A peninsula mum has explained why she has become one of the latest parents to take their child out of school, after failing to get reassurance over Covid-19 protection for pupils.

The mother has withdrawn her daughter from Stutton Primary School after increased coronavirus concerns were raised before the second lockdown, about students and parents coming in from Essex, which was in Tier 2 at the time, and parents congregating near the school gates without proper social distancing.

Figures recently shows she is not alone with 1,500 children now being home schooled in Suffolk, an increase of 257 in the first month of the new term.

Mrs A, whose identity is being withheld to protect the child, initially just wanted to take her child out of school for a short time and asked for all her schoolwork to be sent home and full access given to online learning facilities.

But Mrs A believed she was not getting the support needed and felt she was being pushed to return her child to school. She has subsequently withdrawn he child fully and applied to home school the younger.

"All I wanted was some assurance that correct Covid procedures were being followed," said Mrs A. "The head teacher told me my daughter should return to school and while she could access various programmes at the time, her password could be cancelled at any time.

"That would not be fair, she has worked hard to reach a certain level, and close to moving up another level, and if she had to start again it would be soul-destroying."

Stutton Primary School is part of ASSET Education and due to safeguarding reasons Rebecca Leek who is the director of strategy with ASSET and a headteacher in Ipswich, could not speak about specific individuals.

However, she did say: "We are so very proud of how our school staff have worked together to remain open at this difficult time. Each school has its own challenges with regards to numbers of classrooms, outdoor play spaces, gates and entrances.

"The risk measures that we have in place are constantly reviewed and monitored to ensure we are doing the most we can to alleviate the risks of the virus entering and spreading within our schools. As I have recently said to my own school community, I am so glad that we can 'keep the lights on' for our children.

"Our imperative is to educate children and we will continue to do that to the best of our ability with the resources available. We owe our frontline education staff, who are working so tirelessly on a daily basis, enormous gratitude.

All our Ipswich and peninsula schools, with the exception of one which has seen a 'bubble' close, have 95% and above attendance at this point in term. This is broadly average for this time of year."

Data published by Suffolk County Council last month found there were 257 extra pupils being home-educated as of September 25, while figures last week were at around 1,500 known cases of home education – up 500 on the 1,000 prior to the first Covid-19 lockdown in March. That represents 1.4% of the county's school-age population being taught at home.

County council education leaders said it was a highly fluid situation with Suffolk reflecting the national picture, but urged parents who were considering it to make sure they were aware of all the implications and necessities needed to teach children at home.

Councillor Mary Evans, cabinet member for education, said: "Parents and carers have the choice of where their child is educated, whether this be in a state-funded school, an independent school or through elective home education.

"We set out to provide information for parents considering home education to assist them making an informed choice, we also signpost resources and groups that might assist home educating parents.

"It is important that parents choosing to electively home educate their children fully understand what is involved and the financial implications of this choice.

"During Covid-19 there has been a national increase in parents and carers considering home education and this was reflected in Suffolk.

"We have however seen the numbers of enquiries from parents and carers about home education lower over the past few weeks. This may be linked to increased confidence of parents and carers following the incredible work of school and setting leaders across Suffolk to make their schools safe."

However, Mrs Evans warned: "Parents who take their child out of school, opting to home educate, may not get their child back into the same school if they later change their mind."

The Covid-19 situation has been instrumental in the increase, although that is for a variety of reasons.

But calls have been made for each new case to be investigated amid fears that some parents may have felt there was no other option.

Councillor Jack Abbott, Suffolk County Council's opposition Labour group spokesman for education, said: "Even before the pandemic we were seeing a sharp rise in the number of children in Suffolk being educated at home. In some of these cases, there were clearly concerns around children being 'off-rolled', either because of inadequate special educational needs and disabilities [SEND] support or because of attendance, behavioural and attainment challenges.

"While home educating is the right choice for some children and their families, there are far too many stories of parents being forced to homeschool their children after feeling like they've got no other choice. It is disturbing that, during a pandemic that has already robbed a generation of months of schooling, more children could be left facing this injustice.

"I hope that increased SEND places being offered this year will go some way towards alleviating the problem, but for many children this will come too late. Suffolk County Council must urgently investigate every new case of elective home education to ensure that the decision was made in the best interests of the child and their family."