Parents are ‘dreading’ the prospect hinted at by Home Secretary Priti Patel of schools being shut throughout January as Britain grapples with the new strain of coronavirus.
Ordinarily after the Christmas break, children would return to schools in the first week of January but this date was recently pushed back to January 11.
But when asked about when classrooms would re-open in the New Year, Ms Patel only said that pupils would ‘eventually’ return as she pinned hopes on the mass testing regime being rolled out in schools.
It came after Government source said on Monday that some schools could end up staying closed until February amid fears that children are more likely to catch the new mutant strain of coronavirus.
Furious parents took to Mumsnet on Monday and Tuesday to air their concerns, with several saying they were ‘dreading’ the prospect of a delay to schools opening.
Another described how the first lockdown in March, which saw schools closed nationwide, ‘nearly broke me’. They added that the ‘guilt’ they felt at seeing their child ‘in front of a screen for 10 hours a day’ was ‘unendurable’.
Britain’s largest teaching union had earlier demanded classes be moved online for two weeks after Christmas to give school staff the chance to get vaccinated against Covid-19.
But former headteacher Chris McGovern, of the Campaign for Real Education, said the school closures were ‘disastrous and catastrophic’ for the nation’s poorest children and that teaching unions were ‘playing a political game’.
In what was the latest bad news for Britain’s pupils, it also emerged:
- Health Secretary Matt Hancock refused to rule out keeping classrooms closed after the Christmas break
- Boris Johnson also refused to rule out keeping schools closed indefinitely
- University students are more at risk of coronavirus in halls of residence than house-shares or on campus
- Children are more likely to catch the mutant strain of Covid: Government advisers say youngsters and adults are ‘equally susceptible’ to the new variant – but there is no proof it is deadlier
Parents are ‘dreading’ the prospect hinted at by Home Secretary Priti Patel of schools being shut throughout January as Britain grapples with the new strain of coronavirus
Ms Patel had told Sky News: ‘We want to keep schools open, let me be clear about that, but we will take all the appropriate measures around protecting children, the health of children and also protecting teachers and the rest of the population as well around schools.
‘But I do want to emphasise the role that mass testing plays.
‘Mass testing is up and running across the country as we know and we have been obviously speaking about mass testing in schools and that is something that is under discussion right now across Government for January and when the schools eventually go back.’
Writing on Mumsnet, concerned parents vented their frustration at the prospect of schools staying shut at the start of the New Year.
One self-employed parent said they were ‘dreading’ the possibility of their child’s school staying shut throughout January.
Furious parents took to Mumsnet on Monday and Tuesday to air their concerns, with several saying they were ‘dreading’ the prospect of a delay to schools opening
They added: ‘Supervising school work at the same time going to be a nightmare.
‘I just thank my lucky stars that I only have one DC [dependent child]. Sympathy to anyone who needs to supervise more than one, don’t know how you did it last time…’
Another said they would be amazed if schools are not closed in January.
They wrote: ‘The first lockdown nearly broke me to be honest.
‘The guilt I felt over having my child in front of a screen for 10 hours a day was just unendurable.
‘I don’t know what the solution is really. I would be amazed if we don’t have a second schools shutdown in January.’
A third said that every other parent they know is ‘dreading’ the expected delay.
They wrote: ‘Blended / online learning does NOT work if you have multiple kids of different ages.
‘It does not work if parents are working full time. Every parent I know is dreading this.’
A fourth also said they were ‘dreading’ the prospect of keeping their child – a six-year-old – at home once more and that doing so would make them a candidate for redundancy.
‘I’m considering asking to go on unpaid leave if the schools close for a long period again and using savings to finance it,’ they added.
‘My work would not be happy at all though and I worry it would put me first on the redundancy list.’
When asked on Sky News about when classrooms would re-open in the New Year, Ms Patel only said that pupils would ‘eventually’ return as she pinned hopes on the mass testing regime
The Home Secretary also insisted on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Tuesday that the Government is ‘determined’ to keep schools open.
‘Well the Government is clear in our determination to have schools open and keep them open,’ she said.
She added that ‘everyone’ is worried about the new strain of the virus, which it is feared may be up to 70 per cent more infectious.
‘But we are also speaking now about mass testing in schools and if you recall last week in parts of London, testing did come to schools.
‘Mass testing is being rolled out and that will continue,’ she said.
The Home Secretary added that she wanted schools to be ‘safe environments’.
It comes after Government sources told The Telegraph on Monday that an extra delay to the return of school children in the New Year may now be necessary.
One source told the newspaper that some schools could remain shut for the whole of January.
Mr Williamson had already put the return back by a week.
The source said: ‘They are looking at staggering schools for longer, possibly for all of January.
‘The focus mainly has been on secondary schools, but they are not there yet. The discussions are ongoing.’
