Back to school

Children must be given support

THE necessity of children returning to school next month cannot be overstated, not only for the sake of youngsters who have missed out on six months of education, but also for their parents’ ability to get back to work.

Families have understandably been anxious that a return to the classroom puts their children at risk, but hopefully they will take reassurance from the country’s chief medical officers.

Their insistence that the risk is small should be heeded, and they are certainly correct that staying out of school any longer is more harmful to children’s long-term prospects than Covid-19.

There is no doubt that teachers will do everything in their power to make reopening schools as safe as possible.

But there should be no doubting the scale of the challenges ahead after so prolonged an absence.

To its credit, the Government has recognised this with today’s announcement of additional support for reception-age children with their language skills, to help them catch up on what they have missed at a crucial stage of early development.

It would be tragic if a generation of children were to be held back through no fault of their own, or their parents, so the funding is to be welcomed.

This may prove to be only the first of several measures to help children back to normality. It is perfectly possible that other issues become apparent once schools reopen.

If so, the Government must not stint on providing all necessary funding. Schools deserve the maximum possible support.