Schools reopening: Portsmouth headteacher opposes plan and admits ‘I can’t guarantee children’s safety’

A CITY headteacher has hit out at the government’s new guidelines for returning to school and has said under the new measures he cannot guarantee the safety of staff and students.
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This week the government published its guidelines for Year R, 1 and 6 pupils to return schools from June 1 and its aim to have all primary age children returning before the summer holidays.

The warning from Medina Primary School headteacher, Howard Payne, comes as Portsmouth school teacher and president of the National Education Union, Amanda Martin, has said the city’s teachers will only return to classrooms when ‘it’s safe to do so’.

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Medina Primary School headteacher, Howard PayneMedina Primary School headteacher, Howard Payne
Medina Primary School headteacher, Howard Payne
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Mr Payne said: ‘I’m speaking to staff and writing to parents and I feel terrible that I’m having to tell them I cannot guarantee their safety. There’s no way I can be 100 per cent confident under the new guidelines.’

A key issue for Mr Payne is maintaining social distancing between primary school children. Despite the repeated mantra throughout the pandemic of the need for a two metres between people, the new guidelines accept ‘this is not always possible’ with younger children and instead provides a series of measures to mitigate the risk.

Mr Payne said: ‘Nothing I have seen in the new guidance gives me confidence to reopen the school. The government has constantly said it’s not safe to be two metres apart yet are sending staff and children back to school and admitting it’s not possible to maintain this distance.’

It’s a sentiment shared by Ms Martin who said: ‘Our main concern is over the issue of social distancing which has been deemed necessary in other workplaces but no longer seems necessary in schools. The government seem to have accepted this isn’t possible and are basically saying “do your best”.

Cheryl Hadland, managing director of Tops Day Nurseries, believes the government need to be doing more to provide nurseries with personal protective equipment.Cheryl Hadland, managing director of Tops Day Nurseries, believes the government need to be doing more to provide nurseries with personal protective equipment.
Cheryl Hadland, managing director of Tops Day Nurseries, believes the government need to be doing more to provide nurseries with personal protective equipment.
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While medical consensus suggests children suffer a mild form of the disease, Ms Martin wants to see scientific evidence regarding transmission.

‘There are important scientific questions that need to be addressed,’ she said. ‘We want to know how much children transmit to adults and other children. We also want to know what the risk is for society as a whole.

‘It’s really important we are absolutely clear what the level of safety is and if it remains the case that we believe it to be unsafe we will not back the wider opening of schools.’

Ms Martin’s concerns follow yesterday’s revelation by the Office of National Statistics that age does not affect the likelihood of being infected with coronavirus and that an estimated one in 400 people are currently infected.

Portsmouth teacher and National Education Union president, Amanda Martin, has said they will not back the reopening of schools until it is safe.


Picture: Russell Sach PhotographyPortsmouth teacher and National Education Union president, Amanda Martin, has said they will not back the reopening of schools until it is safe.


Picture: Russell Sach Photography
Portsmouth teacher and National Education Union president, Amanda Martin, has said they will not back the reopening of schools until it is safe. Picture: Russell Sach Photography
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The new guidelines specify the need for increased hand washing and for shared items and surfaces to be ‘frequently cleaned’ but gives no further detail of frequency. With detail of implementation put into the hands of schools, Mr Howard feels the government are passing the buck and putting the responsibility on headteachers and governors.

Mr Howard said: ‘I feel under enormous pressure to open but the guidelines have shifted the accountability onto schools. We’re not medical experts yet are having to interpret the guidelines and put measures in place.

The document sent to schools also suggested classes are split, with groups of no more than 15 pupils.

Unable to accommodate the number of children under this system, staff at Medina had made plans to operate a split week timetable but have now been told that all children must attend.

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‘I was informed last night this would not be possible,’ said Mr Payne. ‘Under the new guidelines we just don’t have the room – we are now back to square one.’

With a two-tier primary system operating in Portsmouth this could be a particular issue for the city’s infant schools which could potentially be at 75 per cent capacity.

Ms Martin said: ‘The government has not engaged with us on the notion of class sizes. Classrooms in many schools are often so small it’s an impossibility to sustain social distancing with that number.’

After conducting a survey with parents Mr Payne believes many parents will ‘end up voting with their feet’.

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‘Nearly 50 per cent have said they aren’t prepared to send their children back until September at the earliest,’ he said.

The new guidelines also extend to nursery provision with many nurseries having to close during the pandemic.

Tops Day Nurseries, which has branches in Cosham and at Queen Alexandra Hospital, kept some of its nurseries open for key worker parents, but said social distancing was ‘impossible’. Open branches have already started to ‘alter their practices’ before the new guidelines were introduced.

Managing director, Cheryl Hadland, commented: ‘It’s impossible to social distance when changing a nappy or dealing with a two-year-old who has fallen over.

