PM vows: All back to school by September ...but defiant unions say his plans are ‘pure fantasy’
SCHoolS in England will return to ‘full attendance’ in September with the easing of social distancing measures, Boris Johnson said yesterday.
The Prime Minister declared a total return to schools was possible ‘because it is safe’ – but education unions hit back immediately, saying his plans were ‘pure fantasy’.
Mr Johnson made the pledge after he confirmed that the two-metre rule would be reduced to ‘ one metre-plus’ from July 4. But the unions said more teachers and space were still needed.
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College leaders, said: ‘There has been a lot of conjecture that relaxing the two-metre social distancing rule to 1m will allow all children to return to school in September. This is pure fantasy.’
Dr Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the national Education union, said: ‘The nEu is of course in favour of all children being back in school, but even with a one-metre rule, that will need more teachers and more spaces.
She added: ‘Mathematics dictate that for this we need extra class spaces and extra teachers for the vast majority of schools.’
Mr Johnson told the Commons: ‘ Primary and secondary education will recommence in September with full attendance and those children who can already go to school should do so because it is safe.’
He also said that childminders and ‘ wraparound care’ could ‘restart over the summer’.
labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said he supported the return of pupils and teachers to schools, saying: ‘I do think it’s safe for some children to return to school and I completely support that.’
He added: ‘The question is how quickly can we get all children back to school safely? The sooner the better.’
Mr Johnson responded: ‘ It’s good to have his support on that matter. I welcome the spirit and manner in which he has responded to this statement today.’ The Government’s back-to- school plans have been criticised as chaotic, with union opposition and parental worries leading labour to accuse Education Secretary Gavin Williamson of being ‘ asleep at the wheel’.
Most children have not been able to attend school since lockdown started in March and have instead had to make do with online classes or mailed learning packs.
But the phased reintroduction of teaching for certain year groups has seen the number of children back in school rising steadily.
new figures showed the number of pupils returning to school in England increased last week as more than three in four primary schools reopened their doors to more children. nearly 80 per cent of education settings that normally have children in nursery, Reception, Year 1 or Year 6 were open to at least one of these year groups on June 18. And about 1,160,000 children attended an education setting on June 18, representing 12.2 per cent of pupils who normally attend – up from 9.1 per cent on June 11.
Attendance continues to be highest among older pupils, with a third of Year 6 children in attendance on June 18, up from 26 per cent on June 11.
To help students recover from lost education, the most disadvantaged will have access to tutors through a £350 million programme to try to stop the attainment gap from widening further.
A further £650 million will be shared across state primary and secondary schools over the 2020-21 academic year to help children from all backgrounds who have lost teaching time.
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‘The sooner the better’