UK Edition
Across Europe, moves are now being made to reopen schools. Yet in Britain asking when children might return to the classroom is deemed off-limits. Leaders of the main teaching unions have called for an end to ‘irresponsible speculation’ over when schools might reopen. The consensus seems to be not any time soon. Over 165,000 people have signed the The National Education Union’s petition to delay reopening schools. In response, ministers have now rejected a suggestion that schools may open next month.
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson insists, schools ‘will only reopen when the scientific advice indicates it is the right time to do so.’ He echoes the words of Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, who argues: ‘A return to school is not a matter for debate – it is a question for science.’
Of course, the latest science about coronavirus must be taken into account. But science alone cannot decide for us if the risk of reopening schools outweighs the risk from schools remaining closed. These are moral and political, not scientific, decisions.
If schools reopen children may become infected with Covid-19 and they may pass the virus on to adults. The science is inconclusive. We know that children who catch coronavirus are highly unlikely to fall seriously ill or, indeed, to show any symptoms. Frustratingly, we do not know to what extent children without symptoms may transmit the virus. One study, carried out at University College London, suggests school closures are likely to have little impact on the spread of coronavirus. By closing schools we have assumed the worst: that children are 'virus-spreaders'.
Coronavirus will not go away any time soon. The logic of adopting a worst case scenario approach is that schools should remain closed until a vaccine is developed. But this could be more than a year away.
There are risks to schools closing for such an extended period of time. Most educationalists agree that although online learning is better than nothing, it is a poor substitute for classroom teaching. Yet children without access to a laptop or wifi are unable to access even this. Efforts are now under way to get laptops to the most disadvantaged students but this may be too little too late. Children from the poorest families may fall behind their better off peers. A survey out this week suggests that two thirds of children have not taken part in online lessons during lockdown. Independent school pupils have been twice as likely as state school pupils to have lessons every day.
Missing school now can compound disadvantage. Researchers from Norway have assessed the cost of closing primary schools during lockdown. They show that it’s more difficult for parents, often mothers, to work if their children are not at school and this has an impact on their earnings. They suggest that younger pupils may never fully make up for the time lost in school, at huge cost to their future life chances and earnings potential.
The costs of closing schools are not just educational or economic. Around 13 per cent of pupils currently receive a free school lunch; for some this may be their main meal of the day. For many children school means physical activity in PE lessons, at sports clubs, running around in the playground, or just walking to and from class. Meeting friends and having a routine are vital for children’s mental health. An Oxford University study suggests one child in five is so worried about coronavirus they do not want to leave their homes.
For all these reasons, schools need to reopen sooner rather than later. We cannot afford to wait until a vaccine has been developed. Neither can we expect social distancing to take place in schools; corridors are too narrow, classrooms too small and children too impetuous. Some sensible precautions might help mitigate the likelihood of transmission. Assemblies can be scrapped; the start and end of the school day staggered, as can play times and lunch breaks; perhaps different year groups could attend on different days. Nonetheless, not just teachers but all the adults in schools will be at heightened risk of infection.
Right now, in these exceptional times, society asks doctors and nurses, care workers, hospital cleaners and caterers, bus drivers and refuse collectors to confront risks to their health every single day. The rest of us depend upon not just their expertise but their bravery. Each day these key workers fearlessly fulfil a duty to safeguard everyone else.
Asking teachers to stand before a class of children is in no way comparable to demanding nurses tend to patients in an intensive care unit. But the time is now right for teachers to show courage and re-enter the classroom. For some teachers with pre-existing medical conditions this may be too big a risk to contemplate. In which case, we may need former teachers to step up to the plate. I, for one, would happily volunteer.
There are risks to reopening schools but there are also educational, economic, social and psychological consequences to keeping schools shut, all of which take a toll on health and wellbeing. We owe it to children to start discussing when schools will reopen.
Joanna Williams is director of the Freedom, Democracy and Victimhood Project at the think tank, Civitas
Teachers need to show some courage and get back into the classroom