Secondary pupil numbers should be limited to quarter

SECONDARY schools should only allow a quarter of pupils to attend at any one time, official guidance says.

The start of the day should be staggered so pupils do not have to use public transport at peak times, according to a new document published by the Department for Education (DFE).

On Sunday, the Prime Minister asked secondary schools to reopen for pupils in Year 10 and 12, who are midway through their GCSE and A-level courses, from June 15.

Detailed official guidance published this week explains that no more than a quarter of pupils in the two year groups should be in the building at any one time, to reduce the risk of coronavirus transmission.

Vulnerable children and those whose parents are key workers should continue to be allowed to attend secondary school as well as these two year groups, the guidance adds.

Students should be encouraged to walk or cycle to school and only use public transport as a last resort. If they do have to use it, this should not be at peak times so the start and end of the school day should be staggered to assist this. Children should keep two metres apart from each other at all times, and class sizes should be halved.

The guidelines published by the DFE say the Government “cannot return more pupils to secondary school at this time” – but this position “will be kept under review”.

It adds: “One of the key reasons for this is because we know older pupils generally travel further to school and are more likely to use public transport to travel to and from school.

“Numbers of secondary pupils must also be limited because older pupils are more likely to have a wider group of social contacts outside of school.”

It comes after Boris Johnson announced that the Government intends for schools to provide some face-toface support for Year 10 and Year 12 students from June 15 to help them prepare for exams.

The Prime Minister is sticking to his date for primary schools opening in England to more year groups, but has acknowledged “it may not be possible” for all of them to do so by June 1.

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