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Teachers unions have reacted with dismay after the government released new COVID-19 guidelines for secondary schools last night, just days before millions of pupils in England return to classrooms next week.
One leader said there was a sense of “inevitable fatigue” about the plan, while Labor said “the incompetence is an insult.”
If there is a local lockdown in an area with a significant number of infections, schools might have to implement a rotation system for students who would spend two weeks in the classroom and then fifteen days studying online at home.
The tiered approach would be aimed at reducing one person’s contacts, helping to limit the spread of the coronavirus and give enough time at home for symptoms to appear.
The Department of Education guidance does not apply to primary school children, as scientific evidence indicates that they “play a limited role in transmission.”
The guidelines say schools must base their plans on a four-tier system to respond to changing levels of coronavirus cases, and the approach prioritizes keeping elementary schools open.
Level 1 will be the default setting where all students attend school full time.
And additional measures should be introduced at the second level if health and education officials believe infection levels are too high.
In this case, high school students would move on to a part-time rotation, where they would study at school for fifteen days and then study online at home for two weeks.
Level 1 – Requires seventh grade students and staff to wear face covers in hallways and common areas.
Level 2: Primary and early childhood schools will remain open, while secondary schools will move to a rotation system, combining face-to-face and distance learning.
Level 3: Kindergarten and primary schools will remain open, but secondary schools and colleges will move to full remote learning, with the exception of key working children.
Level 4: All early, primary and secondary years will transition to full remote learning, except for key child workers.
Teachers have criticized the ad and its timing.
Geoff Barton, secretary general of the Association of School and College Leaders, told Sky News: “I think there will be an inevitable tired feeling about this, that we have been saying for a long time for weeks and weeks ‘what’s the plan.’ YES?’
“What do we do once we have opened our schools and universities, and welcomed children, if there had to be a local closure?
“And that was answered by the government as being an act of grave heresy to even question that.
“So here we are, right at the end of that whole planning process, on a holiday weekend, the kids start coming back on Tuesday, and late last night, the guide suddenly comes in with some confusion about what’s implied.
“Of course we will respond to that and make sure we do the necessary planning, but we could have been doing this for weeks, weeks and weeks.”
Meanwhile, the Labor Party’s shadow education secretary Kate Green said the moment “begs for faith.”
He added: “The incompetence of the government is an insult to school leaders and teachers who have worked so hard over the summer to prepare the schools for the return of the children.”
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said any change in school attendance “will only be an absolute last resort.”
But he added: “However, it is important that both the government and schools prepare for the worst case scenario, so this framework represents the sensible contingency planning that any responsible government would implement.”
The guide also stated: “In all areas of intervention of the national government, in schools where students from the seventh year onwards are educated, adults and students must cover their faces when they move around the premises, outside the premises. classrooms, such as hallways and common areas where social distancing cannot be easily maintained. “
Official government data released on Friday revealed that the UK recorded 1,276 daily confirmed cases of COVID-19, compared to 1,522 the day before.
Thursday’s total was the highest daily count from June 12.
Nine other people have also died from coronavirus.
