Schools set to return in phased reopening

Education Secretary says he is unable to give a date yet, but year groups are likely to be staggered

SCHOOLS will have a “phased” reopening, the Education Secretary has said as he warns it would not be practical for all students to return at once.

Gavin Williamson reiterated that there was no date set for schools to reopen, but revealed he had asked the Gov- ernment’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) to set up a subgroup to examine how children can re- turn to the classroom in a safe way.

Speaking to MPS on the education select committee, he said that he was already in talks with head teachers about how schools could reopen in a “logical” and “sensible” way.

Mr Williamson ruled out the prospect of running catch-up classes for children over the summer holidays and added that when schools did reopen, it would be in a phased way.

“We recognise the idea of schools all returning on day one with the full complement of pupils is not practical,” he told MPS.

He declined to specify which year groups should be the first to return to school, but head teachers have previously suggested that current Year 10 and Year 12 students who are in the middle of their GCSE and A-level courses should be prioritised.

Mr Williamson said that government officials were keeping an eye on developments in other countries, such as Denmark and Germany, where schools have already started to reopen.

He said that while different countries had different education systems so they were not directly comparable, he wanted to make sure that lessons were learnt from what was done elsewhere.

“We are working very closely with the whole sector in terms of actually when is going to be the best time to bring schools fully back into operation,” Mr Williamson told MPS.

“We have set out five clear tests as to what is incredibly important and what will inform the schools. We want to make sure schools are given proper notice but we do not have a date as to when schools are going to be opening.”

Ministers have come under pressure to announce a timeline on English schools reopening, which is seen by some as key to ending lockdown since parents could then to go back to work.

The Government’s five tests for schools to reopen are the same as those for lifting lockdown more generally. These include the death rate consistently falling, that the NHS’S ability to cope has been protected and that any changes do not risk a second peak.

Mr Williamson’s comments follow similar remarks from his Scottish and Welsh counterparts earlier this week.

Meanwhile, suggestions by Sir Michael Wilshaw, the former chief inspector of schools, that some pupils will need extra classes to catch up on missed work were rejected by head teachers.