MPS pushing for schools to reopen
FEARS THAT CHILDREN COULD BECOME THE ‘FORGOTTEN VICTIMS’
CONSERVATIVE MPS are piling on the pressure to get schools fully reopened, saying children could become the “forgotten victims” of the Covid pandemic.
Mansfield MP Ben Bradley is supporting a campaign by pressure group Usforthem to fully reopen schools by next month.
Other supporters of the campaign include Ashfield MP Lee Anderson and former Cabinet minister Esther Mcvey.
The MPS have warned Prime Minister Boris Johnson that children from disadvantaged backgrounds will fall further behind if schools remain shut to all children.
They are asking for the full analysis of the decision to shut schools to be released to justify the closures, and have suggested that frontline workers like teachers (and others) should be the next priority after vulnerable groups for the vaccine in order to help get children back in school.
The call comes as Education Secretary Gavin Williamson is expected to confirm this week that there will be no return to the classroom after the February half-term break as ministers had hoped.
Over the weekend, Health Secretary Matt Hancock refused to guarantee that they would be back before Easter, saying that infection rates would need to come down further.
As a former member of the Education Select Committee, Mr Bradley says he is particularly concerned about the impact the closures will have on disadvantaged children.
He has previously raised concerns about disadvantaged children, particularly white working-class boys, in Parliament.
Mr Bradley said: “Schools must reopen to students who want or need to be there.
“Each day they’re out of the classroom, the most disadvantaged children are falling behind in their education, and their life chances are poorer as a result. “Narrowing the educational gap is fundamental to ‘levelling up’ and giving people a fair chance in life.
“These school closures are only going to make that problem worse, hold back the communities that put their faith in us even more.
“In my view, it’s storing up huge issues for the future that are being grossly underestimated. “Let’s get through the vulnerable vaccination groups – which could reduce the mortality of the virus by as much as 88 percent. “Then we can prioritise teachers and school staff for the jabs so that we can get those kids who would benefit from being in school back after half-term.”
Responding to the calls, Labour MP for Nottingham North Alex Norris said: “We all want our children back in school.
“However, with the NHS at maximum capacity, the test and trace system failing and the vaccine programme still in its early stages, we should be guided by scientific evidence as to when this is best done rather than politicians picking dates out of thin air.”