Years 10 and 12 pupils to be first to return to secondary schools after primaries ‘reopen next month’
PUPILS from Years 10 and 12 will be the first to return when secondary schools reopen while primary kids could go back on June 1, it has been reported.
Boris Johnson is set to ease the coronavirus lockdown and is hoping to give teachers three weeks notice as the government looks to get children back in the classroom.
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The PM has been encouraged by evidence under-13s are much less vulnerable to Covid-19 infection than adults.
Number 10 believes primary kids returning to school will help parents get back to work as the government looks to restart the economy, Whitehall sources said.
The move will also prevent damage being done to “early years development” - an issue Education Sec Gavin Williamson previously highlighted, reports .
Ofsted chief Amanda Spielman said there is a “great deal of logic” in first moving younger kids back into the classroom.
BACK TO SCHOOL
School bosses are reportedly looking at temporarily limiting classroom sizes.
After primary schools reopen, pupils from Years 10 and 12 will become the first secondary school students to return, reports say.
As for university students, those studying medicine, dentistry and veterinary will be the first to go back to lectures in the autumn, the Sunday Times reports.
Mr Johnson told The Sun on Sunday: “One of the things we want to do as fast as we can is get certainly primary schools back.
“It’s not going to be easy but that’s where we want to go. It’s about working out a way to do it.”
On Thursday, he will set out how he plans to “un-lock” Britain after six weeks at a standstill.
Amid signs of restlessness, he is quick to point out it must be done slowly and carefully to avoid a second spike of deadly infections.
Regions where the virus is rampant could be declared “hot zones” and subject to tighter restrictions.
Towns and cities where Covid-19 is on the decline could get greater freedoms.
Mr Johnson added: “I said we would turn the tide within three months and I believe we are definitely on course to do that.
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“We’re past the peak now and we’ll be in to the second phase very soon and we’ll just have to work very hard to get every step right. I think we can.
“I’m going to try to build the maximum possible support — governed by the science — for the un-lockdown, the beginning of how we come out.
“I’ve never seen a national resolve like we have in the past couple of months. Everybody knew what needed to be done — and it was a fantastic effort.”
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