BACK TO SCHOOL! Children return to classes today
PRIME MINISTER ‘MASSIVELY GRATEFUL’ TO PARENTS AND TEACHERS AS PUPILS PREPARE TO RETURN TO CLASSROOMS
BORIS Johnson said he is ‘very hopeful’ the return of pupils will go to plan as he warned the risk of keeping classrooms locked outweighed a school-led spike in Covid cases.
Schoolchildren across England will return to the classroom today and the Prime Minister said: “The reopening of schools marks a truly national effort to beat this virus.
“It is because of the determination of every person in this country that we can start moving closer to a sense of normality – and it is right that getting our young people back into the classroom is the first step.”
Some scientists have raised concerns the increased levels of interaction could push the reproduction number the R value – above one, causing coronavirus to spread faster.
The Prime Minister echoed the warnings of education experts that more damage was being done to pupils by keeping them at home than having them return to in-person lessons.
Speaking to broadcasters yesterday, Mr Johnson said: “You ask about the risk (of schools returning) – I think the risk is actually in not going back to school tomorrow given all the suffering, all the loss of learning we have seen.”
It comes after Amanda Spielman, England’s chief schools inspector, expressed concern about eating disorders and self-harming among children after she said pupils endured ‘boredom, loneliness, misery and anxiety’ during the school shutdown since January.
In her final address as children’s commissioner for England last month, Anne Longfield said it was ‘impossible to overstate how damaging the past year has been for many children.’
Some pupils have not been in lessons since late December, while others briefly returned before the third lockdown came into force early in the new year.
Mr Johnson said he believed pupils, parents and teachers were ‘ready’ to go back, with more than 20,000 schools set to open their gates once again.
“March 8 is the big step on the road map that we hope is a road map to freedom,” the Prime Minister said during a visit to a north London vaccines centre.
“It is made possible by the rollout of the vaccination programme.
“I’m very hopeful that it will work, it will all go according to plan and that all pupils, will be back in schools.
“I’m massively grateful to parents who have put up with so much throughout the pandemic and teachers who have done an amazing job of keeping going.
“I do think we are ready, I think people want to go back, they feel it, they feel the need for it.”
Ofsted chief inspector Ms Spielman, in an interview with Sky News, said remote education had ‘been a real slog’ for many.
She said teachers and parents ‘need to be alert’ to more serious mental health difficulties persisting for a minority of children even after face-toface learning resumes.
“There is a minority – and let’s hope it is not too large a minority – whose problems have increased and it is really important that we are good at recognising where problems are arising,” she said.
“Things like eating disorders, things like self-harm and mental health services are very aware of the kinds of problems that have been increasing and whether they can expect more cases coming through, so everybody needs to be alert to these.”
It came as the Education Secretary said proposed changes to the summer holidays and longer school days were being considered for helping pupils catch up on lost learning.
Gavin Williamson said Sir Kevan Collins, the Government’s education recovery commissioner, would be looking at what measures to introduce over the next 18 months.
“We are looking at holidays, we are looking at lengthening the school day,
we’re looking at a whole range of measures and we’ve asked Sir Kevan to leave no stone unturned,” Mr Williamson told Sky News.
“For us, we see this as one of those moments, a little bit like the 1944 Education Reform Act which came out of the Second World War, about how we can be transformative in terms of changing and improving the opportunities for young people but it’s got to be evidence based.”
The Cabinet minister also gave a guarantee that schools would continue again after the Easter holidays.
TEACHERS in Manchester have shared their concerns over pupils returning en masse this week.
Despite Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland taking a phased approach to getting children back in class, those in England will all return at the same time.
The only staggering will be in high schools as year groups are tested on different days before being allowed back in class, but it’s expected that all pupils will have returned to schools and colleges by March 15.
Steven Longden, who works at one of Manchester’s largest high schools, is keen to get students back to class, but it’s not without trepidation.
He was fortunate enough to get the vaccine ‘by pure luck’ after a call from his GP practice, but he’s concerned for his colleagues who aren’t yet protected and says he would rather have waited for infections rates to be ‘right down’ before bringing all pupils back.
“We want to be back in schools with the young people,” he said.
“But at the same time we know that significant numbers of teachers have died and everybody is concerned that may well be due to the fact we now know children are the most infectious group.
“I’m relatively healthy for my age and I spent the whole of the autumn term teaching. That’s not to say I’m not concerned but I’m more concerned about my colleagues, as well as the parents and grandparents of our students who could also be affected.”
Mr Longden, who is also a Trafford councillor representing Brooklands ward, says there are ‘some serious questions about health and safety.’
After seeing other countries taking a much more cautious approach, his ‘personal opinion is that it makes more sense’ and is ‘unwise’ to bring them all back at the same time.
That’s also the view of the teachers’ union, the NEU, of which Mr Longden is a local rep. It has already described the full reopening of all schools as ‘reckless.’
Union leaders are now urging teachers to check their schools have the correct safety measures in place to prevent them becoming ‘vectors of transmission.’
A primary teacher from a school in Bolton shares the same concerns as Mr Longden and had hoped that all school staff would have been vaccinated before a full reopening.
She told us: “I was anxious about the return to school after Christmas and after just one day in school, lockdown was imposed - it has been an incredibly stressful time juggling teaching in school alongside planning and assessing home learning.
“Most days I’ve worked at least 12-hour days. But as lockdown was imposed I thought it could bring about a positive - vaccines for teachers. Alas nothing.
“As the announcement for the reopening of schools was due I thought that a phased transition back in would have reduced anxiety and provided the safest conditions for the children, their families and the staff and our families.
“So as every single primary aged child will arrive in school on Monday, anxiety levels are high, as I know I have followed the rules but if others haven’t the risk to staff and their families is still a concern.”
The teacher, who did not want to be named, said that despite the high levels of anxiety, she is ‘excited’ to see the
children.