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Daily Mirror

Politics

Dan Bloom

School closures explained: Questions answered on primaries, nurseries and exams

Around a million primary school children won’t return to classrooms as planned next week in a major U-turn by the government.

Primary schools will remain shut to all but the neediest kids in 50 council areas - covering up to 15% of all pupils in England.

Meanwhile secondary schools nationwide will only fully open from January 18, with Years 11 and 13 in from January 11.

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson activated the “contingency framework” in a mark of how badly the new variant of Covid has spread.

It comes despite he and Boris Johnson repeatedly saying the last thing they wanted to do was shut the schools.

The PM insisted: “I stress that schools are safe and your kids are not at risk.” But he said the variant may be 70% more contagious.

The 11th-hour change has prompted anger and bafflement among many of those hit in London and the Home Counties.

A school pupil wearing a face mask on a bus in Newcastle (file photo) (PA)

Liz Keeble, headteacher of a primary school in Basildon, Essex, said she learned from the television that her school would not reopen next week, before hearing from her bosses.

She said: "It's a very difficult situation for everybody, these decisions are made right up to the wire.”

And some city boroughs have had their schools closed while others right next door have them open.

Here’s everything we know so far.

Which areas are having schools closed?

Primary schools are being shut to all but key workers’ and vulnerable children next week in 50 council areas.

The areas affected are 23 out of the 32 boroughs of London, 11 boroughs in Essex, 9 boroughs in Kent, two in East Sussex, four in Hertfordshire, and Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire.

Importantly, these areas are not the same as all areas in Tier 4. Many other areas are in Tier 4, but primary schools there are remaining open.

For a full list of the 50 areas with school closures, please scroll to the bottom of this article.

How many pupils are affected?

It’s thought around a million primary school pupils, or 15% of all those in England, are affected by the closures.

That is despite Gavin Williamson claiming only “a small number of areas" where infection rates are highest would be affected.

What’s happening with primary schools?

The Government's school policy was updated (REUTERS)

In the 50 hotspot areas, primary schools will be closed to all but vulnerable children and key workers’ children.

Key workers include health, education, justice, food, police, defence, fire, transport and utilities workers - a full list is here.

Vulnerable children include those with an EHC plan, those in care or adopted children - a full list is here.

If your child comes under this category you need to specifically let the school know they will be attending.

Other pupils should be given “high-quality remote education” by their school - in other words, learn from home.

These closures will last for two weeks initially before the first review. That suggests they could change on January 18.

If your primary school isn’t in one of the 50 council areas, it will open to all pupils from January 4.

What’s happening with secondary schools?

The plan for secondary schools is at least consistent across England - for now (Getty Images)

The plan is the same for secondary schools across England, whether or not they’re in the 50 hotspot areas.

Across the whole of England, vulnerable and key workers' children will go back from January 4, but all others will only get remote learning that week.

Years 11 and 13 - who have exams coming up - will go back in person from January 11 and the rest of secondary school pupils will return from January 18.

Confusingly, after January 18, there could also end up being a local plan for secondary schools to partially close.

If secondary schools are hit by the “contingency framework”, they’ll stay open to Years 11 and 13 and vulnerable and key workers’ kids only.

Years 7, 8, 9, 10 and 12 would need to learn from home. However, we don’t know if this will happen yet because the plan from January 18 isn’t confirmed.

What’s happening with nurseries, childcare and clubs?

Nurseries and childminders should remain open even in the worst-hit areas, the government said.

However, school-based nurseries in primary schools have discretion to follow the same arrangements as that primary school.

Community activities, before or after-school clubs, tuition and wraparound childcare should only run for vulnerable or key workers’ kids.

What’s happening with other schools?

Alternative provision and special schools should continue to let pupils attend full-time.

At boarding schools, pupils are only allowed to attend face-to-face learning if that would have been allowed in a non-boarding school in the same area.

What’s happening with universities?

Courses where students are eligible to return in early January have been further restricted compared to before.

Medical and other courses where face-to-face teaching is necessary have been prioritised.

