All children will be expected to return to school in September, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson announced this afternoon.
Pupils will be taught a ‘full curriculum’ and a range of subjects that will include sports activity.
Small groups of pupils and staff will be asked to self isolate for up to 14 days if a positive case occurs in a school or alternative education facility.
Some of the changes that will take place are:
- Grouping children together in groups or “bubbles”, a class in primary and year group in secondary
- Avoiding contact in school between these groups, with separate starting, finishing, lunch and break times
- Attendance compulsory with the threat of penalty fines
- Test and trace in place for schools
- Regular cleaning of hands, but masks not expected for pupils or staff
- Those with symptoms told to stay out of school
- No big group events like school assemblies and arranging classrooms with forward facing desks
- Separate groups on school buses and discouraging the use of public transport
- Pupils will be expected to continue with all their GCSEs and A-levels
