Labour ‘want schools to remain open’ says Kate Green

Schools were due to go back after the Christmas break today, however, some pupils are starting learning from home as coronavirus cases soar. All London, some Essex, Kent, East Sussex, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire primary schools have delayed opening due to rising Covid-19 cases. For some parents, these measures are not enough.

All of London’s primary schools and those in some surrounding areas will not reopen until January 18 due to the fast-spreading variant of Covid-19.

Primary schools elsewhere have been told to stay open and Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said parents should send children back to classrooms where they are open this week.

But local leaders across the country have said they will support headteachers that decide it is safer if schools remain closed.

Secondary schools in England will have a staggered return, with those taking exams this year resuming in-person teaching on January 11 and other year groups on January 18.

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Now more than 190,000 people have signed a petition calling on the Government to close schools in Tier 4 areas.

Reaching more than 100,000 signatures means Parliament will consider it for a debate.

The hashtag #closetheschools has been trending on Twitter, with some parents opting not to send their children back.

One parent wrote on Twitter: “I’ve taken the difficult decision to not send my kids back to school, the risk is too high, I’m a single mum and have had cancer treatment. I do not trust this government to make the right decisions!”

A student wrote: “All schools should be shut, no argument.

“Primary, secondary, colleges, sixth form, doesn’t matter, keeping them open is doing more harm than good, I can hardly learn anyway with all the shit going on with this ar**y gov. – An angry Year 12.”

One Twitter user suggested moving terms around to allow for the off as cases spike saying: “Why don’t we close the schools for 3 weeks, then the summer holidays can be 3 weeks shorter than usual… no child missed vital school time, lives are also saved! #CloseTheSchools #schoolclosures”

However, both Mr Johnson and Health Secretary Matt Hancock have said keeping schools open is safe for both children and teachers.

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Despite the country’s high coronavirus infection rate, Mr Hancock today said the government was following public health advice and schools in those areas were safe.

He said: “It’s also clear that the proportion of teachers who catch coronavirus is no higher than the rest of the population.”

Currently, the R-rate or rate of infection in the UK stands at 1.1 to 1.3, while the growth rate is one to six percent per day.

This means for every 10 people infected with Covid-19, 11 to 13 others will catch the virus and the infections are growing by one to six percent every day.

Will schools close in Tier 5?

Mr Johnson said “there is no doubt in my mind that schools are safe” in areas where they are open, however, he also warned of the potential for tighter restrictions.

He said: “It may be that we need to do things in the next few weeks that may be tougher.

“I’m fully reconciled to that. I think the whole country is fully reconciled to that.

Tier 5 lockdown has not been confirmed, however, Mr Johnson has said the government will rule nothing out when it comes to tackling growing cases of coronavirus.

Given the strict rules already in place in Tier 4, Tier 5 may be a return to the strictest lockdown conditions the UK saw in March.

This called for schools to close with homeschooling instead, Britons were only allowed out for specific reasons such as to buy essential items, to care for someone or to go to work.

Working from home where possible was encouraged, and no households could mix under the rules.

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