The leader of the headteachers union has warned that schools will not reopen before the 1st of June
Parents could still be asked to continue home educating their children even after schools officially start back up, as a return of the diffrent year groups could possibly be “staggered” with those studying GCSEs and A Levels coming back sooner than the younger students.
Geoff Barton, the head of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said that parents could “rotate” between sending their children to school and teaching them at home, to try and maintain good practise of social distancing.
Mr Barton has also warned that planning would have to start “very soon” for the June 1st date to be hit.
He said:
“We cannot see any realistic way that schools could be reopened to more pupils before the second half of the summer term, which begins on June 1st.”
“Even that date is only six weeks’ away, so planning would need to begin very soon in order to consider all the implications and put everything in place.
“At that point, it would be a good idea to bring back certain year groups, but only, we would emphasise, if it is safe to do so.
“Bringing in Years 10 and 12, who are part-way through GCSE and A-level courses respectively, and Year 6 pupils before they move into secondary schools in September, could be particularly helpful in supporting these young people.”
Breaking News Today has previously reported that 24.3% of parents are more likely to home school their children, even after the coronavirus pandemic is over
Mr Barton went on to warn parents that they may have to stick to giving their children lessons from home for quite some time to come.
He added: “This could be partially achieved by measures such as putting a limit on class sizes, and staggering break times, but this in turn has implications over the total capacity of the school.
“So, it might be necessary to rotate groups of children between learning in school and learning at home, or to phase back in certain year groups only at first.”
Schools have continued to remain open for vulnerable children and those children whose parents are key workers.
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson has declined to comment on when schools will be reopened for all children in the UK amid the current crisis.
He said: “Of course, I want nothing more than to see schools back, get them back to normal, make sure the children are sat around, learning, and experiencing the joy of being at school.
“But I can’t give you a date.”
Mr Williamson then went on to reiterate the five key conditions that would need to put in place in order to end the lockdown in the UK, previously announced by Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab.
The Foreign Secretary’s list of five key points that will influence the government’s decision:
- Making sure the NHS can cope
- Evidence showing a sustained and consistent fall in daily death rates
- Reliable data showing the rate of infection is decreasing to manageable levels
- Being confident in the range of operational challenges, like ensuring testing and the right amount of PPE, are in hand
- Being confident any adjustments will not risk a second peak
