Yahoo Finance Jubilation and fear as English schools reopen amid continuing confusion
Millions of pupils returned to schools in England on Monday as Covid lockdown restrictions began to ease, amid continuing uncertainties surrounding the Covid testing regime for students and mask-wearing in classrooms.
After two months of remote learning, locked away from their friends, there was jubilation and trepidation among returning students. Many secondary schools will not fully reopen until next week as testing of pupils gets under way.
In the run-up to the full reopening of schools, headteachers have expressed concern that neither testing nor mask-wearing in classrooms – both of which are recommended by the government for secondary school pupils – are mandatory, raising concerns about compliance.
Related: Phased return v 'big bang' restart: UK split on how best to reopen schools
Social media platforms were full of cheery, welcoming messages from schools to their pupils. Jules White, headteacher at Tanbridge House school, in Horsham, West Sussex, said the morning had gone smoothly at the beginning of what would be a phased return for students.
“Things have been manageable,” he said. “We have high levels of parental consent in the testing programme. Things are going smoothly. The crucial thing is we’ve had time to prepare. We are using a staggered return but we will be back to some sort of normality towards the end of the week or the beginning of next week.”
Headteachers earlier appealed to the government for greater clarity on masks to avoid conflict in school and ensure greater safety, but the children and families minister, Vicky Ford, maintained that while secondary students should be “strongly encouraged” to wear masks, their use was not mandatory.
Asked whether schools where there is not much mask-wearing should close, she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “No, I think that we should strongly encourage them to wear the masks, I think the vast majority of young people, they get this.
“But there will be some who will be very anxious and nervous about doing so and that’s why we understand that and that is why we have not made it mandatory but we have strongly encouraged this.”
The minister added to the confusion over testing, when she asserted that a child who tests positive for coronavirus with a lateral flow test at school, but subsequently receives a negative PCR result, should not return to school. “They should not take the risk, we all want to make sure we can keep Covid out of the classrooms here,” she said.
Geoff Barton, the general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said it was a demanding time for schools. “This is a red letter day for England’s schools and colleges, and in the fight against the pandemic. A great deal of planning and preparation has gone into making full reopening as safe as possible.
“Leadership teams and staff deserve great credit for this extraordinary work as well as for their tireless efforts during the lockdown in delivering face-to-face education for vulnerable and key worker children and remote education to all those who have been learning from home.
“The next few weeks are clearly going to present challenges in reintegrating children back into the routines of school life and managing Covid safety measures. Secondary schools and colleges are also expected to provide Covid tests and implement policies on face coverings. It is a very demanding situation.
“But the immediate and overwhelming feeling will nevertheless be one of joy in once again seeing all children returning to classrooms and school communities brought back together.”
There were also warnings about the potential impact on children’s mental health after lockdown. Jo Holmes, the children, young people and families lead for the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, said: “As schools reopen today, school staff need to remember that each pupil has been affected by the pandemic in different ways.
“That needs to be recognised in the schools’ mental health approach as classrooms fill up again. It can’t be a one-size-fits-all approach, mental health support has to be tailored to pupils individually – like counselling.”
Dr Will Shield, an educational psychologist from the University of Exeter, added: “As schools reopen more widely this week, many children will be excited but many will also be worried and nervous. This is the time to prioritise wellbeing and mental health; children need to return to school environments that are welcoming and compassionate.”
Schools in England have remained open throughout lockdown for the children of key workers and vulnerable pupils, while all other students have learned remotely.
