England’s Schools Minister today refused to rule out the prospect after Anne Longfield, Children’s Commissioner for England, warned kids’ education must come first.
Boris Johnson was today told to shut pubs if that’s what it takes to keep schools open next month.
The Children’s Commissioner for England warned classrooms must be the last places to close after all other options if there’s a second wave of coronavirus.
Anne Longfield added in a report: “If the choice has to be made in a local area about whether to keep pubs or schools open, then schools must always take priority.”
Schools minister Nick Gibb repeatedly refused to rule out shutting pubs in order to keep schools open – but stressed any action would be local, not national.
He told Sky News today it was the government’s “priority” to reopen all schools in England, to all pupils full-time, from September.
He said questions about pub closures were “hypothetical” but told BBC Breakfast: “Anne Longfield is right, it’s hugely important for children to be in school.”
Asked if it was “inconceivable” a pub could stay open while a school next door shuts down, he replied: “It all depends on the local circumstances”.
And asked if he was “open to” shutting pubs in order to keep schools open, the Schools Minister told Sky: “Mr priority is to make sure children are back in school with their friends.
“It’s good for their wellbeing, it’s important for their long-term education.
“So our priority is to make sure that schools are open.”
He insisted it “isn’t necessarily a trade-off between one or the other”, adding: “It’s about localised action, swift action, to ensure we tackle the virus.”
The government has committed to opening all England’s schools to all pupils full-time from September, despite cases rises in England.
The pledge has raised the grim prospect of pubs or restaurants having to shut, or social contact restricted, in return to keep the virus down.
Last week Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty warned England has “probably” reached the limit of easing lockdown. Prof Whitty added: “If we wish to do more things in the future, we may have to do less of some other things.”
Professor Neil Ferguson – who resigned from the Government’s advisory group Sage – told the BBC: “In terms of the reproduction value, the ‘R’ value, opening high schools could increase it by as much as a half, but by as little as 0.2 or 0.3, but it will go up.
“Given we’re at ‘R’ equal to one at the moment, clearly we don’t want ‘R’ going up to 1.5 or so, that would … lead to quite rapid growth of the epidemic.”
He warned “it is likely that some form of measures will be necessary” to contain the virus elsewhere. He said this could include “rowing back on the relaxation of restrictions in the rest of society to allow schools to be fully opened, for instance social venues, leisure venues, more working from home – those things.”
On Monday No10 appeared to hint social contact, not pubs and restaurants, might be the first thing to be scaled back.
Asked what the first thing to stop or close down will be if cases rise, the PM’s spokesman said: “Decisions will always be based on local evidence and scientific guidance. We have in place a system now for localised lockdowns.
“You will see that in Greater Manchester and in other areas, the steps we’ve taken have been to restrict social contact. Because that was what the experts considered was responsible for an increase in the prevalence of the virus.”
In a report today, Anne Longfield argued schools should be the last places to close and only as a last resort once all other options have been exhausted.
She called for regular testing of pupils and teachers regardless of whether they have the disease – to prevent whole year groups having to self-isolate if one falls ill.
Ms Longfield’s briefing paper says keeping schools open should be the “absolute priority”, adding: “Education should be prioritised over other sectors: first to open, last to close.
“When only a limited amount of social interaction is feasible, the amount accounted for by education must be protected – at the expense of other sectors/activities.”
The Children’s Commissioner believes reducing Covid-19 transmission in the community is very important “but it should not be automatically assumed that this requires closing schools – except as a last resort”.
She added: “If a second wave occurs, children must be at the heart of coronavirus planning. That means schools must be the first to reopen and the last to close during any local lockdowns. Regular testing must be also in place for teachers and pupils, to reassure parents. If the choice has to be made in a local area about whether to keep pubs or schools open, then schools must always take priority.”
It comes amid warnings schools could face a “monumental crisis” in a second coronavirus lockdown, with the lack of test and tracing forcing them to shut their gates.
It comes amid warnings schools could face a “monumental crisis” in a second coronavirus lockdown, with the lack of test and tracing forcing them to shut their gates. The Government has again promised that classrooms will return “in full” in just four weeks’ time despite regional flare-ups. But scientists have warned that the test and trace system is not yet good enough to stop another wave of the virus that reopening schools could fuel.
Tory ministers insisted yesterday that it was “not up for debate” that all pupils would be back in the classroom in England in September but local government minister Simon Clarke admitted the test and trace programme still needed to improve and was “maturing all the time”.
