Plymouth school children return to classrooms as first steps out of lockdown begin
Plymouth's Cabinet Member for Education says 'many children will be desperate to get back'
Last updated 8th Mar 2021
Schools in England are fully reopening this morning after two months of being shut.
It is one of the first steps in the Government's timetable to ease restrictions - along with allowing two people to sit together outdoors and one visitor per care home resident.
Ministers are also looking at shorter summer holidays and lengthening the school day to help pupils catch up.
Plymouth’s Cabinet Member for Education, Cllr Jon Taylor, says that missed time in the classroom 'is going to have an impact':
"It’s going to impact those who are already disadvantaged and people who haven’t got that support at home from their parents."
"I think for the younger age groups particularly, the remote learning can be quite difficult to engage with. You can imagine for primary aged children particularly, to keep them focused on the work and to keep them interested in lessons delivered by a computer or a laptop is quite challenging.
"I think a lot of work is needed now to be able to help those - particularly those disadvantaged children - catch up. That gap needs to be closed and that will be a priority for schools and that will be a priority for us as a Council."
Cllr Taylor has also joined forces with Cllr Jemima Laing - Cabinet Member for Children and Young People - to write a leader to Heads in Plymouth about relaxing the school uniform policy:
"Many parents are in a situation where they’ve lost their jobs, become redundant, or they’re on furlough and many people are struggling to afford the school uniform, shoes and other back to school items.
"So we’ve written to Heads in Plymouth and asked them to temporarily relax the uniform policy until the end of the year.
"Also, the non-essential shops are still closed until April, so even people who haven’t got difficulty in affording a school uniform are still having difficulty in accessing it."
Cllr Taylor adds that a local charity will be supporting these efforts too:
"There’s a charity in Plymouth called the Uniform Store and what they do is support people who can’t access school uniforms and they’re going to be opening a Click and Collect service over the next couple of weeks."
As children return to the classrooms, secondary school pupils in Plymouth are being advised to wear face masks.
This recommendation is to remain in force until the Easter break, and is included in guidance issued by the Government.
Plymouth City Council say that advice will be available for parents and children who are worried about going back, saying that their approach is ‘support rather than sanctions’.
The Government has also announced that all secondary or college pupils will initially be tested three times at their institution, then move to twice-weekly testing at home.
On top of this, free twice-weekly testing using rapid lateral flow tests for all families and households with primary, secondary school and college aged children and young people, including childcare and support bubbles. Twice-weekly testing will be offered to adults working in the wider school.