Can schools open safely this year?
Many parents can’t wait to send their offspring back to school after the many months of home schooling they have been forced to do but is it safe for children to go back to school and how confident can parents be that their child will be safe?
There is an enormous debate going on between politicians, teaching unions and parents about the measures that are needed to allow schools to open safely in September. Data has been produced indicating that in other countries schools have been able to reopen without any significant rise in Covid infection rates so what do schools need to do if we want our children to restart their education again?
There has been lots of talk about having bubbles of staff and children and this worked well when only a few children attended school but how well this will work when the majority return remains to be seen. Break and lunch times could be problematic as the space required for groups of children to play in whilst remaining in their bubble may be insufficient.
It is a relief to many of us that children seem to be less likely to catch Covid and become seriously ill but the adult staff members will need to be vigilant about their close contact with pupils who may carry the disease unknowingly in order to keep themselves safe.
