Schools ‘closed Until after Easter’
PUPILS may face many more months of home learning after ministers signalled that schools are unlikely to reopen until after the Easter holidays at the earliest.
Whitehall officials said reports that Education Secretary Gavin Williamson will reveal this week he is scrapping a planned return to classes after February’s half-term were “speculation”.
But his Cabinet colleague Matt Hancock dropped a big hint that the reopening of schools could be pushed back due to concerns about the rife coronavirus variant.
He Health Secretary said: “I hope that schools go back after Easter, of course I do,” before adding it was “too early” to be certain.
Meanwhile, a leader of the biggest teaching union said hopes that it would be safe to open up schools before Easter were “optimistic”.
Dr Mary Bousted, joint generalsecretary of the National Education Union, said: “Cases need to be much lower, the vaccine rollout extended and no risk of the NHS being overwhelmed before schools are fully reopened.
“It is optimistic to think that it would be safe to fully reopen schools before Easter. It is important that the Government uses the current lockdown to recognise the role of schools in the transmission of coronavirus.
“A fifth of primary pupils are being taught in school during this lockdown, compared to less than one in 50 pupils being in school during the first lockdown last spring. It is of great concern that Friday’s Covid-19 Infection Survey showed that infection levels are rising fastest amongst primary age pupils.
“The Government needs to take heed of this report and take urgent action to stop schools transmitting the virus.
“This will help build confidence amongst parents, school staff and pupils about a wider return to schools when it is safe to do.”
One report claimed Mr Williamson
is poised to rule out a return after half-term and would warn parents to prepare for a prolonged period of home schooling. A source close to him called that “speculation”. England’s Children’s Commissioner Anne Longfield called for pupils to re-enter schools as soon as possible.
She said: “The evidence is overwhelming that closing schools is bad for children’s wellbeing and attainment. That is why I don’t want schools closed for a day longer than necessary and why, since the start of the pandemic, I have urged the Government to do all it can to make sure schools are the last to close and first to open.
“Reopening schools must be a priority and Gavin Williamson was right to say he hoped to have all children back in the classroom before Easter. For this to happen, Government need to start planning now so that this can be done safely.
“Primary schools will need to start going half-term.”
She added: “Teachers need to be a higher priority for vaccines and we need testing regimes that schools have confidence in, alongside a rocket boost for catch-up funding and an urgent acceleration of providing all schools with an NHS-funded counsellor.”
Mr Hancock said yesterday: “We want to get schools back as fast as we safely can. But we’ve got to watch the data, and the Education Secretary has said that he will ensure that there’s two weeks back after the next
notice of the schools going We keep this under review.
“Throughout this crisis we have looked at the data, we’ve made sure that we’ve taken action as early as we can but rapidly if we need to.
Challenge
back.
“And of course I hope that schools go back after Easter, of course I do.
“And the vaccination programme is going fast, but we’ve got to make sure that we get the cases down
and we’ve got to protect the country from new variants coming in.”
The Health Secretary said teachers have a “good shout” of being high on the vaccine priority list once the most clinically vulnerable Britons have received their jabs.
Mr Hancock added: “It’s not a matter of logistics, the logistics can be organised. The challenge is the supply of vaccine; supply is the rate-limiting factor.
“The question is who should have each dose as it comes in… and we’ve taken the decision, quite rightly, to go through in order
of clinical need, starting with those who are most likely to die from this disease.
“Of course we want to break the chains of transmission but we’ve also got to stop people dying from the disease if they catch it.
Shout
“We’re going through those who are clinically vulnerable…and after that there’s a perfectly reasonable debate to be had about who should go in what order next.
“Teachers have got a good shout to be very high on the list and those discussions are going on.”
The Department for Education said it would “inform schools, parents and pupils of the plans ahead of February half-term.
“The Government remains committed to supporting young people’s education, including providing 1.3 million laptops and tablets for those who need them, as well as partnering with mobile data companies and online education resource providers. We will continue to work to reopen schools as soon as possible.”