I suppose I’m one of the lucky ones. If children going back to school was like playing the lottery, then you could say I’ve hit the jackpot. Twice.
Both of my children will be returning next week as they’re in reception and year 10 respectively. I can’t quite believe it either.
They do so reluctantly after almost 12 weeks of lie-ins, a steady stream of sweets and snacks, and fighting with me over access to their gadgets and about home-schooling.
Am I concerned about social distancing and the chances of them getting coronavirus? Of course. But I’m even more concerned about the damage caused by being off school for over two and a half months.
But, as I said, I know I’m one of the lucky ones. I’ve been given a choice. Nine million children in Britain aren’t so lucky.
They and their parents were told this week that they’ll be home for at least six months after the Government U-turned on plans for pupils to be back in their classrooms before summer.
And that’s what’s so frustrating about the Government’s approach to education in the midst of this pandemic.
From the start it followed no rhyme nor reason.
It almost felt like they were bounced into closing schools when parents stopped their children from going in and increasing numbers of teachers had to self-isolate – the only available tests then were private so there was no way of knowing if teachers who were unwell had coronavirus or not.
Now, almost three months later, there is still no urgency, no sense of children being a priority.
What kind of policy dictates that children can go look at penguins and parrots – zoos and safari parks have been given the green light to open on Monday – but most cannot go to school for vital learning and to see their friends?
Have they really stretched every sinew to find alternatives? There must be empty buildings – what about vacant offices and libraries – that could be used.
Remote distance learning doesn’t work for all households. The Children’s Commissioner Anne Longfield has warned school closures could lead to a “lost generation”.
I personally know of one London secondary school where teachers haven’t had any contact with 30% of pupils since lockdown began.
Contrast this with many private schools where children have access to organised daily video lessons and are barely missing a beat. I fear this is a crisis waiting to happen and one which is only going to widen social mobility problems.
Action needs to be taken now to prevent the effects of Covid-19 impacting children long after any vaccine is found.
