How coronavirus affects schools in the East Riding
IMPACT ON EDUCATION AND MENTAL HEALTH
A TOTAL of 952 East Riding pupils are self-isolating due to coronavirus, councillors have heard.
East Riding Council’s Children and Young People Overview and Scrutiny Committee heard the number of pupils currently self-isolating equalled 2.1 per cent of the total population.
The council’s education and schools lead Deborah Myers told the committee last week’s halfterm holidays had “significantly” impacted the figures, with one school now closed entirely.
The officer said although the proportion of pupils self isolating was down from 4,133 before the holiday, about nine per cent of the 45,741 total, affected schools rose from 64.
Ms Myers added the small rural primary school currently closed was set to allow staff and pupils back on Monday, November 9.
She said test and trace also proved challenging, with officers intervening in one case when several staff members all got messages telling them to selfisolate within minutes of each other.
The officer’s update came as councillors also heard from headteachers on how the pandemic had impacted learning.
Amanda Barnett, headteacher of Hedon Primary School, told councillors parents of her pupils felt the lockdown had taken a toll on their children.
The headteacher added a recent school survey found parents were motivated to help with home learning when lockdown began they felt their state of mental health hindered them over time.
A report submitted to the committee also showed 39 East Riding schools had claimed £207,483 from the Department for Education to cover extra costs incurred during the pandemic.
The department has also earmarked a further £109,489 for 45 more East Riding schools, according to the last count on Wednesday, October 21.
Ms Myers said the council used its own data and worked with schools to make sure staff and pupils who needed to isolate did so to help avoid blanket closures.
Ms Myers said: “We’re working to make sure its the right pupils and members of staff who are isolating at the right time and for the right period of time.
“We’ve bolstered our workforce to make sure we can cope and to ensure children get the right level of support, especially special educational needs children (SEND) and the vulnerable.
“We’ve also been working with schools on contingency plans for if their staff are told to self-isolate, particularly if several are told to do so at once.
“Our teams had to override a Public Health England text message in one case when a number of staff all got texts in the ability to help their space of about 20 minutes telling them to self-isolate.
“That was because someone in the wider community had tested positive and listed all the teachers as contacts. So we’ve had to work on those kind of anomalous messages because they could have a significant impact on staffing.
“Schools have incurred extra costs since the start of the pandemic through buying PPE and hiring cover staff.
“They could claim those extra costs back from the Department of Education before a deadline of Tuesday, July 21.
“Everyone has worked tirelessly to make sure children, staff and families are as safe as they can be.”
Ms Barnett told councillors the lockdown, which saw schools close from March until the start of this academic year in September, had also taken its toll on parents.
She added Hedon Primary School staff had done mental health first aid training prior to pupils’ return to address the impact on children.
Ms Barnett said: “We surveyed parents and they were really honest in their responses.
“Parents were concerned about the impact of home learning.
“At the beginning of lockdown they were motivated to help with home learning, but as time went on some parents felt their own mental health was getting in the way of helping their children.
“For children, it seems that the older they get the less affected they’ve been by lockdown.”