Pupils in England will undergo a ‘massive catch-up operation over the summer and beyond’ to allow them to receive the remedial help they need after months out of the classroom.
The Prime Minister Boris Johnson today announced there would be a ‘big summer of catch up’ for children who had missed their education amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Mr Johnson went on to confirm that education secretary Gavin Williamson would be ‘setting out a lot more’ next week about the ‘massive catch-up operation’ and recovery plan.
The proposal comes as Mr Johnson today insisted that he ‘fully intends’ that all children will be back in classrooms by September this year after abandoning plans to get more primary school children back in class before England’s summer break.
Boris Johnson (pictured during daily press briefing) said children in the UK will receive the remedial help they need after months out of the classroom
The Prime Minister has said that there would be a ‘big summer of catch up’ for children across the country who had missed out on their education. Pictured: Pupils maintain social distancing measures while playing in the playground at Earlham Primary School on June 10
The Prime Minister’s comments come as he announces that he intends for all children to be back in the classroom by September. Pictured: A teacher takes the temperature of a pupil at Earlham Primary School
At the Downing Street news briefing on Wednesday, Mr Johnson said the Government had been forced to move ‘slower than we would have liked in some areas’, including in reopening schools.
He said: ‘It is because the rate of infection is not quite low enough and because we are not able to change our social distancing advice, including smaller class sizes in schools, that we are not proceeding with our ambition to bring back all primary pupils at least for some weeks before the summer holidays.
‘We’re going to get all schools back in September if we possibly can .. but it’s going to be a big summer of catch up.
‘We’re going to keep making sure that kids get the remedial help that they need for the stuff that they’ve missed for months and months to come so that they genuinely make up for lost time.’
The PM rejected suggestions education had not been a priority, saying: ‘There are plenty of other EU countries that are not getting primary schools back at all or until September.
‘So we’re going as fast as we can, we still have a pandemic to cope with … and we’re going to have a massive catch-up operation over the summer and beyond which Gavin Williamson will be setting out next week.
‘I see massive importance in this campaign. So many pupils … have not had quite the home-schooling that perhaps others have had and it’s vital that we compensate as fast and as far as we can.’
A number of councils, including in the north west of England, have opposed plans to widely reopen after new data suggested coronavirus could still be spreading in their local areas.
Children in nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 in England began returning to primary school last week after the Government eased lockdown measures.
But some schools said they did not have enough space on site to admit all pupils in the eligible year groups while adhering to Government guidance to limit class sizes to 15 and encourage fewer interactions.
Former chief inspector of schools in England Sir Michael Wilshaw said the Government’s approach to education has been an ‘absolute tragedy’.
He told Good Morning Britain: ‘It’s been a tragedy for those youngsters who need school, need the structure of school, need the routine of school, need teachers who will be working with them, to support them when they get very little support at home.
Boris Johnson is pictured with Chief Scientific Adviser Sir Patrick Vallance, left, and Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty, right, during the press briefing today
Education secretary Gavin Williamson (pictured) will set out ‘a lot more’ about the ‘massive catch-up operation’ next week, the Prime Minister has said
‘If you’re going to insist on social distancing and a maximum of 15 in a class we will need double the amount of space, we will need double the amount of teachers and we’ve got to make sure we have that.’
It comes as Boris Johnson tonight insisted he ‘fully intends’ that all children will return to school in September as he faced the wrath of parents that zoos and shops are reopening first.
At the Downing Street briefing this evening, the PM conceded that the government was having to move slower than hoped because coronavirus infections were still too high.
But despite dropping a target for all primary school pupils to return for a month before the summer break, Mr Johnson made clear he is confident that the wider return can be achieved in the Autumn.
He also pledged a huge ‘catch-up’ operation to help disadvantaged children whose prospects have suffered major damage. Education Secretary Gavin Williamson will lay out the details next week, with No10 mulling drafting in volunteers and retired teachers to try and boost the capacity to give lessons safely.
Mr Johnson said: ‘We do fully intend to bring back all children to school in September, provided the progress we are making continues and I hope it will.
‘That is our focus and is consistent with the approach taken by many other countries in Europe.’
