Coronavirus: Drop plan to reopen primaries to all pupils, ministers urged

School governors want ministers to drop plans for all primary pupils in England to return before the summer holidays.

The first wave of children is due back from Monday but the government wants all primary pupils in class for the last four weeks of term.

This ambition piles pressure on schools “when actually it wouldn’t be safe”, said Emma Knights, chief executive of the National Governance Association.

Ministers say the return of all pupils will depend on updated safety advice.

Last week the schools minister Nick Gibb told MPs any decision on whether all pupils should return would be led by the science, and no decision had as yet been made.

Many schools have been open to the children of key workers and vulnerable children throughout the lockdown, with all the others attempting to follow the primary curriculum at home.

From Monday, the government wants all pupils in Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 to return to their classrooms, with no more than 15 pupils per class.

This means every class of 30 would have to be spread across two classrooms.

Under these rules, if all year groups went back, there would not be enough classrooms in the vast majority of primary schools.

Ms Knights has written to the education secretary, Gavin Williamson, “asking him to review and to drop” the expectation that all primary pupils should be back at school for the last four weeks of term.

“Unless something dramatic changes very soon in terms of the government’s scientific and medical advice, it will simply not be possible for primary schools to invite all pupils back for a whole month of education before the summer holidays,” she told the BBC.

“Indeed many of them won’t be able to invite all pupils back at all before the summer holidays…

“It is adding to uncertainty for parents, but also extra pressure on school leaders and governing boards who think that they need to try and do this when actually it wouldn’t be safe.”

Mr Williamson has not as yet responded to the letter.

‘Incredibly challenging’

Kerry Hill, head teacher at Eyres Monsell primary school in Leicestershire, told BBC Breakfast that her school would not reopen until the middle of June.

She said that even then, it will be closed one day a week to all pupils apart from the children of key workers for deep cleaning. A one-way system will be put in place and any non-essential items that could potentially spread the virus, such as toys and soft furnishings, are being removed.

“In our classrooms we can’t even fit 15 in and still observe social distancing,” she said. “In terms of the logistics, rearranging the entire school and having the available staff to come in and take all of those groups has been incredibly challenging – as well as the logistics of how are we going to do regular cleaning across the day.”

She added: “It is not just about the safety of minimising risks. We know parents are scared, anxious, and our staff a worried, so we’re really trying to put in place measures that help keep that trust and confidence.”

Just over 2,350 governors shared their plans for the return of pupils with the BBC.

Many say, even with the limited numbers due to return in the first phase, they are already having to ask pupils to attend part-time, due to space constraints and the need for deep cleaning to keep the virus at bay.

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PA Media

*Image caption

If schools have to spread out classes, how will all year groups be able to return?*

Of the governors who answered a BBC snapshot questionnaire:

just under half (1,099) said their schools would be open to the first phase of pupils on Monday
of the rest, most said it would be later in the month

About four in five said they were able to accept pupils from all the eligible year groups.

About a third of the schools are planning rota systems, for example with one half of pupils attending school for two days at the start of the week, and the other half for two days at the end, with a day for deep cleaning in between.

There are wide variations in the numbers of parents who have committed to sending their children to school from Monday, with some schools expecting almost everyone, and others just a handful.

‘Getting feral’

Of the 2,350 governors asked whether it would be possible to have all pupils back for the last four weeks of term, 1,682 said this was unlikely or very unlikely.

“It would be physically impossible to bring all pupils back with reduced class sizes – we do not have the extra classrooms or staff to accommodate them safely,” one governor wrote.

“It is going to be challenging enough to get Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 pupils back into school, respecting all of the social distancing and also providing spaces for key worker and vulnerable children. This will take up all the classroom space in the school and use up all of the staff who are available,” wrote another.

However, another expressed frustration at being unable to welcome all children back to school immediately, saying parents “need a break and the children are getting feral”.

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Getty Images

Overall, governors expressed concerns about the pressure placed on themselves and on headteachers by the pandemic.

“I can only say that the professionalism of our team has shone through and for everyone’s sake we hope the advice is right and that safe and effective learning returns for some and continued remote learning carries on for others,” said Nick Horslen, chair of governors at Kings Wood Primary and Nursery School in High Wycombe.

“The situation is a long way from ideal but the creativity and determination to help children is the constant priority.”

Schools in Wales do not have a date for returning and schools in Scotland and Northern Ireland are going back in August.

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