GET A GRIP, BORIS – GET PUPILS BACK TO SCHOOL
AS We begin to emerge from the lockdown, it is vital that Prime Minister Boris Johnson gets a grip on the urgent need to get our children back into school.
Many parents — and indeed many children — are understandably increasingly angry and worried at the recent turn of events which show a real lack of ambition and political will.
They see countries including Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands and France, which opened schools weeks ago despite having had similar infection rates to us, and they wonder: why not us, too?
It was only six months ago that Mr Johnson was elected on a promise to ‘ level up’ Britain. Inevitably, that agenda has slipped amid the unexpected and immediate emergency of dealing with the coronavirus. But if a return to the classroom is not made a priority now, then his ‘levelling up’ agenda will fail.
The Government was right to close schools in March, but its plans for reopening have been confusing.
The announcement this week that the aim to get all primary school children back in class for a month before the summer break has been abandoned — just weeks after it was set — and that secondary schools will remain closed was deeply disappointing.
It was even more alarming to hear ministers suggest that some children may not be able to return full-time when the new term starts in September.
We know that as long as the coronavirus exists but there is no vaccine there will be risks. So those risks need to be managed.
I understand why teachers and parents are worried about social distancing. To achieve this, classrooms have had to be adapted and that means there isn’t the room to bring back all children at the same time before the summer holidays.
But we now have three months to address these practical problems and we must treat the continuing closure of some schools as a national emergency — just as Covid-19 is.
If we can build a 4,000- bed hospital in a few days, surely it’s not beyond our wit to build temporary ‘ Nightingale’ classrooms or to erect marquees, or use some of the community spaces or even conference rooms in hotels that will be standing empty until normal business resumes?
It is inconceivable to think that children could spend the next three months enjoying going to the zoo, riding on roller coasters, drinking lemonade and eating crisps in a pub garden — but not go back to school in September.
We need to face up to and address the huge cost many children have borne by being out of school. If we don’t, we will have a generation whose prospects are severely damaged because of the education they have missed out on.
Some parents report that their children have been fine learning from home, and no doubt that is true. Many schools have provided excellent online support.
But there are millions more who are struggling. When you think that schools could be closed for up to six months, for many families we’re only at the half-way point. It will get harder and harder to motivate children so long out of the classroom.
And, of course, it is the children living in parts of the country that most need ‘levelling up’ that will suffer the worst.
In April, a survey found that for schools in deprived areas, 90 per cent of teachers believed their pupils to be doing less than two hours’ learning a day.
I’ve seen new research suggesting a lack of consistency in homelearning, too, with one in five teenagers receiving no school work at all, while another one in five are getting four or more lessons a day.
A small minority of children are having paid tutoring, but this is unlikely to be those children living in the most disadvantaged
areas. Computers are essential for home-learning, but this same research suggests four in ten teenagers don’t have a laptop or computer of their own.
Even for those who are homeschooling, I hear from parents who say much of it is conducted on their phone, a very different experience to sitting down with a laptop and studying.
And no matter how well children are doing at home, they are still missing out on the social aspects of school that are so important for their development.
All the evidence suggests that existing education gaps are being ‘turbo- charged’ by the lockdown. The chasm between children attending private schools and those in deprived areas will grow — further undermining the Government’s attempt to level up. There are enormous economic consequences too. The Chancellor has talked about the impact on the economy of children not going back to school because their parents are not able to resume work as a result. He described it as a ‘tragedy’. It is.
That talk now needs to be translated into action. That means the Treasury coming up with the funds needed to support schools so that all children are back in September, and indeed before that.
WHY can’t school facilities be used for summer camps where youth workers, volunteers and supply teachers can provide art, sport and even some learning?
The Government must show the country that children have not been forgotten in the race to ease lockdown, while millions of parents who are juggling home- schooling and childcare with work need to know what the plan is.
We cannot afford to furlough millions of children for six months. Yes, the economy has to get moving again — but this needs to include our education system.
Billions have been spent on managing the impact of the coronavirus on the economy, protecting jobs and the nHS. It is time to include our children and their schools too.
We need to establish rapid access to testing for teachers and children; identify temporary classrooms; hire retired teachers; and marshal volunteers — in short, we must mobilise to do everything we can to open up every classroom by September.
Less than two months ago, Boris Johnson announced education was one of his three top priorities for easing lockdown. So far, we have not seen actions that live up to those words.
Families have sacrificed a lot over the past few months to help battle this virus. It is time the Government recognised that and made sure that in three months’ time the school gates are open for every child in the country.