The Guardian view on reopening schools: not so fast
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Version 0 of 1. Editorial: The government is right to regard education as a priority. But the announcement that they should go back in June was all wrong It is right that the government regards reopening schools as a priority. Their closure risks harming the life chances of millions of children. But Sunday’s announcement that a phased return for pupils as young as four to English classrooms should begin on 1 June was badly judged. Combative in style, and lacking details, the plan had the appearance of a prime ministerial edict issued over the heads of the Department for Education. The scant information in the guidance published on Monday raised further questions while answering very few. Reaction from teachers and unions has understandably focused on the proposed return to work. So far, ministers have not shared the evidence that has convinced them restarting lessons in three weeks’ time could be safe. Nor have they specified the conditions that will enable these potentially life-or-death judgments to be made. Will it be one rule for everyone? Or can particular schools, local authorities or academy chains go it alone? How should they decide which staff and pupils to exempt (for example because they live with an elderly relative, or are pregnant)? These and other questions need answers. But they are just the start. Boris Johnson delivered the news that secondary schools would probably remain shut until September without giving any indication that he grasps how serious this is. For a decade, Conservative education ministers have pushed the idea that attendance is key to every child’s success, with schools that miss targets marked down by inspectors. Now, the vast majority of England’s 8.8 million pupils look set to go almost six months without setting foot in a classroom. There are many reasons to be concerned about this, none of which negate the overriding importance of safety. The long break from learning risks creating a hole in the education that every child is entitled to as a right. But, as with everything about this pandemic, the impact falls unevenly, with those who are disadvantaged hit harder than those who are not. Already, differences have emerged in the way that private and state schools are operating, with the smaller classes and greater access to technology among private-school pupils meaning that the move online has been easier for them. Meanwhile a scheme to provide laptops and tablets to those who lack them is taking time to roll out. Separation from peers, teachers and other adults is more harmful to those without supportive family networks. Provision for children with special educational needs and disabilities was already under huge strain, while the recent dilution of regulations concerning looked-after children was not in their interests and should be reversed. So far, unlike other world leaders and his education secretary, Gavin Williamson, the prime minister has not addressed children directly. Now they, along with parents and teachers, need clarity about the government’s intentions. But they also need to know that ministers, and others, are thinking hard about the longer-term and differential impacts of the lockdown. You only go to school once. It will be disastrous if the inequalities that already disfigure our society are allowed to entrench themselves in the next generation, in the shadow of the virus. |