Parents who fail to send their children back to schools will risk getting fined, according to the education secretary. A guideline was also released with plans on how reopening should proceed and how they should address cases of coronavirus in schools.
Education secretary, Gavin Williamson, has warned parents who will not send their kids to schools once they are reopened in September of fines The plan to fully in-person schools in the UK started in June when students were expected to return to school for few weeks before breaking for the holiday. This was after months of coronavirus lockdowns had paralyzed the education sector and led to the closure of schools in a bid to curb the spread of coronavirus in the UK.
Education secretary guidelines
The announcement comes amidst opposition from teachers unions who argue that, if enough measures are not taken into consideration, it may lead to infection of coronavirus in schools, which puts both teachers and kids at risk.
The new guidelines announced by the education secretary will require schools to create student bubbles, which may be as big as a whole class, in order to curb the spread of the virus. Students in specific bubbles will be required to stay and interact with their counterparts from the same bubbles and there will be limitations for cross-bubbles interactions between these students.
Social distancing
Social distancing will also be observed, according to the new plan, that will also require chairs to face the front. This will be in a bid to limit the spread of the virus through students’ interactions in classes or in their bubbles.
Playtime will also be limited to students from the same bubbles and interactions will be as minimal as possible according to the new guidelines.
Every child must return to schools, once they reopen in the Autumn, Williamson indicated. However, the education secretary also said that there would be provisions for students with underlying conditions to self-isolate and fail to turn up in schools.
For students who will be infected by the virus, the guidelines said they would be allowed to isolate and miss schools with no penalties for their parents. If there is a spike of local coronavirus cases in communities where these schools are found, the guidelines also asked schools to come up with a plan on how they will be able to go on lockdown and to maintain learning for students.
Featured image by Pixabay
