Protestant protesters at the Holy Cross primary school in Belfast tonight urged nationalists to respond "quickly and positively" to the scaling down of their protest.
The Concerned Residents of Upper Ardoyne also criticised the initial response of nationalists who, they claimed, had increased the numbers walking along the Ardoyne Road to and from Holy Cross School.
They said if nationalists really wanted a return to normality, tomorrow would see only the 30 or 40 parents and children who used to walk up the road - "not the travelling road show we saw today."
They said the turnout tomorrow would show "whether or not nationalists want to keep the positive momentum going, or stop it in their tracks".
This morning the new Police Service of Northern Ireland, (PSNI), protecting Catholic children going to the primary school removed riot gear after an agreement was struck with Loyalist protesters.
Intensive discussions between Glenbryn residents and senior police chiefs at the weekend led to a scaling down of security in return for a reduction of tension in the 11-week protest.
The protesters stood away from the police vehicles as children and parents walked the 400 yards up the Ardoyne Road to the North Belfast Primary School.
There were no noisy horns or claxons to greet the parents as they returned from the school.
However, nationalists were angry that they had not been consulted about the new arrangements and expressed concern about the reduction in security levels.
Ms Isobel McGrann of the Right to Education Group said parents and children felt vulnerable because of the reduction in security measures.
"I'm not happy with the scaling down. The police should have sat down with both sides to talk about this.
"I don't think the loyalists have scaled down their blockade. This is just an attempt to sanitise their protest," she said.
Sinn Fein Assembly member for North Belfast Mr Gerry Kelly claimed the numbers protesting had actually increased.
"I'm told that the police presence has been decreased. People are very nervous about this. This was some sort of deal between the police and protesters. The parents weren't consulted.
"The bottom line is that any protest against children from age four to 11 is wrong."
The officer in charge of today's move Supt Robert Robinson said over the weekend that a number of proposals had been proposed by the protesters and police had responded positively.
He welcomed the fact that today's protest had been entirely peaceful but said his priority remained the safety of the children.
"We are here to do a job and make sure the children and parents get to school safely.
"There were no officers in riot gear but we were in a position to react if there were difficulties," he said.
The loyalist residents have confirmed that they were considering calling off their protest on Friday when the children are sitting the 11-plus transfer tests.
PA