Children in West Norfolk and Wisbech are heading back to school
It marks the first stage of the easing of coronavirus restrictions.
Last updated 8th Mar 2021
Children and young people across West Norfolk and Wisbech are getting back to school and college from today.
For some it's the first time classrooms have been open since Christmas
Finley, who's 10 and from Norfolk, told us he's very excited to get back: "I am looking forward to seeing my friends and teachers in real life, not by video.
"I've found homeschooling hard because I'm not seeing my friends, and hopefully we have no more lockdown's if people stick to the rules."
10 year-old Albie from Norwich told us what he's missed most about school: "I've missed the PE that we do at school, we used to do a lot of tennis, and I loved that.
"And, I love football and we always picked teams."
Four year-old Edie was also excited to get back this morning, but did run into a slight problem: "I've missed my friends and my learning and my teachers.
"I might be a bit nervous because I've been away for such a long time.
"But I really have lost my shoes, I don't know where they are."
Don't panic, Edie's Mum has confirmed the missing shoes have now been found!
Roadmap out of lockdown
It marks the start of the first stage of the easing of coronavirus restrictions.
As well as the school return, care home residents can have one regular visitor from today, and people can meet someone from another household outside.
Boris Johnson said he hoped Monday’s tentative softening of restrictions marked a “big step” on his “road map to freedom” – a plan which could see all Covid measures lifted by June 21.
Mr Johnson, asked on Sunday about the risks involved with reopening more than 20,000 schools, echoed the warnings of education experts that more damage was being done to pupils by keeping them at home than having them return to in-person lessons.
“I think the risk is actually in not going back to school tomorrow given all the suffering, all the loss of learning we have seen,” he said on a visit to a north London vaccination centre.
It comes after Amanda Spielman, England’s chief schools inspector, expressed concern about eating disorders and self-harming among children after she said pupils endured “boredom, loneliness, misery and anxiety” during England’s third lockdown.
How will students catch up?
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said he was looking at proposals that included a five-term academic year, a shorter summer holiday and longer school days to help pupils catch up on lost learning during the pandemic in “transformative” measures not seen since the Second World War.
Labour is calling for catch-up breakfast clubs before the school day starts, with leader Sir Keir Starmer and his shadow education secretary Kate Green due to argue during a visit to a school in east London on Monday that the concept would allow for both extra socialising and learning.
The party said its analysis of Government data suggested children have each lost an average of 109 face-to-face school days since the first lockdown in March 2020.
Testing
Secondary school pupils, who are likely to have their return staggered over the week to allow for mass testing, are being asked to take three voluntary Covid-19 tests on site and one at home over the first fortnight. They will then be sent home-testing kits to do twice-weekly.
The Department for Education (DfE) is also advising secondary school students to wear face coverings wherever social distancing cannot be maintained, including in the classroom.
But primary school children are not being asked to carry out Covid-19 tests or wear face masks on their return.