton and Hove, Calderdale, Solihull, Slough and Teesside joining Stockport, Bury, Liverpool, Wirral and Hartlepool despite schools already reopening successfully in 22 states across Europe this month with no major coronavirus spikes. 

Former prime minister Tony Blair last night backed calls for pupils to go back to school, saying some children were receiving no education at all with Education Secretary Gavin Williamson insisting getting children back to school as soon as possible is vital for their development and prospects.

MailOnline can reveal that some parents who want to send their children back to school so they can get back to work have been lambasted by teachers who claim they are being 'hung out to dry' by the Government.

+30

Schoolchildren wearing protective mouth masks and face shields back in class at Claude Debussy college in Angers, France, where 1.4million youngsters are back in class 

+30

Teaching Assistant Sarah Yates applies tape to the floor to define a 2m boundary around the teacher's workspace in Huddersfield as unions demand answers to hundreds of questions before teachers return

+30

Answers to questions about bin locations, staff to wash paint brushes and scissors and counsellors for staff and children as the lockdown eases have been demanded

Teachers have been told by union chiefs that it will 'not be safe to mark children's books'. The National Education Union claims schools should make it clear that no marking should take place because of the risk of coronavirus.

It also says that library books should be regularly sanitised as part of a 'workplace checklist' for primaries.  

Referring to its 22-page checklist, it says: 'The starting point for every component of the checklist is that it is checked NO until you and your colleagues determine it can be checked YES.

'School staff will not be protected by social distancing rules nor, in most cases, will they be offered any personal protective equipment. If satisfactory answers are not forthcoming in all areas, then it will not be feasible or safe to extend opening until concerns are met.'

Among the questions the checklist poses are: 'It will not be safe to mark children's books during this period. Will clear instruction be given that no marking should take place and the books should not be taken to and from home/school?'

Former Prime Minister Tony Blair says that schools should return as soon as possible. 

Mr Blair told BBC Newsnight: 'If you look at all the best evidence, and my Institute has assembled a lot of the different data on this, especially for younger children, the risks of transmission are actually quite low. 

'Private schools will have been educating their children throughout this.

'Parts of the state system will have been. But then there are some children who will have been having no education at all.'

Labour-run Bury council announced yesterday it would reject the Government's timetable for sending children back to class, claiming they had taken the decision after a public consultation. But it was later revealed the public consultation had more than 24 hours to run.

Calderdale Council in West Yorkshire has become the latest local authority to advise its schools against reopening on June 1 amid safety concerns.

Councillor Tim Swift, leader of the council, said: 'Education plays a crucial role in making sure children have a good start in life, laying the foundations so that they are able to enjoy a long, healthy and fulfilling future.

'However, the council has major concerns that the Government's tests are not currently being met within Calderdale, and for this reason we are advising our schools against opening more widely on June 1.'   

Cabinet minister Oliver Dowden refused to rule out penalties for town halls that refuse to reopen schools from June 1. 

+30

+30

The NEU instead is urging strict two metre social distancing measures remain in place - as is being done in other workplaces. The planning document also includes a 20-page safety checklist, written jointly with fellow unions, Unite, Unison and GMB, which it will urge its members to go through with bosses before they return to schools

+30

+30

'Health and safety reps have the legal right to be consulted on the risk assessment and future amendments,' the document states. Pictured right is a summary of checklist questions for representatives to answer, including: 'Are you satisfied with the cleaning and hygiene arrangements that will operate from when extended opening begins?'

+30

+30

Pictured left are more steps from the summary of checklist questions for reps to answer. Right are questions for reps to ask about site preparation

+30

+30

'Reps need assurances about the systems that the head teacher will be able to implement. Without these assurances there can be no 'expectations' on either staff or parents,' the document states

+30

+30

The DfE is asking head teachers to undertake an audit of how many staff are available, both teaching and support staff

+30

+30

The document states: 'The Planning Guide is explicit that 'unlike older children and adults, early years and primary age children cannot be expected to remain 2 metres apart from each other and staff'

+30

+30

The unions have asked more than 100 questions of a headteacher, which it describes as a safety checklist

+30

+30

The unions have asked more than 100 questions of a headteacher, which it describes as a safety checklist

+30

+30

Reps are given guidance to ask if individual pupil risk assessments will be in place for all pupils who 'exhibit anti-social behaviour, eg biting, before a decision is made'

+30

+30

The workplace checklist tells reps to ask about what guidance will be given to staff on how to support children - and will visitors be provided PPE where necessary