It seems clear that children have been pushed down the list of priorities
As a father of six, Boris Johnson could reasonably be expected to be well versed in the trials and tribulations of raising school-age children, even if his youngest is still a babe in arms. Yet the latest government U-turn on reopening schools suggests Downing Street may have mislaid its Mumsnet login details.
For there are now fears that secondary pupils might not return even in September, despite mounting concerns about the detrimental impact on pupil progress.
Having announced that nonessential retail – including betting shops – will reopen from Monday, it seems children have been pushed down No 10’s list of priorities.
As Anne Longfield, the children’s commissioner for England, succinctly put it yesterday when she pointed out the ridiculousness of theme parks reopening before schools: “Children’s education does matter as much as the economy. We need to invest in it because without there’s a risk that childhood is going to be furloughed.”
With a Yougov poll finding on Monday that two thirds of parents were “struggling to maintain discipline and motivation” while homeschooling during the crisis, the Government’s exit strategy doesn’t appear particularly family-focused. This is despite a poll by the National Foundation for Educational Research finding that more than half of parents were willing to send their children back when they open more fully.
As many Tories who have supported schools reopening have been at pains to point out, only when children are back in school can parents properly return to work.
Robert Halfon, the Conservative MP and chairman of the Commons education select committee, yesterday warned of “an epidemic of educational poverty” if children do not get back into the classroom sooner.
Warning that there were around 700,000 vulnerable children who were “not doing any school homework at all”, he said: “[They] may have their life chances damaged hugely by being away from school for 40 per cent of the school year.”
It followed an admission by Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, at Monday’s No10 press conference that secondary schools would not reopen until September “at the earliest”, despite saying coronavirus was “in retreat” across the UK.
The overcautious approach angered MPS and ministers in light of the World Health Organisation’s recommendation that schools should reopen – with no evidence of spikes among pupils in countries that have allowed them to return to class.
Last month, a videoconference of education ministers from around the EU heard that the reopening of schools in 22 European countries had not led to any significant increase in infections among children, parents or staff.
Denmark became the first European country to tentatively reopen its nurseries, kindergartens and primary schools on April 15, followed by Norway, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece and France.
Schools will remain closed until September in Italy and only partially reopened in Spain.
So why does the Government appear to be turning a blind eye not only to the needs of children but also the scientific evidence?
One senior Tory blamed the climbdown squarely on Gavin Williamson, saying the Education Secretary had “done a Ted Heath” by caving into the unions.
Unions including the National Education Union, the National Association of Headteachers, and Naswut remain unconvinced that it is safe for schools to reopen, and a number of Labour-run councils have refused to allow pupils to return.
“Gavin’s not just kowtowed to the unions but also ‘the Blob’,” said the MP. “The civil servants in the Department for Education are best described as well-meaning Lib Dems. It’s not that they’re Left-wing, they’re just mushy. He’s clearly been persuaded by them.”
Pointing out how dramatically Mr Williamson had “changed his tune” in the three weeks since he announced that reception, Year 1 and Year 6 children would return on June 1, the MP added: “The Gavin who gave his statement yesterday was a completely different Education Secretary. He looked haunted as he raised the white flag.”
Another senior Tory said : “This is all a result of the Government having no clear strategic view on where they want to be. Betting shops reopening but not schools?
“They announced that all primary school children would return for a month before the school holidays without thinking of answers to the questions that would inevitably arise.
“They needed to bring parents on board but all this retreat does is make them even more wary of sending their children back.”
Last night, a source close to Mr Williamson insisted that the ambition to have all primary school children return before the summer holidays was only if it was “feasible to do so”, adding: “It was always subject to review.”
Denying he had surrendered to the unions or ‘the Blob”, the source added: “If he had caved in, we wouldn’t have more than 70 per cent of schools reopened right now.
“As Gavin said in his statement, he wants all pupils to be back by September.”