The system is currently said to be reaching only around 50% of contacts, far lower than the 75% that ministers claim.
Mr Clarke said that getting children back to school in four weeks’ time was a “top priority” that the Government would not “be willing to trade” but unions and opposition parties warned that unless the test and trace regime improved dramatically ministers were not in a position to provide guarantees.
The GMB’s National Secretary Rehana Azam said: “What is abundantly clear is the Government doesn’t have a grip on handling Covid-19. Months on we are still awaiting a credible plan for a workable contact tracing system to be put in place.
“There remains little evidence ministers are on top of this. GMB, like many others, are keen to get schools fully reopened but we fear without a proper test and trace system and proper safe systems at work the Government is stacking up a monumental crisis in the month ahead.”
The Department for Education published a blog on returning to school in September – but there was little detail on what would happen in the event of a spike.
Instead, it suggested that local health officials would rely on test and trace data to get outbreaks under control.
The GMB’s National Secretary Rehana Azam said: “What is abundantly clear is the Government doesn’t have a grip on handling Covid-19″
And they added: “In the event of a local lockdown, schools will ensure continuity of education and Oftsed will oversee the quality of the remote provision. We are not asking schools to plan for part-time rota systems.”
But politicians and education experts said headteachers should be given more detailed guidance and not “left to get on with it” if there was a second spike.
Shadow education secretary Kate Green told the Mirror: “ Labour has repeatedly warned that an effective test, trace and isolate regime is vital for schools to reopen safely, but staff and parents are being let down by ministers.
“With infection rates rising and new local restrictions in some areas, the government must urgently prioritise getting the necessary resources and data to local authorities to support local testing and tracing.
“Schools are working flat out to welcome children back in September but headteachers need to know what to plan for if they’re affected by local lockdowns.
“Education secretary Gavin Williamson should be standing up to the prime minister and health secretary to make sure schools get the support they need, not hiding behind ‘guidance’ and leaving heads to get on with it.”
The Government’s own scientific advisors have warned that when schools reopen full-time other restrictions may have to be reimposed to prevent the spread of the disease.
The true death toll in the UK is now believed to be 56,651 – 10,000 more than the Government’s tally – based on fatalities registered in the UK where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate
Plans to extend shielding to some over-50s this winter were reportedly abandoned after Cabinet ministers mounted a backlash against the proposal.
Downing Street was said to have dropped the plan to tell older Brits to stay at home after ministers warned it was impractical and could damage the economy but concerns remain that ministers could prioritise keeping shops and pubs open at the expense of the education of millions of children.
A scientific paper, reported by the Mirror yesterday, raised the alarm over whether schools could reopen fully in the autumn without triggering a second wave even worse than the first, given the performance of the UK’s test, trace and isolate system.
The Government claims testing staff are reaching more than 80% of people who have tested positive for the virus and contacting over 75% of their close contacts but official figures suggest just over 55% of contacts in non-complex cases are identified. So-called complex cases are easier to trace because they involve clusters where people’s identities are known.
Avis Gilmore, Deputy General Secretary of the National Education Union, said: “The opening of schools and colleges is clearly a priority for children and young peoples learning and well being.
“To ensure that this occurs in the safest way possible the NEU has consistently said that a robust test, track and trace system is necessary and for there to be a Plan B in place should any regional or national spikes occur.
“Testing, tracking and tracing will be particularly important in schools given the Government’s weak position on social distancing in the classroom.
“It’s not good enough for government to abandon their responsibility and say it’s up to individual schools and colleges to ensure they are Covid secure. This is about community health and safety and avoiding a second wave.”
Richard Bettsworth, of the Association of School and College Leaders, added: “School leaders are absolutely committed to a full reopening in the autumn term and they are straining every sinew to implement complex guidance to minimise the risks of coronavirus transmission.
“It is very clear that an effective test, trace, and isolate strategy is vital in suppressing the rate of infection, and keeping schools open. The Government has to make sure that this works at the scale that is necessary.”
Education Secretary Mr Williamson said: “Getting all children back into the classroom full-time at the start of next month is a national priority, as this is the best place for them to be.
“We have always been and will continue to be guided by the best scientific and medical advice, and our detailed guidance sets out protective measures for schools to implement ahead of a full return in September.”
The UN warned that the world faces a “general catastrophe” due to school closures caused by the pandemic.
