• Latest
  • Trending

Phased return v ‘big bang’ restart: UK split on how best to reopen schools | Schools

Gates Cambridge Scholarship celebrates 20th anniversary

Gates Cambridge Scholarship celebrates 20th anniversary

Israel-Gaza conflict rages as US envoy visits

Israel-Gaza conflict rages as US envoy visits

Police and Crime Commissioner to end funding for heroin addiction treatment scheme

Police and Crime Commissioner to end funding for heroin addiction treatment scheme

News Press Live
  • Home
  • News
    • All
    • Crime
    • Economy
    • News of England
    • News of Northern Ireland
    • News of Scotland
    • News of Wales
    Gates Cambridge Scholarship celebrates 20th anniversary

    Gates Cambridge Scholarship celebrates 20th anniversary

    Israel-Gaza conflict rages as US envoy visits

    Israel-Gaza conflict rages as US envoy visits

    Police and Crime Commissioner to end funding for heroin addiction treatment scheme

    Police and Crime Commissioner to end funding for heroin addiction treatment scheme

    Nicola Sturgeon’s own economic adviser warns Indyref2 puts recovery at risk

    Nicola Sturgeon’s own economic adviser warns Indyref2 puts recovery at risk

    Horse Racing Getting back on track

    Rochdale hopes machine centre will manufacture revival in fortunes

    The sad state of Cardiff city centre after a year of lockdown as shops lose fight to hold on

    The sad state of Cardiff city centre after a year of lockdown as shops lose fight to hold on

    Convoy drives through London shouting  the Jews, rape their daughters’

    Convoy drives through London shouting the Jews, rape their daughters’

    Conflict intensifies in Gaza as Israeli strikes destroy Gaza tower housing

    Trending Tags

      • Crime
      • Economy
      • News of England
      • News of Northern Ireland
      • News of Scotland
    • Royal Family
    • Tv & Showbiz
    • World News
    • JOBS
    • Sport
      • Football
      • Watch Live Score Football (Soccer) Videos
    • Login
    • Register
    • Latest Headlines
    • Advertise With Us
    • Find A Job
    Monday, January 30, 2023
    Watch Live Sport
    • Home
    • News
      • All
      • Crime
      • Economy
      • News of England
      • News of Northern Ireland
      • News of Scotland
      • News of Wales
      Gates Cambridge Scholarship celebrates 20th anniversary

      Gates Cambridge Scholarship celebrates 20th anniversary

      Israel-Gaza conflict rages as US envoy visits

      Israel-Gaza conflict rages as US envoy visits

      Police and Crime Commissioner to end funding for heroin addiction treatment scheme

      Police and Crime Commissioner to end funding for heroin addiction treatment scheme

      Nicola Sturgeon’s own economic adviser warns Indyref2 puts recovery at risk

      Nicola Sturgeon’s own economic adviser warns Indyref2 puts recovery at risk

      Horse Racing Getting back on track

      Rochdale hopes machine centre will manufacture revival in fortunes

      The sad state of Cardiff city centre after a year of lockdown as shops lose fight to hold on

      The sad state of Cardiff city centre after a year of lockdown as shops lose fight to hold on

      Convoy drives through London shouting  the Jews, rape their daughters’

      Convoy drives through London shouting the Jews, rape their daughters’

      Conflict intensifies in Gaza as Israeli strikes destroy Gaza tower housing

      Trending Tags

        • Crime
        • Economy
        • News of England
        • News of Northern Ireland
        • News of Scotland
      • Royal Family
      • Tv & Showbiz
      • World News
      • JOBS
      • Sport
        • Football
        • Watch Live Score Football (Soccer) Videos
      No Result
      View All Result
      News Press Live
      No Result
      View All Result

      Phased return v ‘big bang’ restart: UK split on how best to reopen schools | Schools

      15.4k
      VIEWS
      Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

      Headteacher Meilir Tomos was watching on with satisfaction and relief as children finally got back into the swing of lessons in their Cardiff primary school after more than two months in lockdown at home.

      “It’s great to see them back,” said Tomos. “There’s always going to be an element of risk in returning. Every day you worry that a staff member or a parent is going to say they have got Covid, but we’ve put things in place to make sure it’s as safe as can be.”

      Tomos is pleased Wales has launched a phased return this week rather than the “big bang” approach that is being favoured across the border in England.

      “There would be a bit of fear if everyone was returning at the same time. Ours is a more cautious approach. Obviously as a headteacher I’d like to see all the pupils back but you have to be sensible.”

      The manner of schools returning is a stark example of different approaches to the lifting of lockdown being followed by the home nations.

      The UK government has said all schools in England can reopen to all pupils on 8 March – though on Wednesday the education secretary, Gavin Williamson, said secondaries would be allowed to stagger students’ return over two weeks.

      Wales and Scotland are both following much more of a phased approach with all pupils and students unlikely to be back before April.

      Tomos’s school, Ysgol Glan Morfa, in Splott, south Cardiff, has been looking after vulnerable youngsters and key workers’ children since January but from this week all children aged three to seven were allowed back. “It feels more of a normal school now,” said Tomos.

