In early May, the government announced that schools will be reopening in June for some year groups. This is based on certain criteria being met and schools being fully prepared to safely reopen.

Since the announcement, schools across England have been working towards reopening.

So what have they been doing? And is there any way you can help?

I can offer some clarification about the current situation in schools and give you some information about what their plans and preparations to reopen look like.

Phased reopening

• Nurseries, including private nursery settings will be able to reopen.
• Primary schools will aim to reopen for reception class, year 1 and year 6.
• Secondary schools will be asked to provide learning for year 10 and year 12.

However, full attendance is not expected by schools or the government to start with. In fact, it’s anticipated that under 50% of pupils in the selected year groups will return to the classrooms in early June. The government has stated that parents will not be penalised at this time if they decide not to take their child to school.

The government’s plan is to have all primary school children back in school before the summer holidays.

Protective bubbles

The biggest change we’ll see in classrooms is that pupils will be taught in bubbles. This means classes will be split into groups with no more than 15 children, plus a teacher and in some cases a teaching assistant as well.

• Teachers are expected to keep the pupils 2 metres apart in class bubbles.
• The children in each bubble will have breaks and lunch together and will be expected to arrive and leave school together as well, which means staggered start and end times in schools.
• The children will not be permitted to come into contact with anyone from other bubbles.

This is to make sure that, in the unfortunate event someone contracts Covid-19, it can be kept within that bubble and not spread further.

There are also plans to set up one-way systems in corridors and allow children to only enter school from the outside. They will also stagger playtimes, lunch and even start and finish times, so there is never a mass gathering of pupils, teachers or parents all at once.

Due to the staff resource and extra space needed to implement these plans, some schools are currently only able to offer part-time places to their pupils. There are variations in how different schools are approaching this. For example, some schools are offering morning only or afternoon only sessions, and some are offering 2 full days per week for different groups of children.

Personal protective equipment (PPE)

We know that the government has advised that teachers and pupils do not wear PPE. However, we also know that some schools are purchasing PPE on behalf of their staff and others are allowing teachers to bring in their own if needed.

This situation is ever changing but at time of writing that is how things stand and I will obviously update you if it should change.