National Association of Head Teachers said the school can't reopen even if the Government is of the opposite opinion.
A headteachers ‘ union has warned that the school will not be able to implement the reopening plan proposed by the government, and can’t reopen. Its goal is that all primary school pupils can go back to class before the summer holidays.
Why school can’t reopen
The National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) said it had “very significant concerns” about ministers’ expectation that children would be able to return to school before the academic year ends. The NAHT said, “These proposals, as they currently stand, are likely to prove impractical and unworkable in most schools.
It is not realistic”.
Children can back to school so parents who can’t work from home to return to work. However, the NAHT, which represents 29,000 headteachers and other school leaders, said that plan would not work. Unless there is is a dramatic change in circumstances in the coming month, they do not believe this will be possible. Simon Smith, from East Whitby Primary Academy, aid social distancing could be challenging in particular for nursery teachers, whose charges may need nappies changed or to be comforted if they are upset.
Speaking about NAHT’s concerns over the “unrealistic” aim, Rachael Warwick, executive headteacher of Ridgeway Education Trust, said: “It is hard to know what realistic is in the current situation because it is unprecedented.” The president of the Association of School and College Leaders told The Independent: “We need to make schools as safe as we possibly can and we need to be guided by the science. We need to work together collaboratively to make that happen because we have a responsibility to start to reopen schools and to offer education to all children.”
Education union leaders will on Friday meet with the Chief Medical Officer and other experts to hear reasons for the government’s push to reopen schools. England is the only part of the UK asking schools to begin phased reopening from the start of next month, raising fears among teachers’ unions about the risks of infection from the Covid-19. Sending children back to school will be encouraged but voluntary.
