Another government u-turn : Plans for all England’s primary children to return for a month before the summer break have been dropped by Education Secretary Gavin Williamson. The government has finally admitted that it cannot deliver what had been promised.
England’s 17,000 primary schools will not, after all, be inviting all their pupils back before the summer. In a way, it’s a relief to have it out in the open. With just 25% of reception, year 1 and year 6 children back in classrooms last week, it was obvious that the plan promoted by ministers for months was detached from reality. But this does not in any way soften the blow to their credibility. Ever since March’s delayed lockdown, planning for the pandemic’s impact on children has been poor. There is so sign whatever that the position has improved.
A return to full-time school in September looks unlikely. Even if a second wave of infections is kept to a minimum, the logistical challenges presented by any ongoing risk mean that schools will not be able to operate as they used to. Click full article
The sad fact of the matter is that the risks for children are virtually zero and closing schools was never medically warranted. Even in the global “hotspots”, the risk of death for the general population of school and working age is typically in the range of a daily car ride to work. The risk was initially overestimated because many people with only mild or no symptoms were not taken into account. Click here for Swiss policy Research
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