Schoolchildren return to the classroom in England as government considers radical changes

Pupils face the prospect of longer days and shorter summer holidays

Many children in England returned to school on Monday for the first time since January, but the upheaval caused by Covid-19 is far from over.

All primary school children were due back in their classrooms on Monday, while there will be a phased return over the week at secondary schools for those aged 11-18.

As part of the government’s gradual easing of tough lockdown restrictions, the resumption of some sense of normality for young people has been prioritised.

Pupils arrive at Outwood Academy in Woodlands, Doncaster. British children are returning to school on Monday after a two-month closure, part of what Prime Minister Boris Johnson said was a plan to get the country to “start moving closer to a sense of normality.” AP Photo

Children arrive at a school in Knutsford. AP Photo

Students arrive for the first day back at school at Fulham Boys School in London. Reuters

Pupils from Chertsey High School take lateral flow tests. Getty Images

Children attend breakfast club at St Mary’s CE Primary School on March 08, 2021 in Stoke on Trent. Getty Images

Children sit in a classroom in Primary Academy in Shipdham. AP Photo

A pupil from Chertsey High School is given a 10 second count while taking a lateral flow test ahead of their full return to school in Chertsey. Getty Images

Children are dropped off by their parents at Southbank International School in London, as schools reopen following the easing of the coronavirus lockdown. AFP

Children are dropped off at St Mary’s CE Primary School on March 08, 2021 in Stoke on Trent. Getty Images

Children line up to enter a Primary Academy in Shipdham. AP Photo

Milly, 8, puts her shoes on as she gets ready for her first day back at school in Hertford. Reuters

Students take lateral flow tests for coronavirus at a school in Birmingham. AP Photo

Colby Hoare, 12, helps Taylor Hoare, 7, get ready for school in Truro. Getty Images

A school boy fastens his tie as he prepares to return to school in Manchester. Reuters

The majority of pupils have had to stay at home since the latest lockdown began in January, but schools have remained open for the most vulnerable and for the children of key workers.

Testing

Secondary school children and all teachers and school staff will be tested for the virus twice a week through rapid lateral flow tests and advised to wear face masks indoors.

But head teachers have said the biggest hurdle to reopening schools has been obtaining parental consent for tests to happen.

There were also reports of a chaotic and confusing start to the system, with Covid tests staggered over the weekend and on Monday.

The first three tests for secondary school children will be taken at school and then at home thereafter.

Primary school children will face no restrictions, and not have to take tests or wear masks.

Pupils from the Fulham Boys School queue to be tested for Covid-19 during a mass testing programme at the school in London. The easing of England's national lockdown is set to begin on Monday, when schools reopen. Reuters

Teacher Miss Galluzzo prepares a school desk at Astbury St Mary's Church of England Primary Schoo in Congleton. Getty Images

A teacher prepares the library at The Prince of Wales School in Dorchester. Getty Images

Noah, 10, attends a live lesson on the last day of homeschooling before returning to school, in Hertford. Reuters

Caretaker Paul Bascombe marks safety signs for social distancing at The Prince of Wales School in Dorchester. Getty Images

Teachers at a staff meeting listen to Stuart Hillary, Head of School at Park Lane Academy in Halifax, northwest England as the school prepares to reopen. AFP

A Year 9 class walk along a corridoor at Park Lane Academy in Halifax. AFP

Arts teacher Sophie Parkinson conducts an online class from an empty classroom at Park Lane Academy in Halifax. AFP

A Covid testing area is constructed at Great Academy Ashton in Ashton-Under-Lyne. AP Photo

Students talk with volunteers before taking a coronavirus test in the school hall before returning to school at Loreto Grammar School in Altrincham. Reuters

Year 9 students take part in an online class at Park Lane Academy in Halifax. AFP

A teacher hands over a Covid-19 lateral flow test to another staff member in the sports hall of Park Lane Academy in Halifax. AFP

Before the reopening, one major union warned there could be disruption.

“We feel that the government has given schools and colleges a hospital pass on testing and face coverings and left them with a logistical and classroom management nightmare which has nothing to do with the core business of education and is inevitably a huge distraction,” said Geoff Barton, the head of the Association of School and College Leaders.

“It could and should have provided more support on tests and greater clarity on face coverings,” he said.

Important exams such as GCSEs and A-Levels have already been cancelled, with teachers deciding pupils’ grades.

Shorter holidays

The government has suggested it could introduce five-term school years or shorten the summer holidays from six weeks to help pupils catch up with the work they have missed.

The head of Ofsted, the school inspector, was cautious about the ideas and said similar suggestions had not been a success in the past.

"There’s no point adding time here and moving time there if you don’t get a groundswell of support,” Amanda Spielman told Sky News.

"If children simply don’t turn up for extra time or summer schools for example, you could end up putting a lot of effort into something that doesn’t achieve the objective.

"So my concern is to make sure we go with the grain of what parents will embrace to make sure all children get the very most out of their education."

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said a range of measures were being considered. Kevan Collins, the former head of the Education Endowment Foundation, has been appointed to advise on the best way to recover over the next 18 months, meaning changes could be brought in this summer.

“It’s a whole range of different proposals that we’re looking at – whether it’s a five-term year, whether it’s lengthening the school day,” Mr Williamson told Sky News.

“But also measures such as enhancing the support we give to teachers, supporting them in their professional development.”

He suggested there could be radical overhaul of the education system after Covid-19.

“I would see this as one of those moments, a bit like the 1944 education reform act, that came out of the Second World War, about how we can be transformative in terms of changing and improving the opportunities for young people.

“But it’s got to be evidence-based. We’ve got to look at what’s going to have the biggest positive impact on children’s lives,” Mr Williamson said.

One union leader said she feared the government had not taken the safety measures it could have done in the time it had, such as ensuring greater social distancing and installing ventilation units in every classroom.

"I hope – and my members hope – this will be the last time we close schools to the majority of pupils. Absolutely," Dr Mary Bousted, the joint general secretary of the National Education Union, said.

"But the jury's out about whether that will be the case."

Speaking at a Downing Street briefing on Monday, Boris Johnson admitted the opening of schools would "inevitably" increase transmissions, but added the risk was worth taking because the top four priority groups had been vaccinated.

He also said the UK would need to be cautious in relaxing restrictions.

"But the whole point is, remember where we were last summer. We had the disease down to levels much below where it is today and then we saw what happened with the spike," Mr Johnson told the news conference.

The UK has one of the worst Covid-19 fatality rates in the world, with more than 123,000 deaths attributed to the virus.

But it has also had one of the quickest vaccination drives, with 23 million people receiving at least one dose.