SECONDARY schools in Wokingham borough will have their reopening delayed to January 18 for most pupils according to new advice issued by Gavin Williamson earlier today.
Speaking to the House of Commons moments after Matt Hancock announced that more parts of England will move into Tier 4 coronavirus restrictions from New Year’s Eve, the secretary of state for education said that because of the increased rates of coronavirus in recent weeks, the start of the new term should be delayed.
It is intended that students in exam years will start from January 11.
Primary schools will reopen as planned from January 4, except for a small number in areas where the coronavirus risk is highest. These have now been confirmed – Berkshire schools will open as normal, so Wokingham borough primary school pupils will return from Monday.
“This is, of course, a rapidly shifting situation,” Mr Williamson said. “We continue to protect education by putting children first.”
“We must continue to do all we can to keep children in school … (this) means we have had to make a number of changes for the new term in order to help with breaking the chains of transmission (of the virus) and to assist with keeping all of our children, and education settings, as safe as we can.”
With the primary schools that would be closed, Mr Williamson said: “In a small number of areas where the infection rates are highest, we will implement our existing contingency framework so that there’s only vulnerable children and children of critical workers attending face-to-face.
“This is being used only as a last resort and this is not all Tier 4 areas. The overwhelming majority of primary schools will open as planned on Monday.”
With secondary schools and colleges, delaying the reopening date was because “their covid infection rate is particularly high among this age group. We are going to allow more time so that every school and college is able to fully roll out testing for all its pupils and staff.”
Pupils in exam years will return week beginning January 11, “all secondary school and college students returning full-time on January 18”.
“Testing will then begin in earnest with those who are in exam years at the head of the queue,” he promised.
On Christmas Eve, Wokingham Borough Council leader John Halsall wrote to school leaders to thank them for their efforts over 2020.
“It has certainly been a difficult year for everyone – not least for the teachers and staff at our local schools, who have worked tirelessly throughout the course of the pandemic. You have gone above and beyond in support of children and young people across the borough. I am very grateful to you all,” he wrote.
He also pledged that the council would give their backing to measures they need to implement.
“We, as a Borough, will continue to support you in whatever decisions you take, which under the current circumstances will be difficult, as you balance the wish to continue education for all with the need to do it safely,” he wrote.
“There will also be the introduction of Lateral Flow Testing (LFT) in schools and we are fully supportive of those who choose to take up the opportunity. We have experience in setting up our own LFT pilot to enable care home visits before the Tier 4 restrictions were put in place.
“Therefore, we are in a strong position to help schools in their planning for any such arrangements, ensuring that a safe rollout of the programme can be delivered.
“We will continue to make regular contact with our schools, as we have been, and work together to protect our community. Thank you again for your hard work, commitment and resilience during these challenging times.”
Yesterday saw the highest number of coronavirus cases recorded in the UK, as well as in Wokingham.
