The Covid case could mean that the whole year group will not attend school

A single confirmed case of coronavirus at a school in England could mean sending a full-year group home, according to new government guidance.

He says a confirmed case could mean that all students in the same “bubble” have to isolate themselves for 14 days.

In areas with a local lockdown, high school students could have a two-week rotation in and out of school.

The guide, published Friday night, comes a few days before millions of students return to school.

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said they were “worst-case” contingency plans.

“We hope that we do not have to implement the guidance established today,” Williamson said.

“Changes in school attendance will only be an absolute last resort,” he said.

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Paul Whiteman, leader of the National Association of Teacher Directors, said: “Keeping schools open should be the priority, but it doesn’t take a crystal ball to see that there will almost inevitably be some disruption in some areas in the coming weeks. “

He said bosses had been asking for this “Plan B” for weeks for what happens in the event of an outbreak, and “another late night post is pretty typical of what we’ve gotten used to.”

The new guidance sets out what would happen if there are cases of coronavirus in a school and what happens to schools in areas where there are higher levels of infection.

If there is a suspicious case of a student or staff member, the school will continue while a test is being conducted.

But the Department of Education says: “If a case is confirmed, local public health officials will work with the school to take appropriate action, including asking all members of a student bubble to isolate themselves for 14 days and agree to remote education “.

A “bubble” could be a small number of children, but it could also be a whole year-long group, and it could mean that all those students have to drop out of school to isolate themselves for 14 days and switch to distance education.

The guide says that a health protection team would decide which specific pupils are considered to have been in close enough contact to have to isolate themselves.

Levels of concern

For schools to respond to changing levels of coronavirus cases, there will be a four-stage set of responses, prioritizing keeping elementary students in school full-time.

The default setting will be Level 1, which will be where there are no particular problems, assuming this will be the vast majority of schools, where all students will attend full time.

If local public health and education officials decide that infection levels are too high, schools could have a Level 2 response, in which high school students would move on to a part-time rotation, in school for two weeks and then they would study online from home for two weeks.

The guide says schools would only be affected in this way after “all other measures have been exhausted,” but says this would help break the chain of transmission of Covid-19.

A more severe answer would be Level 3, in which the majority of high school students would study from home, and then Level 4, in which all types of schools would switch to studying from home, except for the children of key workers and vulnerable children.

Geoff Barton, leader of the ASCL Teacher Principals Union, welcomed contingency planning.

“But waiting until Friday night before most schools return is not the best time for the government. Obviously, schools have not had the slightest opportunity to incorporate this into their planning and now they will have to review the plans. they have implemented.

“In any case, it is a step in the right direction. Obviously, everyone hopes that these backup plans are not necessary and that the schools can remain fully open.”

Education staff and parents took to Twitter to express their irritation at the moment.

“The timing of this shows utter disregard for schools, leaders and teachers. It is absolutely stunning that this is how they repeatedly treat us,” said Assistant Principal Daniel Sabato.

Claire Sheehan said, “Our school waited until the end of this week to send out guidance in case things changed.”

It seemed that the government was “full of the same people [who] I will send 530 fri redundancy emails, “he said.

There were questions about the meaning of the advice.

“As a sixth-grade university, our bubble would be half the students. Does that include all the staff who have taught them as well? Because that could be all the staff,” said geography professor Claire Foulkes.

While geography chief Mark Enser asked: “Most high school staff are teaching through year group bubbles. Who would be in school to teach the rest?”

“I’m a dinner lady, and the dining room is a common area where you can’t wear masks,” said Trudi Gard.

“The ladies at dinner come into contact with all the children of all the bubbles. If one child infects us, we infect everyone else.”