For other courses, students are currently planned to return over a two-week period from January 25 but this is still under review.

Will exams go ahead?

Yes. Education Secretary Gavin Williamson insisted that exams will go ahead in the summer.

He also said BTEC exams that are planned near the start of term will be “running absolutely as normal”.

Will pupils get testing?

Students will undergo testing at secondary schools and universities (Getty Images)

Yes. The plan is for all secondary and college students and staff in England to be able to get two rapid tests, three days apart, at the start of term.

The government claims the first starter packs of up to 1,000 test kits will arrive at all secondary schools and colleges on January 4.

Ideally, test results will come back for most students before they actually return to the classroom.

But headteachers are facing a mammoth task of organising the testing regime in just one week.

Gavin Williamson piled pressure on stressed school leaders, claiming he was "absolutely confident" secondaries will be able to run the regime.

But NAHT general secretary Paul Whiteman said: “It is the right thing to do, but so far the government has not actually given schools the details as to how it will happen, or announced any extra resource or professional medical help.

“We cannot see how mass testing in secondary schools is actually going to be feasible under the plans that have so far been released.

“Certainly it will not be ready for the start of term.”

There are 1,500 military personnel committed to supporting this testing but it’s more advice and guidance from afar than actually going into schools.

Will pupils still get free school meals if they’re at home?

Yes - at least, they’re meant to.

During term time, schools should “continue to provide free school meals or food parcels for eligible pupils who are not attending”.

They “should work with suppliers to prepare meals or food parcels to be collected by, or delivered to, these eligible children during their time at home.”

When will schools in the 50 areas reopen?

Unfortunately, there’s no single clear answer to this and we’ve had mixed messages from government.

We know the “contingency framework” will be reviewed after two weeks, suggesting schools could reopen on January 18.

However, the framework can also be reviewed earlier than this date, or it could be renewed keeping schools shut for longer.

Could schools in more areas be shut?

Yes, it’s possible.

The “contingency framework” that shuts primary schools is now activated so the list of areas hit can be made bigger, or smaller, by the government.

Any changes would happen at the first review point, and be announced some time before January 18.

Will teachers be prioritised for a vaccine?

It’s possible - but as of now they aren’t.

Healthy teachers under 50 are just like all other healthy under-50s, in that they’re not part of the first phase of the vaccine rollout.

When we get to the second phase, it’s possible people will be prioritised by which occupation they have - but this isn’t confirmed.

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said he wanted to see teachers prioritised but “this is a decision that will be made across government”.

Why aren’t all Tier 4 areas having schools closed?

Because - rightly or wrongly - the government doesn’t want the vast majority of schools shut.

If all Tier 4 areas closed their primary schools, it would mean shuttering classrooms in 78% of England.

This would have a devastating effect on the most vulnerable kids.

So instead, despite the spread of the new variant, ministers have concentrated on the 50 worst-hit areas.

Why are some areas shut and not others?

The government has tried to explain this but a lot people aren’t satisfied.

Some London boroughs have schools shut while others right next-door have them open.

That means some schools 100 yards from each other have different rules, despite essentially taking children from the same general pool.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said he was "urgently seeking clarification as to why schools in some London boroughs have been chosen to stay open" while others "just down the road won't".

Among the boroughs not shut is Greenwich, which Gavin Williamson threatened with legal action to stop schools being closed.

Leader Danny Thorpe said: "In a case-by-case comparison, there appears to be no logic to how this list was brought together.”

Gavin Williamson tried to explain the system by saying it was done with the Department of Health.

He said they identified areas where there was either a very high rate or very sharp increases in the number of cases or pressure on hospitals.

But he faces calls to release more data. NAHT general secretary Paul Whiteman said there is not “any detail to support the rationale for closing some schools and not others - and why primaries and special schools are being treated differently to secondaries."

Full list of 50 areas having schools closed

In these 'contingency framework' areas, primary schools can only open to key workers' children, or vulnerable children. This will last until January 18 for now, when the list will be reviewed.

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