‘Schools should have been shut sooner’ – heads
CONFUSION OVER TESTS AND EXAMS AS LOCKDOWN STARTS
SCHOOL and college leaders have supported the decision to close classes in the national lockdown but say it should have been made sooner.
Following Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s announcement on Monday, plans for testing, staggered returns and exams were thrown into disarray as a third national lockdown was confirmed for England.
And with growing concerns of the new strain of Covid-19 and rising rates of infection, Mr Johnson said: “Because we now have to do everything we possibly can to stop the spread of the disease, primary schools, secondary schools and colleges across England must move to remote provision – except for vulnerable children and the children of key workers.
“Everyone will still be able to access early years settings such as nurseries.”
The news came after days of mounting pressure from unions and members in schools not returning to school fearing it was unsafe.
Kerrie Henton, principal at Stone Soup Academy in Nottingham city centre, said: “I think it’s the right decision, but it should have been made with more notice.
“It was a long night of phone calls and we have needed to take today (Tuesday) to prepare and co-ordinate what is happening.
“We couldn’t just use what we had in place last year as our cohort has changed.”
Schools and colleges are expected to provide remote learning until at least February half term, only remaining open for vulnerable children and those of keyworkers.
But Mrs Henton said there were still a few areas that remain unclear – including what will happen with exams and how students can prepare, as well as how school meals will be arranged.
Last week, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson also said secondary and college settings would need to start testing at their sites.
Mrs Henton confirmed testing kits had been delivered and that the school was still planning to test staff weekly.
“I managed to set up a ‘lab space’ to test the staff but the kits are clearly designed for medical personnel and they need clearer instructions,” she added.
“Not all the materials required are provided either so that was another thing to sort out.
“The general consensus is I understand the changes, but the short notice of everything is what causes stress.
“I would have happily used time over Christmas to plan so we weren’t dropping these changes on staff and families.”
Principal of Bilborough College David Shaw had also prepared to test hundreds of students on the first day back with a full testing station run by an army of college volunteers.
“I think education settings have gone further than ever before – but we don’t even know if we can carry out our testing now,” he said.
“We’ve been given 4,000 tests, which is enough for all students and staff to be tested twice, but it’s on hold now until we know what to do.
“My general feeling is the lockdown is the right thing to do as everyone is worried about the new strain – I think without that, we would have been happy to return as normal.
“But I do feel for the students and staff as it is much more difficult.”
The 16-19 college is preparing to continue a regular timetable with live lessons being delivered through webcams in every classroom.
“We do feel more confident going into it this time, but it’s just the uncertainty of how long it will last,” Mr Shaw added.
“We are also hoping and lobbying for a fair exam process and last year didn’t quite work out.
“I think most staff have struggled with the last-minute element of everything – Scotland and Wales saw it coming.
“There was a lot of anger among teachers, particularly in primary schools, and the pressure was certainly relevant in the Government’s decision.”
Sheena Wheatley, Nottingham’s branch secretary for the National Education Union (NEU), said she was “relieved” but “not celebratory” over the Government’s decision.
“U-turns like this are not necessary if we had had proper dialogue.
“There has been an appalling pressure on schools to remain open when many have felt it wasn’t safe – yet Government consistently said schools were not at risk.
“You don’t get much pleasure about being right when it’s been such a mess.”