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However, the planned reopening of schools could not come at a lesser time: Many European countries, from Spain to Poland, are experiencing an uptick in cases of coronavirus. The spike has already forced some schools to close their doors, including in the northern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, where four schools had to close in part following last week’s opening due to coronavirus cases.
It does not help that it remains uncertain what role schools play in the transmission of the virus. Far fewer cases have been detected in children than in adults, but scientists are not yet sure how likely children are to pass the virus on to others.
The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said this month that evidence suggests “that new schools are not associated with significant increases in community transmission,” but acknowledged there was “conflicting published evidence” “on the impact of school closures and reopening.
However, parents and students are more concerned about potential health risks: early surveys have found that school closures have had a negative impact on the education and well-being of many children and adolescents, while parents have difficulty coping with combining distance work and home care.
“The big fear is for another lockdown and that we have to go back to home care,” said Cristina Tagliabue, an Italian mother who co-founded a protest movement that saw families and teachers see the streets in 60 Italian cities this summer.
It is for this reason that countries are moving forward with reopening of schools despite a potential second wave that drags on in the autumn. Here’s how six EU countries hope to keep schools open and keep the virus under control.
Spain
There is no national date for returning to school in Spain, with the first schools reopening on September 7 in some regions. The government’s recommendations include social distance and use of facilities such as libraries and canteens as classes for more space.
Teachers complain that the guidance may create conflicting rules in the country – the 17 regions of Spain can set their own education policies – which can lead to confusion. “No 17 can return to class in Spain,” said Sonia García, a spokeswoman for ANPE, indicated on lack of “clear instructions” of the central government.
The Catalan regional government is hiring 5,000 extra teachers to create stable “bubbles” of students to limit general contacts within schools and allow children to wear face masks and social distances. Meanwhile, the Madrid region aims to hire 600 teaching staff and has proposed four different action plans, depending on the severity of the pandemic (including partial attendance and distance learning). In the north-eastern region of La Rioja, regional authorities are proposing that students over the age of 14 can choose online education or attend school in the afternoon the morning.
France
French schools are set to reopen on September 1, except in areas declared “active virus circulation” zones such as Paris or the Marseille region, where schools may remain closed.
The Ministry of Education has said that students should not have social distance in areas where keeping a distance is impossible, whether inside or outside. Anyone over the age of 11 will have to wear both indoor and outdoor masks as a minimum distance of 1 meter cannot be guaranteed, such as teachers. Schools will have to provide masks for their staff – but the Ministry of Education said it has only three months’ worth of masks in stock. Pupils and students are expected to buy their own.
The teachers’ unions have accused the government of creating “graying chaos” and “devastating” working conditions, saying distance education plans are incomplete when needed to help with a second wave.
Italy
Italian schools reopened on September 14 after being closed for six months. Staff will have to wear masks, and the government will decide in the last week of August whether children over the age of six should do the same.
Classes will be smaller to allow social distance among the country’s 8 million students – which means there is room for new classes. But according to the school staff association, Italy still lacks 20,000 extra classes for a total of 400,000 students.
Local authorities have been tasked with finding these spaces, with some using creative solutions, such as using bed and breakfast settings as classrooms. Tagliabue, the activist with mother-turned, is sure that schools will reopen – “the problem is how many hours they will be able to guarantee,” she said, adding that another problem will be a lack of teachers for the larger number the class.
Italian media reported Friday that the committee of experts advising the government has said that social distance can be avoided for a few months if students wear masks while authorities look for a solution for classes.
Belgium
Belgian schools reopened on September 1 despite the rising rate of infections during the summer period.
Education experts had argued that the government should not only look at the health effects of rehab, but also the impact on education and well-being of children. A new study also shows that children are barely infected at school.
The regions, which are responsible for education in Belgium, decided on Friday that all schools will reopen on 1 September. As the rate of infections in a particular village decreases, high school students will attend schools in alternating groups every other week. Other adjustments can be made depending on the pandemic.
Germany
The new school year begins on several dates in Germany’s 16 federal states. In several northern states, such as Berlin and Schleswig-Holstein, students have already returned; in southern states
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Education is a regional competence, this means that each state has a different plan for reopening, but the German Academy of Natural Sciences Leopoldina of Germany has issued guidelines. Its recommendations include mask wear for students 15 years or older, small contact groups within schools and continuing testing.
Some states have made masks compulsory in schools, although North Rhine-Westphalia is so far the only state to wear masks in classes. Some – such as Schleswig-Holstein – only recommend masks, while students in states such as Brandenburg and Berlin should only wear them outside their classrooms.
Some teachers say the guidelines are not enough or even contradictory. “Masks are required in the building, but not in the [class]rooms, “said one teacher at a Berlin primary school who wished to remain anonymous, adding that” students come very close to each other on the school grounds … It would be best to have a system that [classes] … so there are [fewer] students together in one class. ”
Poland
Poland plans to reopen as normal on September 1, with the exception of a handful of counties with higher rates of coronavirus infection.
The current epidemiological situation “makes it possible, in the overwhelming majority of our country, in the overwhelming majority of our education facilities … a return of standard lessons that rely on contact between teachers and students,” said Education Minister Dariusz Piontkowski earlier this week.
There is no requirement to wear masks or restrict classes, but children are asked to wash their hands frequently and avoid contact with large groups of students.
Of the country’s 380 districts, 19 have restrictions in place due to high levels of coronavirus cases. In those areas, the number of students allowed to gather in one place will be limited. School administrators will also have the authority to shift to virtual learning models such as hybrid learning as coronavirus cases are discovered in their schools.
Denmark
Danish schools opened on August 10 for the new term, but many pupils had already returned in the spring because of the rapid disintegration of the country and the subsequent fall in cases of coronavirus allowing schools to reopen.
When the schools reopened, children were taught in smaller groups of 10-12, sat 2 feet apart in class, and washed their hands at least every hour and a half.
The government set central guidelines, but allowed municipalities flexibility in implementing the rules. “We told our members to work with the local communities so that the concerns and thoughts of teachers at all levels will be taken into account,” said Dorte Lange, Deputy Chair of the Danish Teachers’ Union.
Children and teachers were not required to wear masks – and Denmark did not see any emerging infections after schools reopened.
Cristina Gallardo, Elisa Braun, Barbara Moens, Nette Nöstlinger, Jan Cienski and Charlie Duxbury contributed reports.