He admitted the Government had been forced to move ‘slower than we would have liked in some areas’, including in reopening schools.
Mr Johnson added: ‘It is because the rate of infection is not quite low enough and because we are not able to change our social distancing advice, including smaller class sizes in schools, that we are not proceeding with our ambition to bring back all primary pupils at least for some weeks before the summer holidays.’
Earlier, Mr Johnson and Keir Starmer traded blows in the Commons today, with the Labour leader accusing the PM of ‘flailing around’.
But families vented their anger online with one mother fuming: ‘Guess what Boris, not everyone has a nanny on call.’
As they accuse MPs of ‘limping along’, many have questioned how tens of thousands of protesters were able to congregate in recent days, while children are still unable to go to school.
In other coronavirus developments today:
- The UK faces the biggest hit of any major economy, with GDP set to plunge by 11.5 per cent this year, the OECD think-tank warned today;
- Boris Johnson has hinted that the two-metre social distancing rule will be eased as case numbers fall as he faced a Tory backlash over the economic ‘devastation’ it is causing;
- Covid-19 outbreaks have been worse in areas with major airports and large numbers of travellers passing through them, according to a report from the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP);
- Figures on how many people have been contact traced could finally be published tomorrow, but Health Secretary Matt Hancock has admitted the NHS app is not yet ready to go into use.
At the Downing Street briefing this evening, the PM conceded that the government was having to move slower than hoped because coronavirus infections were still too high
Parents are growing increasingly angry as they are forced to find childcare arrangement, or home school their children, for even longer
Mr Johnson raged that Sir Keir had been ‘flip-flopping’ over whether schools were safe to return or not, and had not honoured his pledge to work together on the crucial issue
The PM said he thought the Government was taking the ‘right decisions’ on schools after rowing back on ambitions for all primary-aged pupils to return before the summer holidays.
He said: ‘We do have a very big plan to get all our pupils back to school by September, we’ve started getting primary back already from June 1.
‘The numbers are climbing every day.
‘And, you know, some people who were last week saying we were being reckless and going too fast are now saying we’re going too slow.
‘We think we’re taking the right decisions at the right time to beat the virus.’
Downing Street would not rule out the possibility of retired teachers being called back to the profession to help schools cope with the coronavirus crisis.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said Mr Williamson had promised to do ‘whatever we can’ to help in response to suggestions that ex-teachers could return and buildings could be requisitioned to form makeshift classrooms.
The spokesman said: ‘The Education Secretary has said that we will do whatever we can to make sure that no child falls behind as a result of coronavirus.
‘We have already committed over £100 million to support children to learn at home and pupil premium funding continues to be paid at the highest-ever rate to help schools to support disadvantaged pupils.
‘We are working to bring all children back in September and are considering what more is needed to support pupils.’
The spokesman added: ‘We have also said that we are looking at what further support we can provide over the summer.’
Anxious parents fear an entire generation of children could be irrevocably damaged by the delayed return to learning as they wonder ‘what is going to be different’ in September which will allow more pupils to return.
Another mother joining the chorus of critics added: ‘It’s apparently okay for thousands of people to knock a statue into Bristol harbour but it’s not okay for a class of 30 students to get together.’
In petulant exchanges at PMQs today, Mr Johnson faced an onslaught from the Labour leader who accused him of ‘flailing around’ while millions of children missed out on their education.
But Mr Johnson raged that Sir Keir had been ‘flip-flopping’ over whether schools were safe to return or not, had not honoured his pledge to work together on the crucial issue, and needed to speak to his ‘left-wing friends’ in the teaching unions.
‘I really think he needs to make up his mind,’ the premier swiped.
The two politicians ended up squabbling during the seven-minute clash over whether they had discussed the subject in a phone call, leaving parents none the wiser over when and how children will return to school.
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson admitted yesterday that the ‘ambition’ of getting all primary age children back in class for a month before the summer break has been ditched, just weeks after it was set.
And Government sources have refused to confirm that all pupils at either primary or secondary schools will be able to go back full-time after the holidays, merely saying they hoped ‘more’ could return.
