Millions of school children are back at school today as Boris Johnson heralds the first step in his roadmap for a return to everyday life and a “sense of normality”.
Health experts are hopeful that England’s third lockdown will be the last as secondary schools begin a phased return of pupils, who are being asked to have swab tests for Covid and to wear face masks in classrooms.
But the leader of one of the country’s largest teachers’ unions told Sky News that the “jury’s out” on whether schools will have to close again. Dr Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the National Education Union, told the broadcaster that the government “hasn’t taken the safety measures it should have done” and “could have done much more”.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Ministers should have ensured that secondary schools had “ventilation units in every classroom”, she said, adding: “I hope - and my members hope - this will be the last time we close schools to the majority of pupils.”
Despite Bousted’s misgivings, however, the continued success of the vaccination campaign may ease previous worries about an uptick in Covid infections due to schools reopening.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock told a Downing Street press conference on Friday that “the link from cases to hospitalisations to deaths that had been unbreakable before the vaccine, that link is now breaking”.
The Times’ science editor Tom Whipple reports that “privately, figures in government believe that R will get very close to 1, and quite likely tip past it” as schools reopen.
But “the key measure will be whether coronavirus is filling up our hospitals, not whether it is filling up our testing laboratories”, Whipple writes.
“We can live with a bit of growth” if the R rate rises but hospitalisation and deaths continue to fall as the vaccine rollout continues and “Covid’s ferocity” is “blunted”, he concludes.
“So goodbye then, R. You won’t be missed.”
-
Why ‘anti-Islam’ bikers are guarding Gaza aid sitesIn The Spotlight Members of Infidels MC, who regard themselves as modern Crusaders, among private security guards at Gaza Humanitarian Foundation sites
-
China: Xi seeks to fill America’s voidFeature Trump’s tariffs are pushing nations eastward as Xi Jinping focuses on strengthening ties with global leaders
-
Rebrands: Bringing back the War DepartmentFeature Trump revives the Department of Defense’s former name
-
The pros and cons of banning cellphones in classroomsPros and cons The devices could be major distractions
-
School phone bans: Why they're spreadingFeature 17 states are imposing all-day phone bans in schools
-
Schools: The return of a dreaded fitness testFeature Donald Trump is bringing the Presidential Fitness Test back to classrooms nationwide
-
Send reforms: government's battle over special educational needsThe Explainer Current system in 'crisis' but parents fear overhaul will leave many young people behind
-
Education: Can public schools be religious?Feature A Supreme Court seems ready to rule in favor of religious charter schools in Oklahoma, which could reshape public education
-
America's academic brain drain has begunIN THE SPOTLIGHT As the Trump administration targets universities and teachers, educators are eying greener academic pastures elsewhere — and other nations are starting to take notice
-
Schools' Send crisis: how can it be fixed?Today's Big Question Government urged to reform support for children with special educational needs and disabilities and save councils from bankruptcy
-
Unschooling: the radical education trend raising eyebrowsUnder the radar Some parents are letting their children lead their education
