Friday target for revealing details of reopening schools
PARENTS and children may know by the end of the week whether schools in Wales will reopen after half-term.
Welsh Government minister Eluned Morgan said negotiations are continuing with unions this week in the hope of being able to make an announcement on Friday.
A phased return to the classroom, starting with primary schools, could begin after the half-term break if Covid-19 cases continue to fall in Wales. In England pupils are not expected to return before March 8, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said.
Ms Morgan, minister for mental health, wellbeing and Welsh language, said: “We are absolutely determined to reopen schools as early as possible and that’s why there will be intensive discussions with unions this week to make sure we can put all of the things in place so we can ensure safety, as far as possible, of students and teachers.”
Ms Morgan told the Welsh Government briefing that First Minister Mark Drakeford has said he wants to give parents, pupils and teaching staff two weeks’ notice before any return.
“We’re expecting an announcement on that on Friday but of course that will be determined by those negotiations that will be held this week,” she said. “The focus will absolutely be on those children who are youngest, who find it most difficult to learn online and need that socialisation perhaps more than some of the older children.
“We are very determined to try and get those foundation phase children back as soon as possible.”
Ms Morgan said the Welsh Government is also looking at ways of getting older students studying vocational courses back into the classroom “so that they can be assessed correctl”y.
Last week the First Minister said he understood the “anxieties” school staff have about students returning to face-to-face teaching, but everything will be done to make sure work environments are safe. The very youngest children are the least likely to suffer from Covid-19 or to spread it to other people, he said, and work needs to be done to “repair the damage” of a year without classroom education.