Children’s Commissioner Anne Longfield has accused ministers of ‘furloughing childhood’, while parents voiced anger that non-essential shops, McDonald’s and zoos are reopening on Monday before most schools. Former chief inspector of schools Michael Wilshaw said the government’s approach had been a ‘mess’ and was fuelling a ‘tragedy’ for young people.
Tory MPs are among those who have demanded a route map to get children back to school. Robert Halfon, chair of the education select committee, warned that 700,000 of the most vulnerable pupils were doing no work at home at all and many do not even have access to computers, predicting an ‘epidemic of educational poverty’ without more assistance.
Meanwhile, there is pressure for a Nightingale hospitals-style operation to use community halls and churches as temporary classrooms.
Sir Keir urged the Prime Minister to back his proposals to set up a national task force to look at the return of pupils to schools.
He said: ‘We all want as many children back into school as soon as it’s possible and as soon as it’s safe. What that required for that to happen was a robust national plan, consensus among all key stakeholders and strong leadership from the top – all three are missing.
‘The current arrangements lie in tatters, parents have lost confidence in the Government’s approach, millions of children will miss six months’ worth of schooling and inequality will now go up.
‘Several weeks ago I suggested setting up a national taskforce so everyone could put their shoulder to the wheel. It’s not too late, will the Prime Minister take me up on this?’
Mr Johnson responded: ‘Last week he was telling the House that it was not yet safe for kids to go back to school, this week he’s saying that not enough kids are going back to school. I really think he needs to make up his mind.’
He urged Sir Keir Starmer to encourage ‘his friends in the left-wing trade unions’ to help get schools ready.
But an infuriated Sir Keir snapped ‘let’s have this out’ after the PM suggested he had already spoken to the Labour leader about his schools plan, adding: ‘The Prime Minister and I have never discussed our letter in any phone call – he knows it and I know it.
‘The taskforce has never been the subject of a conversation between him and me one-to-one or in any other circumstance on the telephone. He knows it so please drop that.’
Sir Keir said the UK is the ‘outlier’ compared to other countries in returning children to school, telling the Commons: ‘It’s no good the Prime Minister flailing around trying to blame others.’
In bad-tempered exchanges at PMQs, Boris Johnson (left) faced an onslaught from Labour’s Keir Starmer (right) who accused him of ‘flailing around’ while millions of children missed out on their education
But Mr Johnson insisted there were some countries in Europe where no primary children had yet returned to school.
The Government’s two-metre social distancing rules and advice from Public Health England – that class sizes should be limited to 15 – are believed to be the major obstacles to getting more children back.
Mr Johnson is coming under growing pressure to ease the rules.
SAGE adviser Shaun Fitzgerald of Cambridge University, who helped draw up the rule, told the Times that there should be more focus on how long people are close together any whether they are facing towards each other.
‘The thing which is missing from a simple two-metre rule is consideration of other factors, such as time, duration and orientation,’ he said.
‘It’s all three that are important. I would not want to be 1 meter apart from somebody for an extended period because that’s much, much higher risk than two metres.
‘But being less than two metres for a short period and I’m not facing that person are ameliorating factors. If things evolve, it isn’t necessarily because the evidence is any different.’
Professor Robert Dingwall, a member of one of the sub-groups feeding into the Government’s SAGE committee, said that even if the distance was cut to one metre, there would still be a ‘safety margin’ as it was ‘very rare’ for virus particles to travel that far.
A study published in the Lancet found physical distancing of at least one metre lowers the risk of coronavirus transmission, but distances of two metres could be more effective.
Mr Murray said his teenage daughter had been invited to an end-of-year picnic despite having no lessons while the school remains closed. Pictured: Reception pupils from Landywood Primary School in Staffordshire take part in a socially-distanced outdoor exercise
But Prof Dingwall told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme it was a ‘problematic’ study because it did not look at the economic consequences of having a larger distance requirement.
‘I think it’s a question of relative risk. Even the problematic Lancet study that was published last week was really saying you’re moving from a tiny risk at two metres to a very small risk at one metre.
‘You have to set that against all the other harms that are being done by the, the economic devastation that is wreaked by the two-metre rule, the deaths that will be attributable to the lockdown itself, and to the social and economic disruption that is causing.’
