All students in England are expected to resume their studies in September.
London (Reuters):
All students in England are expected to return to school in September as part of government plans released on Thursday, which include dividing students into separate groups to limit the spread of COVID-19.
Currently, only certain students in certain age groups and the children of key workers are in school, depending on the region and configuration.
“Bubbles”
Schools will be asked to maintain separate groups of students, called bubbles, who try not to mix with students in other bubbles. They can be the size of a class or a group of years.
This makes it easier to determine who needs to isolate themselves if there is a positive case and to keep that number to a minimum, said the Ministry of Education.
Officials recognize that young children will not be able to maintain social distance and this could be difficult for everyone when they use common facilities such as dining rooms, toilets and playgrounds.
In class
The seating arrangement should be changed so that the students are all facing forward rather than facing each other.
Outside the classroom
Assemblies involving more than one group of students should be avoided. The use of staff premises should be kept to a minimum.
Staggered departure times
Schools should consider asking students from different “bubbles” to follow separate start and end times, but break times and free periods may be reduced so as not to reduce teaching time.
If there is a positive case
Small groups of students and staff may need to isolate themselves for up to 14 days. If there are two or more cases in a two week period, more students may have to stay at home.
Fine for non-attendance
“Unless there is a good reason for the absence, we will consider the fact that we will impose fines on families,” Education Minister Gavin Williamson said on Monday.
Response from the National Education Union
“The practical difficulties involved in organizing this separation of age group bubbles are immense and will not be possible in many schools,” said NEU Deputy Secretary General Kevin Courtney.
