EDUCATION leaders have stressed the importance of children returning to school next week, saying it is vital for their “educational progress, wellbeing, and wider development”.

Many pupils have gone five months without being in school due to the coronavirus crisis.
However, school and college attendance will again be mandatory from the beginning of the new academic year.

As messages from national chief medical advisors are issued to reassure parents, St Helens Borough Council has launched its own campaign to safely get pupils back into the classroom. 

‘All In’ has been developed to stress the importance of children and young people returning to a learning environment.

It spells out that a range of measures have been put in place at education settings to keep pupils and staff safe.

Many schools had continued to provide education to pupils of certain school years and needs – as well as the children of key workers – prior to the summer break, but it is the government’s intention that all year groups will return to education in September. 

The council says it will work closely with schools to monitor and support them with attendance.

But education chiefs have also underlined that parents and carers of children of compulsory school age also have a legal duty to send their child to school regularly.

They have warned that fines and even prosecution are used as a “last resort” by for persistent absence which has not been authorised by a headteacher. 

The council says it has worked with teaching unions to put control measures in place, which may include: 

  • Grouping children together in ‘bubbles’ to limit the number of pupils and staff in contact with each other 
  • Arranging classrooms with forward facing desks, with the teacher at the front of class, and pupils sitting at well-spaced desks, all facing forward 
  • Travel to school patterns differ greatly between schools. Schools or colleges may introduce staggered starts or adjusting start and finish times to keep groups apart as they arrive and leave school.
  • Staggered start and finish times should not reduce the amount of overall teaching time. 
  • Children and young people will be asked to clean their hands more often than usual, including when they arrive at school or college, when they return from breaks, and before and after eating – this will be done with soap and running water or hand sanitiser. 
  • Frequently touched surfaces will be cleaned more often. 

Jo Davies, a former St Helens-based headteacher who is now the council’s assistant director for education, said: “We know that there will be parents out there who are worried about sending their child back to school – but it is worth remembering that schools have remained open during the worst days of the pandemic for vulnerable children and the children of key workers, and schools have been practising strict protective measures. 
 

“It is vital that children and young people return to school and college – for their educational progress, for their wellbeing, and for their wider development.” 

“As a former St Helens-based headteacher myself who now works closely with all primary and secondary heads in the borough, I know just now how hard our schools work for the benefit of our communities, and parents and guardians can rest assured that their children are in safe hands when they return in September.” 

Councillor Sue Murphy, Cabinet Member for Developing Young People, added: “Our children and young people, through no fault of their own, have missed out on months of valuable education and we don’t want them falling further behind with their studies, which is why it’s important that we welcome all students back to school and college as we adapt to the ‘new normal.’ 

“Education settings have played a crucial part in our local response to Covid-19, providing support for vulnerable and key worker families whose children have had positive experiences of being in the school environment during this pandemic which, together with the risk reduction measures in place we hope, enables more pupils to return to school with confidence.” 

A small number of pupils may still be unable to attend in line with public health advice because they are self-isolating and have had symptoms or a positive test result themselves, or because they are a close contact of someone who has coronavirus (COVID-19).

If a child is unable to attend school or college for this reason, parents are advised to talk to your school or college about what support is in place in terms of remote education.