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Elementary schools will reopen early next month, and Year 6 children are expected to be the first to return.
Under Whitehall’s plans, Year 10 and 12 students will return to high schools soon after as part of a tiered retreat.
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Younger children are seen as a priority to minimize the threat to development and help parents return to work.
Year 6 students are believed to be at the most crucial stage as this is their final term before starting high school in September.
Welsh Prime Minister Mark Drakeford said of that age group yesterday: “We know it is an initiation rite, you do it with your classmates and yet you will not have seen those friends in a few weeks. So , I could take those kids to school before others. “
England is unlikely to take a significantly different approach to Wales.
But schools in Northern Ireland are not expected to return until September as absence rates are believed to be very high.
Year 10 and 12 students are seen as the most important high school students to resume as they sit at GCSE and A levels next year.
They could return at the same time as the primaries or soon after.
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Boris Johnson wants to notify teachers three weeks in advance to reopen June 1, so he hopes to make a formal announcement next Sunday.
He told The Sun on Sunday that reopening the primaries was “one of the things we want to do as quickly as we can.”
Yesterday Amanda Spielman, director of the schools’ inspection body, Ofsted, supported a return. She told Sky News: “If you look at the interests of the children, it is very clear that their interests are best served in the vast majority of cases by returning to school as soon as possible.”
He also said it was “extraordinarily unlikely” that the government would fine parents if their children did not go.
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson previously said schools are likely to return in a “gradual way.”
Whitehall sources say the decision is one of the most difficult restrictions.
Ministers realize that some parents will be reluctant to let children return after ten weeks. That’s why there are plans to reopen workplaces a week earlier, starting May 26.
They hope it will ease fears about children’s safety. The government can also impose smaller classes.
But only 17 percent of the public think the time is right to consider reopening schools, an Opinium poll for The Observer said. Last night, unions also spoke out against the prospect of a return date in early June.
Kevin Courtney, joint chief of the National Education Union, warned that it was “really premature.”
He added: “Instead, the government should provide evidence on how this can be safe, how many more deaths we would expect to see among school staff and parents, and how it can be prevented or minimized.”
Drakeford acknowledged that parents must be sure that their children will be safe. He told the BBC One Andrew Marr Show: “Social distancing is needed for public health reasons, but also to persuade parents and teachers that you are asking young people to return to a safe environment. You can open what you want, but if people don’t think it’s safe to go, they will vote with their feet. “
Government sources said the goal is to reopen schools from early June, but the exact date depends on scientific data. A crucial study showing the current rate of infection across the UK will be presented to ministers this week.
Transportation Secretary Grant Shapps said scientists think the R number, the number of people infected by a sick person, has dropped to “between 0.6 and 0.85 percent.”
That’s lower than they believed last week, raising hopes that Britain is closer to being able to lift the restrictions.
Conservative Education Committee Chairman Robert Halfon said delays in primary education have a “huge effect” on education and skills later in life. He said he would support “some kind of summer school” run by volunteers.
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The sun says
The news that the government plans to start opening schools next month is a great relief.
The benefit to disadvantaged children is enormous: Children, especially younger children, thrive on routine. And while wealthy, middle-class parents may have time to design homework schedules, ordinary workers struggling to get food on the table certainly don’t.
But that is only half.
If schools are allowed to open their doors, millions of parents who have been trapped in their homes will be able to return to work, starting the economy and filling the country’s empty chests.
Yes, lifting restrictions on social distancing carries an element of risk.
But simple measures like awesome classes and playtime should make teachers and parents feel safe.
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Meanwhile, the government announced last night temporary controls on the number of students in universities.
Their goal is to prevent overcrowding, but also to prevent the best universities from picking up the brightest students.
A total of £ 2.6 billion in tuition payments will also be advanced to aid cash flow. Another £ 100 million will protect the investigation.
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