School’s back at last
Schools are back. Thank goodness — parents all over England feel huge relief. After months of zoom classes, the vast majority of our young people finally return to classrooms today.
This is not only a clear staging post in our roadmap out of lockdown — prior to this morning, despite all the talk of lifting restrictions, nothing had changed. It is of vital importance for our children.
We know the devastating impact shutting down schools has had on education and mental health. We are also aware of how lockdown has exacerbated inequality — those with access to spare rooms or tutors have faced less disruption than those without.
Our young people can now step away from their laptops to see their friends and take part in after-school activities. Serious issues remain, on home testing and masks, but on the path out of lockdown and back to normality, today is one to mark in our pandemic logbooks.
