Hampshire headteachers warn of the dangers of reopening too quickly

Education leaders were speaking out ahead of Boris Johnson’s roadmap out of lockdown set to be announced on Monday.

The government has repeatedly said classrooms will be the ‘first to reopen’ and an initial target date of March 8 has already been set.

But headteachers in the area are worried a rushed return could lead to a surge in Covid-19 transmissions and another shutdown.

They say they’ve got ‘no clue’ about the government’s plan and have urged ministers to provide clarity.

The Cowplain School headteacher Ian Gates said: ‘We obviously want to welcome back as many children as we can but we must be careful about concerns over transmission rates.

‘The prime minister has said he wants this to be the final lockdown.

‘Clearly to do that he needs consider what the science is saying about reopening schools.

‘In a few weeks we don’t want to return to a cycle of isolating students and end up in another lockdown.’

Horndean Technology College headteacher Julie Summerfield is also advocating a cautious approach.

‘As far as I can see they have plucked this March date out of the air,’ said Mrs Summerfield.

‘It’s only a few weeks until Good Friday and the Easter holidays. The last thing we want is for children to return and to be in a situation of having to lockdown again.

Park Community School headteacher Chris Anders is concerned about what the return-to-school guidelines will say.

He said: ‘I’ve read reports about the proposed reopening of schools in Scotland and the recommendation from the government’s advisory group of the need for two metre social distancing.

‘If this is applied in schools then it will not be possible to reopen for all students.

‘With even one metre social distancing there’s simply not the space.’

Headteachers have said they must be consulted about reopening plans – something they say has not happened throughout the pandemic.

Horndean’s Mrs Summerfield said: ‘At present headteachers do not have a clue about what’s going to happen. What we don’t want is someone to come up with an idea without an understanding of what the ramifications are on the ground.’

St Edmund’s Catholic School headteacher Simon Graham added: ‘What we need is clear guidance as to what’s going to happen – not the fiasco about schools reopening after Christmas which left parents and teachers confused.’

Mr Graham also reiterated the need for the prioritisation of school staff for Covid vaccinations to be part of any reopening plan.

He added: ‘It’s impossible to social distance in schools and current guidelines still suggest not to wear a mask in classrooms yet we are not giving people going into this environment the protection they need.’

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The region’s headteachers want extra funding for Covid-secure environments, including improving ventilation and expanding under-cover outdoor space.

The National Education Union is also urging caution over the full reopening.

Portsmouth teacher and regional NEU representative Amanda Martin said: ‘We absolutely want our pupils back in school and college and learning face to face because we know the impact of the virus has affected our young people in so many different ways and the uncertainty is causing a great deal of stress and anxiety, but any return must be safe and sustainable.

‘We cannot have the yo-yo of self isolating and the prospect of another national lockdown. We must be aware of why the government locked down and ensure that any further opening to pupils is managed and in line with infection rates lowering and protecting our NHS and the capacity of our local hospitals.’

A Department for Education spokeswoman said: ‘We are committed to fully reopening schools as soon as the public health picture allows and it’s hoped that we will be able to do this from March 8.

‘Right through the pandemic have taken every step to ensure pupils can spend as much time in classrooms as possible.

‘We will set out plans for schools, parents and pupils as soon as possible, and will provide two weeks’ notice for them to prepare.

‘We regularly review evidence and advice from sources including Sage, Public Health England and the Office for National Statistics to ensure our policies are guided by the most up-to-date scientific and medical understanding.’

Testing time for schools

TEACHERS have said giving children rapid Covid-19 testing will take up too much time for them all to be tested together.

Schools should therefore have a staggered start due to the time required to carry out lateral flow tests, they said.

If this happened, it would would mean not all pupils return on March 8.

Horndean Technology School headteacher Julie Summerfield said: ‘We’ve been testing our key worker children every week and have calculated it takes one-and-a-half hours to test 70 children. We would need a staggered return to carry out tests as it would not be practical to test everyone together.’

Park Community School headteacher Chris Anders added: ‘We are now comfortable with our testing regime for key worker children but it will take time for returning children to learn this new routine and the process would need to be timetabled into the day. It would therefore need to be staggered start.’

St Edmund’s Catholic School headteacher Simon Graham added: ‘We don’t have the capacity to mass test students in a short period of time. The government need to remember we are schools not medical centres.’

Highbury College announced the completion of 2,000 Covid tests since January at its testing centre – the first in any college in the area - which was setup to detect asymptomatic cases and break the chain of transmission.

Principal Penny Wycherley said: ‘We’ve a lot of students who have specific vulnerabilities, so it’s really important for us getting them into college while making sure everyone is safe.’

However concerns remain over the practicalities of implementing large scale testing centres in our region’s schools.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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