[ad_1]
Primary schools in England’s worst hit coronavirus hotspots will remain closed at the start of the period on January 4 as ministers desperately try to curb the spread of the disease.
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson announced this afternoon that primary schools will not be allowed to reopen in dozens of areas in London, Essex, Kent and beyond.
Vulnerable children and the children of key workers will be the only students allowed to attend schools in person, and all their classmates will be forced to switch to online learning.
Williamson also announced that the planned staggered return of high schools and colleges will be delayed by a week to allow more time to implement massive Covid-19 testing.
Students in Years 11 and 13 facing exams will physically return on January 11, a date that was originally intended for the return of all high school and college students in England.
Students in groups from other years will now have to wait another week until January 18 to return.
However, Boris Johnson suggested tonight that even that return date could be changed for some schools, as he said the government’s approach will depend on infection rates.
The government’s original plan was for the majority of high school and college students to start the online period from January 4 before resuming face-to-face lessons from January 11.
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson delivered the sad news to the Commons as he admitted that more time is needed to install massive test facilities.
Williamson has faced massive pressure in recent weeks over the proposed staggered restart of schools, as teachers, unions and scientists called for a delay.
The Secretary of Education told deputies: ‘We will open most of the primary schools as scheduled on Monday, January 4.
“We know how vital it is that the youngest children are in school for their education, well-being and broader development.
“In a small number of areas where infection rates are higher, we will implement our existing contingency framework, such that only vulnerable children and children of critical workers will attend face-to-face.
“We will post this list of areas today on the gov.uk website.”
Williamson stressed that the elementary school restrictions will only apply at the worst points of infection and that the “overwhelming majority” will open as planned.
He also said that the areas that are subject to restrictions on face-to-face teaching will be reviewed periodically.
On the subject of high schools and universities, the Secretary of Education said that the coronavirus infection rate is’ particularly high in this age group ‘and, as a result,’ we are going to allow more time for all schools and universities can fully roll out tests for all their students and staff. ‘
He said: ‘All students in examination years must return during the week beginning January 11, and all high school and college students return full time on January 18.
“During the first week of the quarter beginning January 4, high schools and colleges will prepare to screen as many staff and students as possible and will only be open to vulnerable children and the children of key workers.”
Williamson said he expected the “full return of all students in all year groups” on January 18.
The timing of the rethink announcement sparked an angry reaction from union leaders.
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the National Association of Teachers’ Directors (NAHT) said: “This is another last minute mess that could have been avoided so easily if the government had listened to school leaders before the holidays.
Instead, back then, schools that wanted to switch to remote learning were threatened with legal action. Now we have a situation where the government is instructing schools to reduce the amount of teaching time available.
“If we had the freedom to act before the holidays, we could have been in a position to have more schools open for more students. School leaders will be puzzled, frustrated and justifiably angry tonight. ‘
Jon Richards, director of education for the Unison union, said: “Everyone agrees that it is important that schools and universities be opened, but it cannot be at any cost when infections are increasing.
‘This delay for secondary schools is a sensible decision, allowing more time to organize mass tests effectively to limit the spread. The reopening of the elementary and early years should also be delayed because social distancing is not really possible.
“Ministers must also ensure that any move to expand the vaccine priority list must cover all school personnel and not just teachers.”
The government’s initial plan was for the exam-year students to physically return to high schools and universities starting January 4, while the other students participated in online learning before returning on January 11.
Williamson’s announcement comes after several senior scientists called for schools to remain completely closed in January, arguing that such drastic action is the only way to reduce infection rates.
Professor Neil Ferguson, a member of the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threat Advisory Group (Nervtag), said there had been a ‘balancing act’ since the lock between maintaining control of the virus and maintaining ‘something akin to normal society. ‘
But he said the planned reopening of the schools starting next week may have to be postponed.
Yesterday he told BBC Radio 4’s World At One program: “Clearly, nobody wants to keep schools closed. But if that’s the only alternative to having an exponentially increasing number of hospitalizations, it may be necessary for at least one period.
“There are no easy solutions here. My real concern is that even if universities, schools, have staggered returns or even remain closed, it is now unclear how easy it would be to maintain control of the virus, given how much more transmissible this variant is. ”
Previously, members of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), Professor Andrew Hayward and Dr. Mike Tildesley, had pointed out the possibility of a “slight delay” in getting students back to the classroom.
Figures released yesterday by NHS England showed that another 365 people who tested positive for Covid-19 had died, bringing the total number of confirmed deaths in England hospitals to 49,225.
Downing Street said yesterday that it “is still planning a phased opening of schools” after Christmas, but insisted that the plans would be kept under constant review.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s official spokesman said at a briefing in Westminster: ‘We are still planning a staggered opening of schools and we are working to ensure that testing is in place.
“As we have said during the pandemic, we obviously keep all measures under constant review.”