The source added that pupils’ return depended on ‘finding more from the data’.
Britain’s largest teaching union demanded classes be moved online for two weeks after Christmas to give school staff the chance to get vaccinated against Covid-19.
The National Education Union (NEU) called on the Government in a letter to cancel face-to-face lessons for a fortnight at the beginning of the new term – with online learning to continue until January 18.
But Mr McGovern branded the teaching unions ‘despicable’.
He told MailOnline: ‘It is disastrous and catastrophic for the country to be closing the schools. Schools should be given the same status as hospitals. Open at all costs.
‘For many millions of children the school is the only safe place in their lives, it is a refuge for them. The Christmas message for them is the refuge point is closed.
‘We have to get our priorities right. No child has died form coronavirus. Children of the poor should come first.
‘The situation here is where middle class parents, their children will not suffer so much.
‘We are going to widen the gap between the more privileged and less privileged.
‘The unions are playing a political game which is despicable. It is outrageous and unacceptable.
‘We don’t know what the teachers think, the unions represent a minority of teachers. They’re not balloting their members,’ he claimed.
‘Many teachers are doing a fabulous job, heroically.’
Former headteacher Chris McGovern, of the Campaign for Real Education, said the school closures were ‘disastrous and catastrophic’ for the nation’s poorest children and that teaching unions were ‘playing a political game’
On Monday, Professor Neil Ferguson, an epidemiologist at Imperial College London and member of Number 10’s advisory group NERVTAG, said there was a ‘hint’ children were more susceptible to the new strain of coronavirus.
Ferguson, who became known as ‘Professor Lockdown’, was instrumental in the UK’s first shutdown in March but stepped down from his position on SAGE after flaunting guidance to visit his married lover.
Children have so far barely been affected by the pandemic.
But speaking a virtual media briefing hosted by the Science Media Centre, on Monday, Professor Ferguson said: ‘There is a hint that it is has a higher propensity to infect children.
‘That may perhaps explain some of the differences but we haven’t established any sort of causality.’
On Monday, Mr Johnson refused to commit to welcoming students back on the agreed date of January 11.
At the weekend union leaders said the return of secondary schools should be delayed for two weeks to give time for infection rates to fall
Speaking at the coronavirus press briefing, the Prime Minister said: ‘Obviously we want if we possibly can to get schools back in a staggered way in January in the way we have set out, but the common sense thing to do is follow the path of the pandemic and keep things under constant review.
‘But it is very important to get kids and keep kids in education as much as you possibly can.’
The NEU said the switch to online lessons, for all but vulnerable children and those of key workers, will help reduce cases amongst students.
They also demanded that a mass-testing programme, which has already been promised by ministers, be fully functional before students return to school.
In their open letter, signed by joint secretaries Mary Bousted and Kevin Courtney, the union chiefs said: ‘The National Education Union would like to discuss three steps with you that we believe could radically reduce the overall disruption to education across the Spring Term.
‘Firstly, we believe that you should allow and encourage heads in ensuring that first two weeks of learning should be online, apart from key worker and vulnerable children, to allow cases to fall further and to allow time to properly set up the system of mass testing.
‘Secondly, we believe that you should ask the local Directors of Public Health to set the system of mass testing.
‘Thirdly, we believe that you should use that two-week period to begin to vaccinate education staff, alongside NHS and care staff.
‘Part of the disruption to education, and the extra stress on school leaders, is caused both by the relatively high levels of staff absence due to the virus and self-isolation and by the fear that vulnerable staff have about working without PPE or social distancing.’
In the letter, the union chiefs added: ‘We want to work with the Government to ensure that children who are positive do not infect other children who might then infect their families or the school staff.
‘We do have a proper concern for school and college staff that have no PPE or effective social distancing in their classroom settings, as well as for the parents and carers of the children they teach.
‘Reducing infections in school and college would also mean attendance would be higher than the low levels we were seeing last term.
‘We support the desire of the Government to have an accurate and effective system of mass testing which could ensure that children who were asymptomatic but positive did not return to the classroom until they were no longer infectious, and which could find asymptomatic cases in further weeks as well.
‘However, we are concerned that such a system will not be in place for January 4.’
It comes after the government last week announced a mass testing scheme in schools and colleges, along with the staggered return of students, after Christmas.
From January 4, staff in secondary schools will have access to weekly rapid lateral flow tests.
Students and staff will be eligible for daily testing for seven days if identified as a close contact of someone who has tested positive for Covid-19.
Primary schools are expected to follow the testing regime from April.
Up to 11million lateral flow tests will be available to schools and colleges from January 4, providing capacity for up to 5.5million children and young people to be tested in the new year, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson revealed today.
The Armed Forces will be drafted into help the mass-testing effort.