Schools reopening: Gavin Williamson reveals all primary school kids WON’T go back before summer

ALL primary school kids won't go back to school before the summer, Gavin Williamson admitted today.

The Education Secretary said only some pupils will be welcomed back in - if they have enough space to do so safely.

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As The Sun revealed last night the plan for all primary school kids to return for a month before the summer holidays has been officially ditched.

"We are not able to welcome all primary for a full month before the summer," Mr Williamson admitted today.

But he stressed that the R rate was below one across the country, and he expected more kids to come back in, in the following weeks.

The Government has accepted that schools won't have the room to get everyone back in and will show "flexibility" to heads to be able to act how they feel is best.

Mr Williamson told MPs in the Commons: "We all know how important it is for children and young people to be in education and childcare and it is vital that we get them back there as soon as the scientific advice indicates that we can."

The news comes as:

• Mr Williamson said that "we will be working to bring all children back to school in September" as planned.
• Exams will take place next year as planned for A Level and GCSE kids
• Years 10 and 12 to get some teacher time from next week
• The Children’s Commissioner accused the Government of prioritising reopening pubs over kids’
• Schools could have to shut if the local R level of transmission goes up again

But the Education Secretary suggested that there could be help for parents who desperately need to get back to work.

He said that Government were devising "a priority list so that schools are able to, where they do have extra capacity, to welcome more children back into those schools".

It may mean that for families where one child is in school but the other is not, schools are encouraged to try and accomodate them.

There won't be any local plans to keep all schools in any one area shut, Mr Williamson said.

"We do need to bring schools back in every part of this country," he said.

And he said the Government "will not hesitate" to act if the R rate reaches above one in local areas.

He told MPs: "I know that schools need time to put in place the strict protective measures we have asked for and we continue to work with the sector to make sure any schools experiencing difficulties are supported to open more widely as soon as it is possible.

"Some schools in areas such as the North West are concerned about local rates of transmission.

"I can assure them that Sage's R estimate for the whole of the UK is below one.

"If robust data shows that local action needs to be taken, we will not hesitate to do so. But we are not in that position."

He said there may be "clusters of schools we may have to face closing for small periods of time."

Reception, year one and six are already back in schools as of last week.

Children are placed in “protective bubbles” of no more than 15 per class to protect them from the spread of coronavirus.

Around half of those who are eligible are thought to have gone back in, but thousands of classrooms stayed shut or parents didn't send them back.

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MP Tim Loughton asked about summer schools – and whether older students who have left could return as mentors.

“This is certainly what we are looking at,” Mr Williamson said, but adds: “We don't believe that just purely looking at the summer period is enough to assist children to get the catch-up they need.”

Ministers believe many schools will not be able to find enough space on site to get all their pupils in new, socially distanced classrooms.

Headteachers will be encouraged to give all primary pupils a stint back in the classroom, Gavin Williamson is expected to say today.

But heads may decide to do this on a rotation basis — bringing in some year groups for a fortnight and others for the following one.

The still aims to have all children back to class in September, but last night Matt Hancock admitted it may not be possible.

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Yesterday he revealed plans for pupils and teachers across England to receive coronavirus testing to monitor the spread of the disease as classes resume.

Mr Hancock is aiming to have up to 100 schools tested across England by the end of the summer term, with around 200 staff and children involved at each of those schools.

At the moment parents won't be fined for keeping their kids at home.

But come September, it's expected that they will be made to do so.

Anne Longfield, the Children's Commissioner for England, said news that all primary school children would not go back before summer was "a huge disappointment".

She told BBC Breakfast: "It does mean that the vast majority, probably about eight million children, very likely won't return to the classroom until September, which means that, again, there will be a huge variation in their learning over that period."

She said children will remain "isolated", with many living in "fragile" family environments.

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said he was not surprised the plan to bring back all primary pupils before the summer holidays had been dropped.

He said: "The 'ambition' to bring back all primary year groups for a month before the end of the summer term was a case of the Government over-promising something that wasn't deliverable.

"It isn't possible to do that while maintaining small class sizes and social bubbles, so we aren't surprised that the policy has been jettisoned."

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Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the National Education Union (NEU), welcomed news that the ambition for a full return to primary schools before the summer could be dropped.

But he added: "The Government needs to have a plan to support disadvantaged children during the summer holidays.

"There needs to be a plan for what happens during the next school year. Education will be disrupted during the autumn term at least."

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In Wales, the Government plans to reopen all schools on June 29, with a third of children at most in school at any time.

And in Scotland kids will return to classrooms from August, but with only half their time at school and the rest at home.