The PM will front the Downing Street briefing this evening and is expected to confirm zoos, safari parks and drive-in cinemas can reopen in England from June 15.
It comes a day after Business Secretary Alok Sharma confirmed shops would also be able to reopen on the same day as the Government seeks to kick-start the economy.
But Mr Williamson was forced to admit defeat over plans for all primary pupils in England to attend classes before the summer break.
In a round of interviews today, Mr Zahawi said the government’s ‘ultimate aim’ was to have a full return to school by September.
He added: ‘The same voices that last week were supporting people who are saying do not open up the schools are this week criticising us for saying we will take it deliberately carefully.’
Challenged on why there was not a Nightingale-style plan to mobilise class space, Mr Zahawi insisted the government was working ‘as quickly and deliberately as we can’.
Rishi Sunak has warned school closures are as damaging to the economy as the 2008 credit crunch, it was claimed today.
The Chancellor is believed to be among the most hawkish in government on the need to reopen schools.
He has privately told colleagues that the impact of keeping millions of pupils at home is the same scale as the financial crisis, which required nearly £140billion in taxpayer bailouts, according to the Telegraph.
Treasury sources dismissed the report as ‘categorically not true’. Speaking on a visit to a John Lewis store this morning, Mr Sunak said: ‘I personally think every day our children are not at school is a tragedy.’
He added: ‘Last month we set out a clear plan to reopen our country slowly and today we’re at the next stage of that plan where next week we’ll be able to open shops again in our country.
‘And that’s because we’ve met the five tests that we set out.
‘I hope that when all these shops open people should have the confidence to know that they can go out again in safety. And that’s very important.’
The fears emerged after figures showed the costs of the government’s furlough scheme rising again, with the UK on the brink of the worst recession in 300 years.
An international think-tank warned the UK faces the biggest hit from coronavirus of any major economy.
The OECD’s latest estimates predict that GDP will nosedive by 11.5 per cent this year, even more than the 11.4 per cent expected in France and 11.3 per cent in Italy.
The crash could be even worse if there is a second peak of the deadly disease, with output likely to be down 14 per cent overall in 2020.
The grim picture – in line with the Bank of England‘s fears of the worst recession in 300 years – came in the OECD’s update on the global economic outlook.
Sir Michael told ITV’s Good Morning Britain that the impact on schools was an ‘absolute tragedy’.
‘What’s happened over the last few weeks and months has been an absolute tragedy,’ he said.
‘It’s been a tragedy for those youngsters who need school, need the structure of school, need the routine of school, need teachers who will be working with them, to support them when they get very little support at home.’
He added: ‘I just don’t know how we’ve made such a mess of it, because headteachers, and I know lots of headteachers, will have been saying to the Department for Education, you’ve got this wrong.
‘If you’re going to insist on social distancing and a maximum of 15 in a class we will need double the amount of space, we will need double the amount of teachers and we’ve got to make sure we have that.’
Sir Michael said teachers should be offered money to come in and take catch-up classes over the summer.
‘I would be appealing to staff to come in over the summer holidays and take catch-up classes for those youngsters who need it,’ he said.
‘I find it absolutely astonishing that the announcement could be made by the prime minister that all primary schools would open for all children in June without effective consultation.’
Former education secretary Justine Greening said the government was failing to understand that lockdown cannot truly end until schools reopen.
She told GMB: ‘I think many people will be very surprised that there isn’t yet a government plan in place to help our schools get back open and there’s also not a government plan in place to help children that have been most affected by the schools shutdown to be able to catch up.
‘And the big risk for Boris Johnson’s government now is that unless they bring forward a proper joined-up strategy, then it won’t be a government that delivers levelling up in Britain, it will end up being a government that levels down and nobody wants to see that.’
She added: ‘It will open up opportunity gaps that were already there before and make them even wider.’
Paul Whiteman, the general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, told Today that it was not possible to ‘turn education capacity on and off like a tap’.
Playing down the benefits of summer schools, he insisted the focus must be on giving children a ‘richer and deeper’ education from the Autumn term.