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‘We used to do a thorough clean at the end of the day but we now have to clean items as we go and have also stopped children bringing in toys or packed lunch boxes from home.’

Despite the governments realisation it’s ‘not always possible’ to implement social distancing with nursery and early years children, the new guidelines deem personal protective equipment (PPE) as unnecessary, apart from with children ‘whose care routinely already involves the use of PPE due to their intimate needs’.

The provision of any PPE appears to be the responsibility of schools and nurseries to source. The guidance instructs schools and childcare providers to ‘make arrangements for the very small number of cases where personal protective equipment (PPE) supplies will be needed’.

Cheryl said: ‘We’ve been asking for government for PPE for some time but have now had to order privately. If a child falls ill and is showing Covid-19 symptoms then staff need PPE.’

Guidelines for schools to reopen

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Many parents share teachers’ and headteachers’ concerns about the reopening of schools. An online parental petition to not have to send children back to school of June 1 has so far gained more than half-a-million signatures. A survey carried out by The News also revealed that 52 per cent of readers were ‘not at all comfortable’ with the decision. Family’s fears appear to have been acknowledged by the government who have confirmed parents won’t be fined if they decide not to send their children back to school.

To help parents understand the strategies schools are being advised to put in place, The News has produced a summary of some of the key measures in the guidelines.

Infection control

Acceptance that maintaining a social distance with primary school and early years children is not always possible. Minimise social contact by staggering timetables, break-times and changing classroom layouts to help keep children apart. Assemblies and parental drop-off and pick-up times can also be staggered. Staff and children to clean hands more often than usual and for a duration of at least 20 seconds. Ensure same member of staff is assigned to a particular group. Reduce use of shared resources. Children and staff encouraged to walk and cycle to school. Encourage children not to touch their mouth, eyes and nose. More regular cleaning of surfaces that children are touching, such as toys, books, desks, chairs, doors, sinks, toilets and light switches. Soft toys and furnishings to be removed. To operate a ‘catch it, bin it, kill it’ approach to any sneezes.

Personal protective equipment

Wearing a face covering or mask in schools or other education settings is not recommended even if staff are unable to maintain a social distance of two metres. PPE is only recommended to be worn when dealing with a child whose intimate level of care already requires protective clothing to be worn. PPE should also be worn if a member of staff is dealing with a child who is exhibiting symptoms of coronavirus. Schools and childcare providers have to source their own equipment.

Vulnerable and shielded children and staff

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Children and staff who should be shielding will not be expected to attend school. Parents of clinically vulnerable children who do not fall into the shielded category should follow the medical advice given by their GP or healthcare provider. Vulnerable staff who are not categorised as shielding should continue to work remotely from home and schools and education providers should help facilitate this. If a child or a member of staff lives with someone who is clinically vulnerable, but not shielded, including those who are pregnant, they can attend their education or childcare setting. If a child or staff member lives in a household with someone who is shielding, they should only attend if stringent social distancing can be followed at all times.

Class sizes

Where possible, children should be kept two metres apart and should be in reduced class sizes of no more than 15. If there’s insufficient space to do this then schools are asked to contact their local authority and some children may be transferred to a school which has excess space. The government accept maintaining social distancing in corridors may not be possible but have said ‘transitory contact, such as passing in a corridor is low risk’.

Comment

After 16 years working in schools I can confidently say that implementing social distancing, even in a secondary environment, is impossible. Even if you can maintain distance between pupils, dealing with everyday accidents and altercations and the shared use of resources and facilities mean an inevitable potential transmission of germs.

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The repeated message of maintaining two metres distance between individuals appears to still be at the heart of the government’s mantra - even meeting a single friend or family member outside comes with the strict caveat of ‘maintaining social distance’. It’s no wonder then that the union’s want to know the science behind this sudden shift in stance which now appears exclusive to schools.

Is it that new evidence suggests a two metre distance is no longer necessary and it has been discovered that children have a much lower risk of transmitting the virus? Or could it be an acceptance by the government that social distancing in schools is indeed impossible and that to adhere to this stipulation would prevent their reopening?

There is also the question of the selection of Year R and 1 as the first children to return – surely the most challenging to follow social distancing – followed by the ambition of remaining primary school children to return before the summer. Meanwhile, exam classes in secondary schools, an age group with the greatest understanding of the concept and soon to be formally assessed on their learning, are told they may get some ‘face to face time’ with teachers before the summer.

It may well be there is some educational merit in this decision and I’m sure my former primary colleagues will put up a sound argument of the importance of early year’s provision, but I can’t help think economics rather than education is at the heart of this decision. Is it any coincidence that 12 is the legal age a child can be left unsupervised at home and with primary age children back in school parents are free to to be ‘encouraged to return to their work places’ as the prime minister put forward in his address to the nation.

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While no-one can deny the importance of getting the economy up and running it should not be at all costs.

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