Last-minute state guidance on school inset day criticised

ROYAL BOROUGH: ‘Unhelpful’ guidance from the Government over whether schools should have held an inset day today (Friday) has drawn criticism from the council’s chief of children’s services, writes George Roberts.

Nick Gibb, minister of state for school standards, told a Parliamentary committee last week that schools would be able to hold an inset day on the last day of term so that their contact tracing schemes would not run all the way up to Christmas Eve.

Speaking at a Health and Wellbeing Board meeting on the same day, the Royal Borough’s director of children’s services, Kevin McDaniel, was critical of the last-minute changes and the impacts they are having on schools in the area.

He said: “The biggest challenge for our schools has been responding to the plethora of changing guidance.

“Just this afternoon the Department for Education has published guidance for schools suggesting that they might want to consider having an inset day [on] Friday so all contact tracing completes before Christmas.

“It’s really difficult for schools that have been planning for terms and parents who are trying to organise their working.”

For schools that did close to students today, it means that the six-day window where education providers must remain on call will end on Wednesday, December 23.

A Department for Education spokeswoman said: “It is vital for all children to be in school where possible.

‘It’s really difficult for schools that have been planning for terms’

“We are advising schools that they can use an inset day on December 18 to ensure that leaders can finish work and still complete any necessary contact tracing during the six days before Christmas Eve.

“Children will catch up the time in school later in the year.”