‘We’re not going to catch children up over a very short period over the summer – this is going to be a longer term catch-up that’s going to be needed, and we need to plan that right now,’ he said.
‘The short-term solutions and the excitement around what can be done in the short term is very encouraging in terms of enthusiasm, but we need to use this moment now to plan for a much richer and deeper education beyond the summer.
‘Remember, children don’t have any more capacity to learn than they did before, and we can’t overburden them.’
Meanwhile health bosses have raised concerns that around 10 million people will be on the waiting list for NHS treatment by the end of the year – more than double the current figure – due to a combination of social distancing measures, a backlog of treatments and staffing shortages.
A YouGov poll today suggested Mr Johnson’s ratings have plunged even further, amid growing public concern about the handling of the crisis.
Just 32 per cent said they approved of the government’s performance, down three in the past week, while 49 per cent disapproved – up five points.
A YouGov poll today suggested Mr Johnson’s ratings have plunged even further, amid growing public concern about the handling of the crisis
It is the fifth week straight that the favourability numbers have fallen.
Mr Johnson’s personal figures have also dived, with 43 per cent saying he is doing well and 50 per cent badly. The net rating of minus seven is an eye-watering 39 point reduction over the past month.
In another worrying sign for the PM, 48 per cent said Sir Keir was doing well as Labour leader – up eight points on a month ago – while just 21 per cent said he was doing badly.
The PM will reopen outdoor attractions where people remain in their cars, such as safari parks and drive-in cinemas, because the risk of spreading the disease is lower outside.
A Downing Street official said: ‘People are continuing to make huge sacrifices to reduce the spread of coronavirus and avoid a second spike, but we know it is tough and where we can safely open up more attractions, and it is supported by the science, we will do so.’
Questions remain, however, over returning pupils to school with a number of councils, including in the north west of England, opposing plans to widely reopen after new data suggested coronavirus could still be spreading in their local areas.
Children in nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 in England began returning to primary school last week after the Government eased lockdown measures.
But some schools said they did not have enough space on site to admit all pupils in the eligible year groups, while adhering to Government guidance to limit class sizes to 15 and encourage fewer interactions.
Mr Williamson said the Government would like to see schools who ‘have the capacity’ bring back more pupils where possible before the summer break but conceded the Government was ‘working to bring all children back to school in September’.
Former education secretary Lord Blunkett said there was a lack of ambition being shown by the Government in ensuring pupils get back to school.
The Labour peer told BBC Radio 4’s World At One: ‘To be honest, I think it is a lack of will, it is a lack of ‘can do’.
‘It is a failure to do what we have already done with the health service and economy, which is to say there are challenges, there are real problems but we are going as a nation to seek to overcome them.
Gary Murray, who has two daughters aged 15 and eight, said: ‘The question I feel a lot of parents want answering is; what is going to be different if they go back in September to what is different to them going back to school now?’. Pictured: Children at a French bilingual school in Fulham, London, use hoops for social distancing
‘Why is it that other countries, not just in Europe but across the world, can have the ambition to get their children, in all kinds of creative ways, back into school and we can’t?
‘I can only conclude that the Government is losing the plot.’
The trained teacher added: ‘I just know that we’ve got to do this. If we can set up the Nightingale hospitals in the time we did, why on Earth can’t we invest in the future of our children?’
Steve Chalke, founder of the Oasis academy chain, told the BBC there should be a Nightingale-style drive to use community halls and churches for teaching children.
‘I think there are other ways around dealing with this as well because what the Government has said about bringing children back – keeping them two metres apart, socially distanced but bringing them back – well, of course it is not possible to bring all children back into a school building and keep the social distancing – it is an oxymoron, you can’t do both things,’ he said.
‘But in any community there are other buildings that can be used – community halls, churches and other faith groups’ buildings, hotels.
‘We’ve explored conversations with some people like that so you can bring children back in and use those buildings because their emotional and social development is so important.’
Shops will only be able to reopen if they have completed a Covid-19 risk assessment and can implement social distancing measures.
But other businesses, including pubs, restaurants and hairdressers, will remain shut until July 4 at the earliest, Mr Sharma said.
