Schools have been forced to U-turn on plans to close early for the Christmas holidays.
We reported yesterday how leaders of Focus Trust were under pressure from the government to reverse their plan to shut a week earlier than planned.
They had announced last week that all 15 of their schools - seven of which are in Greater Manchester - would close on December 11, instead of the original planned date of December 18.
The decision came amid growing concerns over the number of families that could be forced to isolate over the festive period because of positive cases in the run-up to the holidays.
Stockport Council has taken a similar stance and given schools permission to close two days earlier than planned.
Families with children at Focus Trust schools were initially told that during the week, pupils would be be expected to work from home, but it was then decided to class it as a normal holiday.
Unhappy with the plan to shut early, the Department for Education asked the Trust to review its decision, stressing that it 'remains a national priority' to keep schools open full-time and 'avoid further disruption to education'.
The Trust has now written to parents, telling them the original closure date now stands.
It said that 'while the plan to commence the holiday early had been made in the best interest of families and staff', the Trust 'received a formal letter directing them to overturn the decision by the DfE'.
The Trust was also informed by the Regional Schools Commissioner that under the Coronavirus Act 2020, it was not permitted to change the term dates for Covid related reasons. And a further request for two inset days at the end of term - instead of the five days' holiday - was also rejected.
In a joint statement, chair of the Trust Board Clive Davies, and the Trust’s chief executive Helen Rowland, said: “All of our decisions are taken with the best interests of our children, staff and the community in mind.
“This has been a very disruptive and exceptional term for all concerned, with the impact of Covid-19 being felt throughout our schools, resulting in absenteeism and staff shortages across the board.”
What do you think about the schools closing earlier than planned for Christmas? Will you be taking your children out of school early? Let us know in the comments here or on our Manchester Family Facebook page.
They added: “During our discussion on Sunday evening with the RSC we were made aware, for the first time, that under the Coronavirus Act 2020, individual trusts have no academy freedoms to make decisions for Covid related reasons, such as setting their own term dates.
“Although we are very disappointed at having to inform our staff and families of a change to our plans, we accept the DfE’s position and have reverted to the original term days.
“We welcome the government’s commitment to the roll out of increased and faster testing, and we hope that schools will be amongst the first to benefit from this development.
“Our full team remains committed to providing our children with a first-class education.”
Unlike the lockdown earlier this year, the plan would have meant the schools were closed even to children of key workers or vulnerable youngsters.
Mum Cheryl Doyle, whose children go to Manor Green Primary Academy in Denton - one of the seven schools affected in our region - told us how she would have struggled to cover her shifts as an A&E nurse at such short notice.
She is relieved the plan has now been scrapped and said: "I am very pleased with the decision. It did seem just too last minute to be able to make plans.
"I had managed to swap shifts to night shifts that week, but would still have had no childcare in the day, so I would have had to stay awake after my shifts.
"I can understand why they wanted to do it, but it just wasn’t realistic or doable for working parents."
The schools that were planning to close a week early include:
- Manor Green Primary Academy, Denton, Tameside
- Old Trafford Community Academy, Trafford
- Freehold Community Primary, Oldham
- Lyndhurst Primary, Oldham
- Coppice Primary Academy, Oldham
- Roundthorn Primary Academy, Oldham
- Deeplish Primary Academy, Rochdale
It is not yet known whether the government will be challenging Stockport's decision, but the DfE says it is 'in contact with the local authority' and has made its views clear.
School Standards Minister Nick Gibb said: “The best place for children to be is in schools, which is why it remains a national priority to keep them open full time and avoid further disruption to education.
“I know this is a challenging time but the latest data shows only 0.2% of pupils were off school isolating with a confirmed case of coronavirus. Closing early for Christmas or extending the holidays is not the answer."
Has your school had to send children home to self-isolate? Let us know in the comments or email the details to emma.gill@reachplc.com.