      Kirsty Williams, Wales’s education minister
      Kirsty Williams, Wales’s education minister, pictured visiting Ysgol Glan Morfa, says: ‘The scientific advice is that we need to open up our schools gradually.’ Photograph: Patrick Olner

      The head was honest in his assessment of delays in his pupils learning. “All in all, you are looking at them being a year behind,” he said. “We hope the rest will be back in three weeks as long as the science allows,” he said.

      The Welsh education minister, Kirsty Williams, who was visiting the school on Wednesday, expressed bemusement at the stance in England.

      “The scientific advice is that we need to open up our schools gradually,” she said.

      Williams stressed that the approach wasn’t a “weird and wonderful” one and the government was simply following the advice of the UK-wide Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling, Operational sub-group (SPI-M-O), which in January said returning all pupils together would raise the R number by between 10% and 50%.

      The minister said she would not criticise Boris Johnson or try to surmise why England was going down a different path. “All I can say is we’re confident we’re following the best advice. We’re following an approach that has been taken in Scandinavian countries, other European countries, the United States and Scotland. I’m not aware of any country in the world that after a prolonged lockdown and given the seriousness of the situation has returned their schools all in one go.”

      However, arguments in Northern Ireland show what a tricky issue the return to school is, with a plan for a cautious and phased reopening of schools dividing the power-sharing executive at Stormont.

      Initially, all ministers backed a decision for some primary pupils to return to school on 8 March followed by some secondary pupils two weeks later and a wider reopening at a later unspecified date.

      But after the UK government announced a full return for English schools the Democratic Unionist party (DUP) urged Northern Ireland to accelerate its own plans.

      However, the health minister, Robin Swann, of the Ulster Unionist party (UUP), and the chief medical officer, Michael McBride, favour caution. “There is a significant risk at this point in time if we move back … too quickly or too rapidly that we will see a resurgence in cases that could result in a further wave of infection which could be even greater than the numbers we saw back in January,” said McBride.

      It was all much simpler at Ysgol Glan Morfa, where teaching assistant Gethin Bickerton was supervising pupils playing – and learning – in the school’s make-believe shop.

      Bickerton was an actor but when that work dried up because of the pandemic he became one of the extra 1,000 members of staff working in education after the Welsh government made £29m available to help schools recruit extra staff to help cope with the crisis.

      He said he was “a little nervous” to return to school. “But it’s been lovely to see the pupils back. They are clearly happy to be back here. I hope it’s not long before the rest return too.”

      — to www.theguardian.com

      Share308Tweet193SendSendShare54Pin69

      RelatedPosts

      Gates Cambridge Scholarship celebrates 20th anniversary
      News

      Gates Cambridge Scholarship celebrates 20th anniversary

      Israel-Gaza conflict rages as US envoy visits
      News

      Israel-Gaza conflict rages as US envoy visits

      Police and Crime Commissioner to end funding for heroin addiction treatment scheme
      Crime

      Police and Crime Commissioner to end funding for heroin addiction treatment scheme

      Nicola Sturgeon’s own economic adviser warns Indyref2 puts recovery at risk
      Economy

      Nicola Sturgeon’s own economic adviser warns Indyref2 puts recovery at risk

      London

      Horse Racing Getting back on track

      News

      Rochdale hopes machine centre will manufacture revival in fortunes

      Recommended Stories

      Secondary school pupils and teachers must wear face coverings in communal areas

      SNP mocked after MP claims Scotland needs ferry link to Europe more than ever | Scotland | News

      Joe Biden victory congratulated by Northern Ireland leaders

      Joe Biden victory congratulated by Northern Ireland leaders

      Popular Stories

      • Joe Biden opposes guarded border between Ireland and Northern Ireland | US News

        President Biden Promises to Slash Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 50 Percent by 2030

        2636 shares
        Share 1054 Tweet 659
      • Prince Philip is dead

        2632 shares
        Share 1053 Tweet 658
      • Two US Capitol police officers injured after suspect rams car into barrier and stabbed. Suspect dead

        2372 shares
        Share 949 Tweet 593
      • Prince Harry ‘back in the UK’ ahead of Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral on Saturday

        2143 shares
        Share 857 Tweet 536
      • Juventus chairman Andrea Agnelli says European Super League can no longer go ahead

        2115 shares
        Share 846 Tweet 529
      News Press Live

      © 2021 Copyright - All rights reserved.

      Navigate Site

      • About Us
      • Terms & Conditions
      • Private Policy
      • Advertise With Us
      • Contact Us

      Follow Us

      No Result
      View All Result
      • Home
      • News
        • Crime
        • Economy
        • News of England
        • News of Northern Ireland
        • News of Scotland
      • Royal Family
      • Tv & Showbiz
      • World News
      • JOBS
      • Sport
        • Football
        • Watch Live Score Football (Soccer) Videos

      © 2021 Copyright - All rights reserved.

      Welcome Back!

      Login to your account below

      Forgotten Password? Sign Up

      Create New Account!

      Fill the forms bellow to register

      All fields are required. Log In

      Retrieve your password

      Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

      Log In
      Are you sure want to unlock this post?
      Unlock left : 0
      Are you sure want to cancel subscription?