It comes as hospitality chiefs have warned the rule requiring people to stay two metres apart could jeopardise firms’ ability to reopen, with some asking for the distance to be halved.
Mr Sharma said the rule was being kept under review and ‘when it is safe to do so, we will see whether you can move to a shorter distance’.
How COULD schools go back? Calls for a ‘furlough-style blueprint’ to scrap two-metre rule, open ‘Nightingale schools’ in church halls and enlist a ‘volunteer army’ including ex-teachers to finally get children back in the classroom
Boris Johnson is facing mounting political and public fury today after his plans for returning children to school collapsed into confusion.
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson was forced to admit yesterday that plans for all primary school children to return for a month of school before the summer break in July had been abandoned.
And Government sources refused to confirm that all pupils at either primary or secondary schools will be able to go back full-time after the holidays, merely saying they hoped ‘more’ could return.
It has led to condemnation from parents left to juggle jobs and home-schooling and education experts demanding that ministers get their act together or risk damaging the educational futures of a generation.
Children’s Commissioner Anne Longfield accused ministers of ‘furloughing childhood’ and said she was ‘incredibly concerned’ pubs and theme parks now looked set to reopen before most schools.
But what are the possible options the Government could explore to re-open the nation’s classrooms?
Among those that have been mooted are using buildings like church and village halls to hold extra classes and extra lessons across the summer break.
A volunteer army, including ex-teachers brought out of retirement or new careers to return to classrooms could accommodate these measures.
One of the main issues for ministers however, will initially coming up with a concrete and serious plan to cover the next few months, with anxious parents awaiting good news as soon as possible.
Here we analyse some of the options that have been put forward.
Treat schools problem like the NHS and the furlough scheme during coronavirus crisis
Boris Johnson (pictured today in Downing Street) is facing mounting political and public fury today after his plans for returning children to school collapsed into confusion.
Former Education Justine Greening is among those who suggest that the first thing to do is start treating the issue with the same seriousness as ministers had for protecting the NHS and helping workers at risk of unemployment.
The shambolic U-turn over the primary school openings and lack of a plan to solve it has attracted a lot of Tory anger.
Ms Greening told the Times: ‘We’ve had a national effort on both the NHS and protecting jobs and we now need the same national effort on schools,
‘When he announced the furlough scheme, the Chancellor said he would do whatever it takes to protect households and businesses. That was the right thing to do. But we now need to see that same approach for schools and education.’
She later told GMB: ‘I think many people will be very surprised that there isn’t yet a government plan in place to help our schools get back open and there’s also not a government plan in place to help children that have been most affected by the schools shutdown to be able to catch up.
‘And the big risk for Boris Johnson’s government now is that unless they bring forward a proper joined-up strategy, then it won’t be a government that delivers levelling up in Britain, it will end up being a government that levels down and nobody wants to see that.’
Meanwhile Sir Michael said the Government’s approach to education has been an ‘absolute tragedy’.
He told GMB: ‘What’s happened over the last few weeks and months has been an absolute tragedy.
‘And it’s been a tragedy for those youngsters who need school, need the structure of school, need the routine of school, need teachers who will be working with them, to support them when they get very little support at home.’
He added: ‘I just don’t know how we’ve made such a mess of it, because headteachers, and I know lots of headteachers, will have been saying to the Department for Education, you’ve got this wrong.’
Mr Sunak has warned school closures are as damaging to the economy as the 2008 credit crunch, it was claimed today.
The Chancellor is believed to be among the most hawkish in government on the need to reopen schools.
He has privately told colleagues that the impact of keeping millions of pupils at home is the same scale as the financial crisis, which required nearly £140billion in taxpayer bailouts, according to the Telegraph.
The fears emerged after figures showed the costs of the government’s furlough scheme rising again, with the UK on the brink of the worst recession in 300 years.
‘Nightingale schools’
Former chief inspector of schools Sir Michael Wilshaw is among those who have said that the only way schools can physically return is with a drastic increase of space
Nightingale Hospitals were set up across the UK to deal with a surge in coronavirus cases and some have called for a similar approach to schools
Former chief inspector of schools Sir Michael Wilshaw is among those who have said that the only way schools can physically return is with a drastic increase of space.
