The big back to school
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has confirmed schools will reopen from June 1 and the Government has set out guidelines to keep kids safe
BALANCING those daily Joe Wicks workouts, tricky times tables and tough spellings with work and home life has been a relentless challenge for many parents during lockdown.
But now there’s light at the end of the tunnel, as some children begin to return to school from June 1.
Schools have remained open to support vulnerable children and key workers’ kids, but now nursery and reception plus years 1 and 6 are getting ready to go back too.
Secondary schools will also offer some face-to-face support to pupils in years 10 and 11 as they prepare for their exams next year.
What’s important to teachers is that children are safe and happy, which is why they’ve been working hard behind the scenes to implement government guidelines and prepare to welcome their classes back to school.
As any parent knows, telling younger children to stay two metres apart will be a challenge, so it’s recommended that they only mix in the same small groups each day.
Andrea Parker is lead head teacher of three primary schools, Bonneville, Jessop and Stockwell. She explains how a “bubbles” system will work: “There will be a maximum of 15 children in class. In our reception classes, we’ve got around eight children in each bubble. And it’s not just about the size of the bubble, it’s about the dynamics of the bubble as well. Children are people.
“We’re going to really use more of our outdoor space for reception in particular, where they will be working in smaller groups. We’ll be removing all soft furnishings, and with things like the climbing frames only one bubble can use it at any one time and then it will be cleaned down before another bubble can use it.”
Staggering the drop-off and pick-up times is important to keep children and their carers safe – and schools are putting a new system into place.
“We’ve got lines painted at the entrance a two-metre distance from the boundary of the school for drop-off,” says Ms Parker.
“The bubble lead will be there for 15 minutes, and will then take her group through a marked route to their room.
And then there’ll be 10 minutes after that for parents to leave the streets and to wait for any late children that might come here afterwards.
“So that means that there is a staggered day from the get-go throughout the whole day. At home time, it’s the same in reverse, with staggered home times”
Children who are still learning at home will be supported by their schools and teachers too. But for many parents and kids, back to school means a welcome return to normality after a tough few months.
Staggering the drop-off and pick-up times is important to keep children and carers safe
ANDREA PARKER
LEAD HEAD TEACHER
Check with your Local Authority for the latest news on schools opening in your area.