Parents and teachers ‘image stabilization’ in school crises
Parents and teachers are facing a “confusing picture” of elementary school closures as local authorities call on the government to delay children and their return to classrooms.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said he has no doubt the classrooms are safe and that parents should send their children back to schools in the UK.
All London’s primary schools and some surrounding areas will not reopen until January 18 due to the fast-spreading variant of Govt-19, while students elsewhere are expected to return to classrooms on Monday.
But councils in Cumbria and Kendall have urged the government to allow schools to close in other areas, while teaching unions have called on all schools to switch to distance learning for a short period of time.
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT Association of School Leaders, said it was difficult to say how many schools would be open by the beginning of this period.
“Some schools in Tier 4 areas will be open to vulnerable students and key working families, while others will provide distance learning, but in Tier 4 in all other areas, all students will be admitted,” he said.
“It’s an equally confusing picture for school leaders and families.”