Current rules mean that classrooms are limited to 15 pupils at a time, who are socially distanced by 2m from others.
This means that rooms used to often containing around 30 pupils are half full. Or as Sir Michael put it on Good Morning Britain today: ‘If you’re going to insist on social distancing and a maximum of 15 in a class we will need double the amount of space, we will need double the amount of teachers and we’ve got to make sure we have that.’
But how to create that space. One idea is to mimic the Nightingale Hospitals that were set up across the UK to deal with a surge in the worst-affected coronavirus patients that fortunately has yet to materialise.
Yesterday, Reverend Steve Chalke, founder of the Oasis chain of academy schools, predicted that some of his 30 primary schools could take on more children and that his staff are looking to utilise other community buildings as makeshift classrooms.
The Baptist minister told the Today programme: ‘I think there are other ways around dealing with this as well because what the Government has said about bringing children back – keeping them two metres apart, socially distanced but bringing them back – well, of course it is not possible to bring all children back into a school building and keep the social distancing – it is an oxymoron, you can’t do both things.
‘But in any community there are other buildings that can be used – community halls, churches and other faith groups’ buildings, hotels.
‘We’ve explored conversations with some people like that so you can bring children back in and use those buildings because their emotional and social development is so important.’
A ‘volunteer army’ and ex-teachers to create more classes and work over the summer
As mentioned above Sir Michael wants to see more teachers as well as more classroom space.
Though the vast majority of schools have never actually closed – they have been open to the children of key workers – the number of teachers required was obviously lower than normal.
And if double the number of classrooms is needed, you may need double the number of teachers, depending on the use of technology.
Senior Tory MP Robert Halfon, who chairs the Commons Education Committee, has urged Boris Johnson to set up a ‘national education army’ to help pupils catch up with their learning in the coming months.
The Harlow MP and former skills minister said retired teachers, graduates and Ofsted inspectors should be asked to help open libraries and school gyms to create temporary classrooms.
He said such an effort would help mitigate the damage already done by the coronavirus crisis to the education prospects of ‘left behind’ pupils.
He told The Telegraph: ‘We could start it now. Boris went on about this wonderful health service volunteering thing – which is great – but why on earth aren’t we doing it for education?
‘Why isn’t Boris getting up there and saying ‘I am going to have a national education army in our country to look after the 700,000 vulnerable children who are not doing any home or school work at the moment’? That is what Boris has got to do – it has got to come from the top.
Tory MP Jonathan Gullis, an ex-teacher, was one of those willign to give up his time to take part.
The new Stoke-on-Trent MP told the Commons Education Committee today: ‘As a former teacher I’m prepared to come out and work over the summer…if we don’t we are going to fail an entire generation.’
Axe the two-metre social distancing rule
The Government’s two-metre social distancing rules and advice from Public Health England – that class sizes should be limited to 15 – are believed to be the major obstacles to getting more children back.
Mr Johnson is coming under growing pressure to ease the rules.
SAGE adviser Shaun Fitzgerald of Cambridge University, who helped draw up the rule, told the Times that there should be more focus on how long people are close together any whether they are facing towards each other.
‘The thing which is missing from a simple two-metre rule is consideration of other factors, such as time, duration and orientation,’ he said.
‘It’s all three that are important. I would not want to be 1 meter apart from somebody for an extended period because that’s much, much higher risk than two metres.
‘But being less than two metres for a short period and I’m not facing that person are ameliorating factors. If things evolve, it isn’t necessarily because the evidence is any different.’
However, after months of this being a hard-and-fast rule that should not be taken, this could be a hard sell even to those parent desperate to have their children back in classes.
Screens and PPE equipment for teachers
Fee-paying schools are planning to reopen next week for children in years 10 and 12 who face exams.
They are doing it by supplying teachers with face screens and other equipment commonly used in hospitals.
Ministers have previously rejected a similar plan for state school teachers, saying that the social distancing measures were adequate. But if there is a need to get more people into available classrooms, it is one area that could be reconsidered.
Other measures that will be use include temperature checks using high-tech infra-red thermometers at the start of classes, and keeping doors open to allow air to circulate.